The Morning After: Is Joonas Donskoi the next great Sharks shootout specialist?

If you haven’t see Joonas Donskoi’s shootout goal from last night’s win over Florida…well, get on that.

Cue the shootout wizard. ✨ pic.twitter.com/EPDj78QP4j

— San Jose Sharks (@SanJoseSharks) February 19, 2016

You can see the full highlights of the shootout embedded below if you’d like the Donskoi goal in higher quality.

Great, so we’re all on the same page now. Donskoi is now 2-4 in the shootout in his young career, and both have been nothing short of spectacular. The Finnish forward’s promise, particularly in the shootout, got me thinking about who the best shootout specialists are in San Jose history.

Naturally there’s a little recency bias here as the shootout only became a thing in the 2005-06 season. Otherwise I’m perfectly confident Friend Of The Blog Jamie Baker would hold this crown.

Okay, so… on to the list…with videos, obviously. I limited it to players with at least 10 shootout attempts — so we’re six Sharks shootouts away from seeing Donskoi at the top of this list.

5. Brent Burns (4-11, 36.4%)

This one surprised me a bit. I’m not sure if this says more about Burns shootout ability or about the Sharks overall talent in the skills competition.

4. Joe Pavelski (34-88, 38.6%)

This one wasn’t so surprising. Pavelski is a go-to guy in the Sharks shootout and it’s no secret why. He’s one of the most skilled players on the Sharks and it shows in the shootout.

3. Ryane Clowe (16-41, 39 percent)

Ryane Clowe will be remembered for his hits and his energy, but the forward was also adept in the skills competition.

2. Logan Couture (18-43, 41.9 percent)

Couture ranks 57th all-time in the NHL in shootout percentage (minimum 10 attempts) and is, not so surprisingly, one of the best Sharks of all time in the shootout. His hands are absolutely unreal.

1. Michal Handzus (19-42, 45.2 percent)

When I first set out to write this post, I had a hunch Hanzus would be at the top of the list. The former King wasn’t a terrific player for the Sharks, but man oh man was the guy good in the shootout.

These are the top five guys in terms of success rate — but I’m curious to see what everyone’s favorite Sharks shootout goal is of all time. Drop them in the comments!