The San Jose Sharks' season is inching closer, as we are now just 36 days away from their first game of the season against the Vegas Golden Knights at the SAP Center.
Because of that, we’re going to take a look at the history of the number 36 for the team in teal.
The number 36’s use in San Jose dates all the way back to the Sharks’ inaugural season in 1991-92. Enforcer Jeff Odgers started his NHL career that season while wearing the number 36. In just his second season, he was named an alternate captain for the Sharks and eventually became the team’s captain following the departure of Bob Errey during the 1994-95 season.
Odgers would remain the Sharks’ captain until he left the organization to join the Boston Bruins for the 1996-97 season. By the end of his stint in San Jose, Odgers had played in 334 games, recording 82 points and a whopping 1001 penalty minutes over that period of time.
When Odgers left the organization, another enforcer joined the Sharks and took over the number 36.
At that time, Todd Ewen was a 10-year veteran in the NHL and was making the final stop of his career. Ewen played just one season with the Sharks, recording two points and 167 penalty minutes in 51 games. When he finished the season with San Jose, he hung up the skates and retired from professional hockey.
Steve Guolla would be next to wear the number, starting his time with the San Jose Sharks wearing the number 17, but making the switch to 36 for the 1998-99 season. That would ultimately end up being Guolla’s final season with the Sharks, as he’d start the following season with the Tampa Bay Lightning. Over the course of three seasons in San Jose, he played 64 games and registered 27 points.
After Guolla, it would be over a decade before another player wore the number 36. Dwight Helminen would be next, playing four games with the Sharks during the 2009-10 season. During that stint, he scored a single goal. Ultimately, that ended up being Helminen’s final appearances in the NHL.
There would be another significant gap before another player wore the number 36.
Jannik Hansen spent 11 seasons with the Vancouver Canucks before being traded to the Sharks in the middle of the 2016-17 season. Hansen finished that season by playing in 15 games for San Jose, recording 7 points in the process. His only full season in teal wasn’t memorable, though, as he played only 46 games and recorded just 14 points.
For the 2018-19 season, Hansen went overseas to the Russian Kontinental Hockey League, where he won the Gagarin Cup with CSKA Moscow and ended his career on a high note.
The first active player on this list, Zach Sawchenko, was also the first goaltender to wear the number 36 for the Sharks. All seven of Sawchenko’s NHL appearances came during the 2021-22 season with the Sharks, where he posted a .901 save percentage and 3.35 goals against average.
Currently, Sawchenko is a member of the Columbus Blue Jackets organization, spending his time with their American Hockey League affiliate, the Cleveland Monsters.
Kaapo Kahkonen would spend parts of three seasons wearing the number 36 for the Sharks, arriving from the Minnesota Wild during the 2021-22 season.
Despite a strong start during his first partial season with the Sharks, he wasn’t able to carry that momentum into the following season. Ahead of the 2023-24 season’s trade deadline, Kahkonen was traded to the New Jersey Devils, where he played well in limited appearances. Since then, though, he’s spent the majority of his time bouncing around the AHL. This coming season, he’s expected to start with the Montreal Canadiens’ AHL affiliate, the Laval Rocket. At just 29 years of age, there’s a chance that we’ve yet to see the last of Kahkonen at the NHL level just yet.
Most recently, the number 36 was worn by defenseman Lucas Carlsson. The Swedish player appeared in 13 games for the Sharks during the 2024-25 season. During that time frame, he scored a goal and added three assists. For the majority of the season, though, Carlsson was a member of the San Jose Barracuda. He’s expected to once again start the season with the Sharks’ AHL affiliate during the 2025-26 season. With that being said, it wouldn’t be a major surprise to see him get some ice time throughout the NHL season.
The history of the number 36 for the San Jose Sharks is a long one. Even though the Sharks even had a captain wear the number, there truly hasn’t been a standout to don the number quite yet.
Tomorrow, we’ll take a look at a number with a much shorter, yet interesting history that includes the Sharks’ best goaltender.
