Jeff Friesen!

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In 1993, the San Jose Sharks finally moved into their new home - the San Jose Arena. There was a buzz in this California town. Hockey? In California? Will it survive? How will we do?

In the draft earlier in the year, the San Jose Sharks with the 11th pick of the draft chose a left winger from Canada named Jeff Friesen. He was a tiny little 17 year old but had a lot of spirit. For the ladies, HE WAS HOT! I remember I was in junior high and suddenly salivating for hockey and everything associated with it. I remember watching the first game ever at the tank and how the crowd might not have known all the rules but were cheering LOUDLY.

Jeff has always been a great supplemental player. He isn't neccessarily a superstar of the caliber of a Lemieux or even of Owen Nolan. But he was a great player. He worked hard at everything that he did and even when he was having an off day he wouldn't blame anyone but himself.

Jeff was the heart and soul of the San Jose Sharks. When management wasn't all that happy with his points scoring, they were dangling him as trade bait. The first time that broke out, hate letters were streaming into the Arena, calling for Dean Lombardi's head on a platter for trading him. When I think of Jeff I think of the Sharks. They grew up together through the good times and the bad. And thankfully after the HORRENDOUS cow palace years.

Jeff at the a game earlier in the 2000-2001 season.

Jeff made himself the Sharks. He moved into our community, rumored to be living in the Silver Creek Valley Country Club. He biked up the mountains of San Jose. Vanna even saw him at Valley Fair once. He could be seen spotted at Original Joe's, eating a meal. Not many athletes will make themselves a part of the community. They live in their out of sight homes on their huge ranches in the middle of nowhere. Jeff was really a part of San Jose.

That's why when it was announced that he was traded to the Anaheim (never) Mighty Ducks that it was a really dismal day for San Jose. Jeff has always been a fan favorite. His jersey probably was one of the most prevalent out there. You can always count on an Owen-Vinny-Jeff line. So many people were shocked. I was throughly pissed off at Dean Lombardi for a week. Not only did he deal Jeff, he also dealt Steve Shields. In return, we did get Teemu Selanne, a true scorer that we really needed for our playoff run and also a great guy. But the identity that was the Sharks was gone. And that's what hit the hardest for everyone.

He was a speed demon. He was super cute. He was also just a regular guy. He made a commercial for the gym that he worked out with. There were two girls at my high school that also loved Jeff Friesen. They would always go to the Ice Center to watch the team practice and later hang out in the parking lot and wait for him to talk to him and get autographs. Eventually he started to recognize who they were. Big name bigshots don't do that. A regular great guy like Jeff Friesen does.

#39, Jeff Friesen, will always reign supreme as the top San Jose Shark. His style will always be the greatest. I've watched enough games to tell that its him skating down the ice. No need to look at the number. Just look at the style. That's Jeff Friesen.