New Catch : Joe Callahan!
July 17, 2009
New Catch: JOE CALLAHAN
Meet one of the newest members of the Sharks franchise, defenseman Joe Callahan, who was recently signed to a one-year contract with the team! SharksAHL.com will dive into the newest members of the Sharks all summer long.
Callahan had the best season of his career last year in the New York Islanders organization as he played his first 18 games in the NHL. Joe is expected to battle for a spot in San Jose next season as he adds great depth on the blue line in the Sharks organization. Read below to find out more about one of the newest members of the Sharks organization!
This local, Brockton-native played three seasons with Yale University (ECAC), appearing in every game as a freshman during the 2001-02 season. In 2002-03, he ranked second out of Yale’s defenseman scoring 13 points. During the 2003-04 season, Callahan scored a collegiate-career high six goals to go along with 14 assists, progressing his point total in each year at Yale. During the 94 games he played with Yale, he recorded 9 goals and 33 assists, with a total of 44 points. He majored in political science.
The six-foot-three, 220-pound local was originally selected by Phoenix in the 2002 NHL Entry Draft (3rd round, 70th overall) following the three seasons with Yale. He continued the 2003-04 by making his AHL debut, playing in 13 games for the Springfield Falcons notching four assists for the year.
The following 2004-05 season, Callahan appeared with the AHL’s Utah Grizzlies, scoring an AHL-career high four goals along with seven assists. The San Antonio Rampage acquired the defenseman the subsequent 2005-06 season, where he played in all 80 games, chipping in one goal along with five assists. This first goal with the Rampage was scored on 4/11 at Peoria. He had 88 penalty minutes, averaged over a minute per game, his highest total during his professional career. Callahan continued with the Rampage the next season, skating in 78 games.
During 2007-08, he signed with the Portland Pirates, scoring one goal and 23 assists, ranking third of the team’s defenseman in scoring with 24 points, helping Portland to an Atlantic Division Championship.
The New York Islanders signed him on July 8, 2008. Callahan, 26, made his NHL debut in 2008-09 appearing in 18 games with the New York Islanders posting two assists (0-2-2) and four penalty minutes. He skated his first game against Philadelphia on 12/9. His first NHL point was acquired on 3/2 with an assist against Colorado. He was recalled from Bridgeport (AHL) seven times over the course of the season and posted 13 points (4-9-13) in 56 games with the Sound Tigers.
He has appeared in 367 career American Hockey League games posting 72 points (11-61-72) and 328 penalty minutes. Between Portland and Bridgeport, Callahan has played in 23 AHL playoff games, scoring 2 goals, 13 assists, and totaling 29 PIM. His first playoff goal was recorded with Portland on 5/6/08 against Providence.
The Sharks are eager entering the 2009-2010 season with Callahan. “Joe is a poised defenseman that is a good puck mover,” said San Jose Sharks Executive Vice President and General Manager Doug Wilson. “He is an experienced professional that brings a great deal of competitiveness to our organization.”
 
Joe Callahan Stats:
Defense
Born Dec 20 1982 -- Brockton, MA
Height 6.03 -- Weight 221 -- Shoots R
Selected by Phoenix Coyotes round 3 #70 overall 2002 NHL Entry Draft
--- Regular Season --- ---- Playoffs ----
Season Team Lge GP G A Pts PIM GP G A Pts PIM
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
2001-02 Yale University NCAA 31 3 8 11 20
2002-03 Yale University NCAA 32 2 11 13 38
2003-04 Yale University NCAA 31 6 14 20 38
2003-04 Springfield Falcons AHL 13 0 4 4 12 -- -- -- -- --
2004-05 Utah Grizzlies AHL 75 4 7 11 66 -- -- -- -- --
2005-06 San Antonio Rampage AHL 80 1 5 6 88 -- -- -- -- --
2006-07 San Antonio Rampage AHL 78 1 13 14 65 -- -- -- -- --
2007-08 Portland Pirates AHL 65 1 23 24 59 18 1 11 12 25
2008-09 Bridgeport Sound Tigers AHL 56 4 9 13 38 5 1 2 3 4
2008-09 New York Islanders NHL 18 0 2 2 4 -- -- -- -- --
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
NHL Totals 18 0 2 2 4
|
