| | SAN JOSE, Calif. -- The playoffs had just ended, and it was
vacation time for most of his San Jose Sharks teammates. But the hard
work was just beginning for Owen Nolan.
Disgusted with his performance in a first-round playoff loss to
the Colorado Avalanche, the team that traded him to the Sharks in
1995, Nolan vowed to recapture the intensity that led him to 42
goals in his first full NHL season in 1991-92 with Quebec.
|  | | Owen Nolan's offseason workouts might have turned around his career. |
"It really sunk in during the playoffs against Colorado last
season," said Nolan, who had just one goal and one assist in the
six-game series. "I felt I could have done more, but I didn't have
the energy, the stamina to get it done. That wasn't going to happen
again."
So Nolan, 27, spent the summer mountain biking and devoting much
more attention to the weight room.
"I feel like I have a lot more endurance, strength and am a lot
faster," the right wing said. "From the workout this offseason
and being a lot bigger, a lot stronger, I'm getting a lot of goals
from around the crease this season."
The revitalized Nolan also has benefited from the addition of
center Vincent Damphousse, obtained in a trade late last season
with Montreal, and the improved play of several young teammates.
The results have been obvious.
With 22 goals and 23 assists, Nolan is vying with Jaromir Jagr
for the league lead in goals and points. He leads the NHL in
power-play goals and has four game-winning goals for a Sharks team
vying for the Pacific Division lead.
Nolan already has more goals in the first 11 weeks of this
season than he did in either of the past two seasons. His points
total exceeds his 1997-98 total and matches that of last year.
He scored twice and got an assist as the Sharks rallied from a
two-goal deficit to tie the Tampa Bay Lightning last week.
"I've seen a lot of players, and right now Nolan is the best
player in the league," Tampa Bay goalie Dan Cloutier said. "He's
on his game. He goes to the net hard and there's one thing on his
mind. He was shooting from everywhere."
Nolan, a native of Belfast, Northern Ireland, was the top
overall pick in the 1990 draft by Quebec. He starred for the
Nordiques in 1991-92, when he had 42 goals, and in 1992-93 with 36
goals and a career-high 77 points.
After missing nearly the entire 1993-94 season with injuries, he
returned with 30 goals in 1994-95. He moved with the team from
Quebec to Colorado, but was traded on Oct. 26, 1995, to the Sharks
for defenseman Sandis Ozolinsh.
Ozolinsh helped lead the Avalanche to the 1996 Stanley Cup
championship, while Nolan went to a team that finished last in the
Western Conference.
"Owen came to a situation that was a lot different from what
Ozo came to," said San Jose's Mike Ricci, who was with Colorado at
the time of the trade. "Sandis went to a team with a lot of very
good hockey players, where he could be a piece of the puzzle. Owen,
I don't know if he had that."
Nolan scored 29 and 31 goals in his first two seasons with San
Jose, but then slumped to 14 in 1997-98 and 19 last season.
He improved his all-around game during that scoring slump, but
felt helpless against Colorado in the playoffs.
"I think it really hurt him. He's a proud man and that was his
old team," Sharks coach Darryl Sutter said. "He tried to play
with his heart, and his legs couldn't keep up with him."
Nolan's resurgence helped the Sharks open this season with three
straight victories for the first time in their history. He had the
game-winning goal on opening night against Calgary, and followed
that up with a hat trick against Chicago and a goal against
Edmonton.
By early November, the Sharks were 10-5-1. They've struggled
since then, winning only seven of their last 19 games, but continue
to battle with Los Angeles and Phoenix -- whom they visit Sunday --
for the division lead.
Nolan has been a steady performer throughout the season, even
when the Sharks have slumped. A day after being honored as the
NHL's player of the week, the San Jose captain had two power-play
assists Tuesday night in a 5-2 loss to Chicago.
"It's important to keep in your mind when he's out there that
he's always going to get the puck and attack you from anywhere on
the ice," Chicago goalie Jocelyn Thibault said. "When he has
someone sending him the puck, he can be deadly."
And though Ozolinsh continues to star for the Avalanche, that
1995 trade is looking better for the Sharks.
"Our team was looking for that guy who could be the future
captain," said left wing Jeff Friesen, who skates on a line with
Nolan and Damphousse. "We needed a guy who could carry the load
for us, be our leader, our offensive go-to guy, our gamebreaker,
all those things. That's what Owen has become." | |
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