Top 20 on the Islanders: #5 Evgeni Nabokov

Nabokov makes a save at side of net (Photo by Mike Stobe/NHLI via Getty Images)

          And then we were at the Top five current Islanders.  Starting us off at number five, on the top twenty list, is one of of the oldest players on the team.  At thirty six years old, this goalie is showing no signs of slowing down, as he continues to play at a high level.  The number five player on the Island is goaltender, Evgeni Nabokov.
          Nabokov, or as Islander fans know him "Nabby", was drafted in the ninth round (219th overall), by the San Jose Sharks, in the 1994 NHL Entry Draft.  He played nine seasons in San Jose until he was traded to Detroit.  He didn't play a game in a Detroit uniform and was subsequently put on waivers.  That's where the Islanders nabbed him, claiming him off waivers on January 22nd, 2011.  
          Nabokov started his hockey career in the AHL (American Hockey League), for a team called the Kentucky Thoroughblades.  While there he played in seventy-six games compiling a record of thirty-six wins, thirty-five losses, and three ties.  
          Nabokov then moved up and started playing in the NHL for the San Jose Sharks, where he had a stellar career.  With the Sharks, Nabokov played in five-hundred sixty-three games.  He compiled a record of two-hundred ninety-three wins and one-hundred seventy-eight losses.  In the 2000-2001 NHL season, Nabokov was awarded the Calder Trophy, which is awarded to the player selected as the most proficient in his first year of competition in the NHL.
          Nabokov then was brought on to play for the Islanders.  He was picked off waivers in early 2011, but Nabokov decided he wanted to play the rest of the year in Russia and not with the Islanders.  Though many fans shunned him for this decision, they now love him.
          In his first year with the team, Nabokov has made a major impact.  He's played in forty-one games compiling a record of eighteen wins, eighteen losses and three losses in overtime.  
          The biggest thing Nabokov has brought is stability to a position that has seen five different goalies play this year alone.  
          One of the best headlines Islanders fans have seen recently, was on March 21st, 2011.  It was on that day that the Islanders and Nabokov agreed on a one-year extension, and landed Nabokov back on the Island through next year.
          Even though he has been here a short time, Nabokov has become a leader on this team, and is a player who has experience getting to the playoffs.  That will be a key element for a team who will be looking to become a playoff team next year.