SAN JOSE – When he began his San Jose Sharks career nearly 20 years ago, Marc-Edouard Vlasic didn’t have to look far to understand what it meant to be a professional and how to get himself ready to play a full NHL season.
His first defense partner was Scott Hannan, and by the time Vlasic arrived in San Jose, Patrick Marleau had already been in the NHL for seven seasons. Just a couple of months after Vlasic made his Sharks debut, Joe Thornton became one of his teammates.
Those three players combined to play over 4,500 NHL games.
“Just being in the locker room with the older guys, Jumbo, Patty, Hanner, see how they prepare for a game, what they do on a daily basis,” Vlasic said. “I’m forgetting other guys as well, but … at 19, at helped me, and now I try to do the same thing.”
Vlasic, now 38, has been nominated by the San Jose chapter of the Professional Hockey Writers Association for the Bill Masterton Memorial Trophy, which recognizes the player who best exemplifies perseverance, sportsmanship and dedication to hockey.
All 32 of the PHWA’s chapters around the NHL nominate one player for the award, which has been given out every season since 1968 and commemorates Masterton, a former Minnesota North Stars player who exhibited those qualities. He died on Jan. 15, 1968, as a result of an on-ice injury.
Vlasic is now the longest-tenured Shark and will play in his 1,319th NHL game Wednesday night when San Jose faces the Minnesota Wild at Xcel Energy Center to begin a four-game road trip. Only 66 players in league history have played more games.
Last month, Vlasic set a new NHL record for most career blocked shots and entered Wednesday with 2,181 blocks. Longtime NHL defenseman Mark Giordano held the previous mark of 2,164.
Earlier this month, Vlasic also became just the fourth defenseman in NHL history to score at least one goal in 19 consecutive seasons with one team, joining Ray Bourque (21 seasons), Nicklas Lidström (20 seasons), and Kris Letang (19 seasons).
Still, this has been one of Vlasic’s most challenging seasons. He missed all of training camp and the first 40 games with an upper-body injury. As a result, he had only played in 22 games before Wednesday, as he’s mostly been used in a third pairing role.
But Vlasic remains a steadying presence for the Sharks and a valuable resource for their younger defensemen.
“This guy is all time,” Sharks defenseman Henry Thrun, 24, said of Vlasic. “He’s a friend, he’s a mentor, he’s a great hockey player, someone I’ve really enjoyed being able to play with and get to know over these past couple of years.”
Ryan Warsofsky has coached Vlasic the last three seasons.
“A true pro in every sense of the word,” Warsofsky said of Vlasic. “He had the injury in training camp, worked extremely hard to get back to this point to even be able to be an option for us. When he came back, he worked extremely hard on his game, on and off the ice
“What’s great about Marc is he’s the same guy every single day. What you guys see is what we see as well.”
Vlasic will move into 66th on the NHL’s all-time games played list, past Jeff Carter (1,321), if he dresses for three of the final four Sharks games this season. Vlasic is also signed through next season as he completes the eight-year contract extension he signed with the Sharks in 2017.
“I’ve played a lot of games, loved every moment of it,” Vlasic said. “I’m just enjoying myself.”
EKLUND’S HOMECOMING: Sharks forward William Eklund confirmed Wednesday that he will play for Sweden during next month’s IIHF World Championships. Stockholm, Eklund’s hometown, is co-hosting the tournament with Herning, Denmark.
“It’s something I grew up wanting to do,” Eklund said of wearing the Swedish national team’s jersey. “It’s something every kid, growing up, wanted to do, so it’s a huge honor.”
LINEUP NOTES: Sharks winger Tyler Toffoli, who missed Monday’s home game against the Calgary Flames with a lower-body injury, is a game-time decision to play against the Wild, Warsofsky said. Toffoli leads the Sharks with 28 goals this season. … With Collin Graf being returned to the Barracuda on Tuesday, winger Klim Kostin will take that spot in the Sharks’ lineup. Kostin, a pending restricted free agent, has been a healthy scratch in eight of the last nine games. … The Sharks will face goalie Marc-Andre Fleury one final time. In 19 career games against the Sharks, Fleury, before Wednesday, had a 20-5-4 record with a .940 save percentage and three shutouts. The Wild are also getting back forwards Joel Eriksson Ek and Kirill Kaprizov, who have been out with lower-body injuries. Eriksson Ek hasn’t played since Feb. 22, and the electric Kaprizov last played on Jan. 26.
