Former Sharks forward Joel Ward announces retirement

Joel Ward, who played 10-plus seasons in the NHL, including three with the San Jose Sharks, officially announces retirement

SAN JOSE — Joel Ward’s playing career was a study in perseverance. Undrafted as a junior hockey player in Ontario, Ward went on to play four years of university hockey in Canada and over a year in the minor leagues before he made his NHL debut in Dec. 2006 at the age of 26.

Ward, who went on to play 10-plus seasons in the NHL, including three with the Sharks from 2015-2018, officially announced his retirement Monday in an article he wrote for The Players Tribune titled “726,” reflecting the number of games he played in the league.

Ward wrote, “I know I didn’t play the last two years, but I tried. I did. I wish I could have gone out in a bit of a different way. But, you know, just thinking about it all — all 726 games — I realized something. Who am I to wish for any more time? I got what I wanted. I’m one of the lucky ones.”

Ward wrote how fatherhood has changed his perspective following his playing career. His son, Robinson, was born a little more than a year ago in the South Bay, where he and his wife, Kathleen, still have a home.

“When I saw my son during my wife’s ultrasound over a year ago, I couldn’t wait to tell him those stories,” Ward wrote. “That’s, I think, what made me ready to call it a career. I just wanted to be a dad.”

Ward, 39, signed a three-year contract with San Jose as a free agent in 2015. He, along with defenseman Paul Martin and goalie Martin Jones, other players also acquired by general manager Doug Wilson that offseason, helped the Sharks reach the Stanley Cup Final for the first time in 2016.

Playing a top nine forward role, Ward, at age 35, scored 21 goals and had 43 points in his first season with the Sharks, the second-highest totals of his career after he had 24 goals and 49 points in 2013-14 with the Washington Capitals.

Ward played 209 regular season games with the Sharks and 30 playoff games.

In his article, Ward detailed how well he meshed with the Sharks, saying, “I miss that group so much already. I miss how much fun it was to come to the rink every day. That’s what separates San Jose from anywhere else. The atmosphere in that locker room, it’s remarkable. Every day was a blessing there. Patty, Pavs, Jumbo, Burnzy — those guys set the culture and everyone followed. I’m thankful to that organization for the opportunity to have played there, to have been a part of it all.”

Ward’s route to the NHL was unconventional, to say the least.

A Toronto native, Ward played four seasons with Owen Sound of the OHL before he attended the University of Prince Edward Island. He played Canadian university hockey for four more years and turned professional when he was 25.

Ward signed a contract with Florida Everblades of ECHL but was signed shortly afterward to a professional tryout by the Houston Aeros of the AHL. He made his NHL debut on Dec. 16, 2016, and noted in the Players’ Tribune article that it came against the Vancouver Canucks and Daniel and Henrik Sedin. In 1999, Ward and his mother attended the NHL Draft in Boston and saw the Sedin twins taken second and third overall.

Ward became an NHL regular in 2008 and spent three years with the Nashville Predators, helping the team win its first ever playoff series in 2011. He had three goals and two assists in the Predators’ six-game series win over Anaheim in the first round.

Ward then signed with Washington in the summer of 2011, and added to his reputation as a clutch playoff performer. In Game 7 of the Capitals’ first round series with the defending Cup champion Boston Bruins, Ward scored the overtime winner to lift seventh-seeded Washington past No. 2 Boston.

Ward had 52 points in 83 career playoff games. In the Sharks’ run to the Cup final in 2016, Ward had seven goals and six assists in 24 games.

Ward took part in an exhibition game between Sharks’ alumni and members of the PWHPA bat the team’s Fan Fest at SAP Center in September 2019. After the game, outside one of the dressing rooms at the arena, Ward held his son in his arms. Ward wrote that it was important to him that his son be present for a game when he was on the ice.

“It was a really emotional day,” Ward wrote. “I took a photo with Robinson. He didn’t know exactly what was happening, but he will someday. And I hope it means as much to him as it did to me.”