Evgeni Nabokov

Evgeni Nabokov is a Russian goalie on the San Jose Sharks.

Nabokov was drafted by San Jose in 1994, but he did not make his NHL debut until 1999. In 2000, he earned the starting job, winning 32 games and posting a 2.19 GAA. He played for Metallurg Magnitogorsk during the lockout, and returned to the Sharks in 2005. Over the next few seasons, Nabokov underwent a very competitive battle for the starting job in net for the Sharks, against Finnish goalies Vesa Toskala and Mikka Kiprusoff. Eventually, the Sharks realized they could not keep all three top goalies, and Nabokov was chosen as their starter. In 2007-08, Nabokov rewarded the Sharks with a 46 win, 2.14 GAA season in which he started all but five games. In 2009, as of late March, he had not reached ten losses on the season.

Nabokov played for Kazakhstan at the 1994 World Juniors, and was then banned from playing with Team Russia until the 2006 Winter Olympics. He won his first gold medal at the 2008 World Championships.