News
ENLARGE
It seems like it was almost yesterday, yet it was a decade-and-a-half ago.
Doug Wilson, the marquee player for the first NHL expansion team in years was seated alone on a bus destined for the old Los Angeles Forum. It was a bus trip to nowhere yet everywhere.
For the moment, he was anchoring the newest addition to the National Hockey League. He was the poster child for the San Jose Sharks credibility. Wilson was the symbol of courage, maturity, and focus of hockey's newest franchise. He was the Captain of the South Bay's hockey ship.
You could not help but find him approachable, friendly, and caring. As I boarded the bus, he greeted me as if he had known me for years, welcoming my questions, acting as if he had waited all day for me to agitate him on his way to another losing date with the Los Angeles Kings. In retrospect, he probably wished he had sat with another player. He is not the type of man who would ever admit it.
His tenure consisted of two tough seasons. They tested the mettle of the common man. An avalanche of losses was a by-product of expansion. They were good times, but they were also laden with difficult pills to swallow. Records were set for futility in those early days. It was all a part of the NHL's new landscape that included a San Jose team of Minnesota North Star castoffs complemented with a partial entry draft.
Yes, even then Doug Wilson was a breed apart from most athletes. Even then he was a promoter of the sport, an incredibly personable and intelligent representative of the NHL. Even then he was a true pioneer of hockey in Northern California.
Arguably no one has left such an indelible fingerprint on the sport in our region. He was the ultimate ambassador, laying the foundation for a richly successful professional sports story.
Some might have felt he had enough of hockey after those first two years, retiring following the 1992-93 season after more than 1,000 games, 16 seasons, and eight All-Star appearances. Yet, his family of six enjoyed San Jose and there was something about this journey that was yet completed.
It was not a huge surprise that he would return to San Jose. Although it was not met with huge fanfare, there was something about his re-entry that contributed an extra level of respect to a franchise on the rise. In 2003, after a series of accomplishments, he was named executive vice president and general manager. He had come a long way since those bus trips and brutal losses of the early days.
Today, the San Jose Sharks have become Wilson's product.
Through shrewd drafting, adept trades, and incredible free agent signings, Wilson and the Sharks have become one of the premiere teams in sports today. Arguably, this region has not seen a team this deep in talent in decades.
The sun sets on 2006 with this franchise being one of the very hottest in the National Hockey League. Wilson is the mastermind of this success story. He has crafted a team deep in the attributes he always brought to the game; focus, dedication, and teamwork.
He has surrounded himself with top-flight personnel, people who he humbly describes as "smarter than myself."
Yet, he accomplishes it all as one of the most down-to-earth, accessible, approachable, and friendly top executives in sports today. He is a rare breed, combining the desire to promote the sport he loves with the obsession to drink from the Stanley Cup.
Wilson goes about it in stride, never panicking, always willing to answer questions directly, responding to team needs in an astute manner. He is a winner in almost every sense of the term. Other sports and their general managers need to take lessons from Wilson. He not only has discovered the magic to assembling a talented squad, he has become skilled at keeping it together.
Wilson attributes his successes to the influences of his brother Murray who captured four Stanley Cups in his playing days with the Montreal Canadians as well as Bill O'Rourke, Coca-Cola's founding father in Chicago. He is quick to point out, "I learned from great people."
There are three major events that have brought this together.
The first is a rich 2003 draft that produced top performers Milan Michalek, Steve Bernier, Matt Carle, and Joe Pavelski.
The second, surprising enough, was the manner in which the team handled a 10-game losing streak last season - the same team that ended up tying a team record for most wins and setting a franchise best win streak of eight games.
The third was the acquisition of superstar Joe Thornton, a player whose contributions transformed the team from the moment of his arrival.
There is little doubt that Wilson's reputation is an attraction for players league-wide. It has allowed him to acquire a steady, talented corps of players whose best years are yet ahead. His approach is unique in that he considers his position a "privilege" and uses "great blessing" when he describes the opportunity to guide this team.
The team's "showdown" victory over the league-leading Anaheim Ducks on Dec. 16 was no fluke.
It was the culmination of the design.
It was an appetizer of what is yet to come.
It is an indicator of how far this franchise has come and the bright future on the horizon. Even though he may appear to take all of this in stride; the intelligence, demeanor, and direction in which Doug Wilson has led this team has been a determining factor.
His promotion to general manager was a defining moment.
Although he may be the very last to drink from the Stanley Cup should it arrive in San Jose over the next several years, there will be little doubt among those closest to the sport and the team of the individual who brought credibility and success of the sport to Northern California.
ooo
Jim Adams, who lives in Nevada City, is a regular contributor to The Union, a broadcaster for TouchDown Productions and a devout hockey fan. He may be reached via e-mail at adamses@inreach.com
Doug Wilson, the marquee player for the first NHL expansion team in years was seated alone on a bus destined for the old Los Angeles Forum. It was a bus trip to nowhere yet everywhere.
For the moment, he was anchoring the newest addition to the National Hockey League. He was the poster child for the San Jose Sharks credibility. Wilson was the symbol of courage, maturity, and focus of hockey's newest franchise. He was the Captain of the South Bay's hockey ship.
You could not help but find him approachable, friendly, and caring. As I boarded the bus, he greeted me as if he had known me for years, welcoming my questions, acting as if he had waited all day for me to agitate him on his way to another losing date with the Los Angeles Kings. In retrospect, he probably wished he had sat with another player. He is not the type of man who would ever admit it.
His tenure consisted of two tough seasons. They tested the mettle of the common man. An avalanche of losses was a by-product of expansion. They were good times, but they were also laden with difficult pills to swallow. Records were set for futility in those early days. It was all a part of the NHL's new landscape that included a San Jose team of Minnesota North Star castoffs complemented with a partial entry draft.
Yes, even then Doug Wilson was a breed apart from most athletes. Even then he was a promoter of the sport, an incredibly personable and intelligent representative of the NHL. Even then he was a true pioneer of hockey in Northern California.
Arguably no one has left such an indelible fingerprint on the sport in our region. He was the ultimate ambassador, laying the foundation for a richly successful professional sports story.
Some might have felt he had enough of hockey after those first two years, retiring following the 1992-93 season after more than 1,000 games, 16 seasons, and eight All-Star appearances. Yet, his family of six enjoyed San Jose and there was something about this journey that was yet completed.
It was not a huge surprise that he would return to San Jose. Although it was not met with huge fanfare, there was something about his re-entry that contributed an extra level of respect to a franchise on the rise. In 2003, after a series of accomplishments, he was named executive vice president and general manager. He had come a long way since those bus trips and brutal losses of the early days.
Today, the San Jose Sharks have become Wilson's product.
Through shrewd drafting, adept trades, and incredible free agent signings, Wilson and the Sharks have become one of the premiere teams in sports today. Arguably, this region has not seen a team this deep in talent in decades.
The sun sets on 2006 with this franchise being one of the very hottest in the National Hockey League. Wilson is the mastermind of this success story. He has crafted a team deep in the attributes he always brought to the game; focus, dedication, and teamwork.
He has surrounded himself with top-flight personnel, people who he humbly describes as "smarter than myself."
Yet, he accomplishes it all as one of the most down-to-earth, accessible, approachable, and friendly top executives in sports today. He is a rare breed, combining the desire to promote the sport he loves with the obsession to drink from the Stanley Cup.
Wilson goes about it in stride, never panicking, always willing to answer questions directly, responding to team needs in an astute manner. He is a winner in almost every sense of the term. Other sports and their general managers need to take lessons from Wilson. He not only has discovered the magic to assembling a talented squad, he has become skilled at keeping it together.
Wilson attributes his successes to the influences of his brother Murray who captured four Stanley Cups in his playing days with the Montreal Canadians as well as Bill O'Rourke, Coca-Cola's founding father in Chicago. He is quick to point out, "I learned from great people."
There are three major events that have brought this together.
The first is a rich 2003 draft that produced top performers Milan Michalek, Steve Bernier, Matt Carle, and Joe Pavelski.
The second, surprising enough, was the manner in which the team handled a 10-game losing streak last season - the same team that ended up tying a team record for most wins and setting a franchise best win streak of eight games.
The third was the acquisition of superstar Joe Thornton, a player whose contributions transformed the team from the moment of his arrival.
There is little doubt that Wilson's reputation is an attraction for players league-wide. It has allowed him to acquire a steady, talented corps of players whose best years are yet ahead. His approach is unique in that he considers his position a "privilege" and uses "great blessing" when he describes the opportunity to guide this team.
The team's "showdown" victory over the league-leading Anaheim Ducks on Dec. 16 was no fluke.
It was the culmination of the design.
It was an appetizer of what is yet to come.
It is an indicator of how far this franchise has come and the bright future on the horizon. Even though he may appear to take all of this in stride; the intelligence, demeanor, and direction in which Doug Wilson has led this team has been a determining factor.
His promotion to general manager was a defining moment.
Although he may be the very last to drink from the Stanley Cup should it arrive in San Jose over the next several years, there will be little doubt among those closest to the sport and the team of the individual who brought credibility and success of the sport to Northern California.
ooo
Jim Adams, who lives in Nevada City, is a regular contributor to The Union, a broadcaster for TouchDown Productions and a devout hockey fan. He may be reached via e-mail at adamses@inreach.com
