Looking Towards the Olympics: Evgeni Nabokov
Written by Gray   
Tuesday, 12 January 2010 16:11

Sign: Leo

Birth year: 1975

Home Town: Kamenogorsk, Kazakhstan (also a Russian citizen.)

Nickname: Nabby

Drafted: 1994, 9th round

 

Joe Pa sits on Nabby during a game

(April 29, 2008- Photo by Ronald Martinez/Getty Images North America)

 

The Goalie formerly known as "John."

Much like the Klingon Empire treatment of their amazing facial transformations, he doesn't like to talk about that period of his life.

He hates stupid after game questions, has been known to call out team members who he feels are underperforming (hai Pickles!), and until recently, he avoided the press like the plague. He is a ping pong master. He sports a gold chain at all times, so far as I can tell. This is to remind you that he is awesome. His name is mentioned in a Sting song.

Even though it was in reference to the author Nabokov, and not Nabby himself, that has to count for something.

He won the Calder in 2001, was named to the NHL All-Rookie Team in 2001, was the first NHL goalie to score a power play goal in 2002, was the shut out master of the 2008 All-Star Game, names best goalie of the world Championships in 2008, and a Veznia finalist in 2008. (some of us would argue that he should have won)

In other words, he's pretty damn good.

Odds are good he'll be battling with Byrzgalov for the starting spot on Russia's Olympic team. If it were up to me, I'd give the job to Nabby. I've seen him on bad nights, I've seen him on good ones, and I've seen him when he was trading the #1 spot with Vesa. He's come quite far since then.

His stats since taking the goalie reigns in the 2000 season:

1999-00  San Jose Sharks             NHL    11   414   15   2  1  2.17   2   2   1   166  0.910
2000-01  San Jose Sharks             NHL    66  3700  135   3  6  2.19  32  21   7  1582  0.915
2001-02  San Jose Sharks             NHL    67  3901  149   5  7  2.29  37  24   5  1818  0.918
2002-03  San Jose Sharks             NHL    55  3227  146   5  3  2.71  19  28   8  1415  0.906
2003-04  San Jose Sharks             NHL    59  3455  127   0  9  2.21  31  19   8  1483  0.921
2005-06  San Jose Sharks             NHL    45  2575  133   2  1  3.10  16  19   7  1027  0.885
2006-07  San Jose Sharks             NHL    50  2778  106   4  7  2.29  25  16   4  1121  0.914
2007-08  San Jose Sharks             NHL    77  4561  163   6  6  2.14  46  21   8  1639  0.910
2008-09  San Jose Sharks             NHL    62  3686  150   0  7  2.44  41  12   8  1513  0.910

*care of hockeydb.com


Ignoring that one less then stellar run we were witness to in 05-06, this guy has potential Olympic champion written all over him.

Assuming he can keep that 5 hole of his shut.

 

 

Comments (1)Add Comment
...
written by ZeroIndulgence, January 13, 2010
Nabokov and the Russian team could very easily win the gold this year. If Nabokov is even somewhat on, they have the offense (especially on the top two lines) to go all the way.

Let's just hope Nabokov takes what he learns in the Olympics, and applies it to taking the Sharks to the SCF!

Write comment

busy
< Prev   Next >
 

Your Humble Narrators

CTGray: Founder/Artist/Game Day Correspondent

PrincessMinako: Founder/Picture Girl/Resident Procrastinator

Afropuff: Canadian Correspondent/Race Relations


About Bloguin

Bloguin is the revolutionary blog network specifically focused on helping bloggers get the most out of their websites. We're currently working on building a large network of online communities and hope to expand our blogging coverage to include a wide range of topics.

Advertisers

The Bloguin Network allows advertisers to promote their products and services to our ever-growing number of visitors. We offer both site-specific ad placements as well as the ability to run a network-wide campaign. If you're interested in working with Bloguin to meet your advertising needs, please contact us.

Bloggers Wanted

The Bloguin Network is always looking to expand. We're specifically looking for blogs in the sports, entertainment, and video games field, but are open to adding any type of quality site. If you're a blogger and interested in joining our network, please fill out our application form.

The Bloguin Login

The Bloguin Login gives you full access to everything our network has to offer. Your name and password will work for each and every one of our sites. Signing up is simple, and will allow you to post in all our forums, create member blogs, and access other cool features! What are you waiting for? Create an Account!