Ward after first Stanley Cup
When the San Jose Sharks and Pittsburgh Penguins engage in tonight’s Game 1 of the National Hockey League’s Stanley Cup Final, Sharks’ forward Joel Ward will be looking to join a very small club of Owen Sound Platers/Attack alumni.
Ward, who played for Owen Sound for four years from 1997-2001, will be playing for his first career Stanley Cup, and is poised to join Kirk Maltby, Brad Richardson, Trevor Lewis, and Andrew Shaw as Attack/Platers alumni to have captured Lord Stanley’s Grail.
A victory for the Sharks, which would be their first Stanley Cup in franchise history, and would mark the 10th Cup captured by a player who has worn the black and red of the Bayshore Boys.
Ward and San Jose have made their way to the NHL’s championship series by dispatching three squads in an extremely tough Western Conference after series wins over Los Angeles, Nashville, and St. Louis.
In the Sharks’ five game first round series against the Kings, Ward tallied four assists before scoring twice and adding a single helper in the team’s seven game victory over Nashville. He then exploded for four goals over the final two games of San Jose’s win over St. Louis to power the Sharks into the Cup Final and give him 11 points in 18 playoff games.
The 2016 Stanley Cup Final will kick off at 8:00pm tonight, with a full schedule available here.
A full list of Stanley Cup Champions that played in Owen Sound can be found below.
Kirk Maltby, Detroit Red Wings – 1997, 1998, 2002, 2008
Brad Richardson, Los Angeles Kings – 2012
Trevor Lewis, Los Angeles Kings – 2012, 2014
Andrew Shaw, Chicago Blackhawks – 2013, 2015
