Part 2 of Jason Demers' interview with Logan Couture will debut on “Sharks Pregame Live” Wednesday, Jan 31. on NBC Sports California
As Sharks captain Logan Couture makes his way back into the lineup after a long layoff, he’s reflecting on his NHL career and his beginnings in the San Jose organization.
Couture recently sat down with former Sharks teammate and current NBC Sports California analyst Jason Demers to talk about his return to the ice and early playing days.
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When asked how he first established himself on the Sharks after his callup from the Worcester Sharks in the spring of 2009, Couture explained that he was just trying to do his job and stay out of the way.
“I remember the first five, six games after I got called up, I was just like, ‘Don’t be seen, don’t be noticed, just go out and quietly play your five, six minutes and try to help the team, don’t mess up,’ because the team was so good,” Couture told Demers. “They were winning every night, although we were winning in Worcester, and we had a good team and were playing well.
“It was just, ‘Don’t be seen and noticed,’ and then the call-up continued into March and I got moved up a line into the third line and took on a bigger role. I had a decent playoff run and I remember a couple of goals, I played with Jumbo [Joe Thornton] against Chicago, and that kind of snowballed into the next year where I had more of a role.”
Couture then went on to praise all the veteran players on the Sharks who helped him transition to the NHL, noting that he would not be the player he is today without their mentorship.
San Jose Sharks
“Jumbo, Patrick Marleau, Ryan Clowe, Dan Boyle, Rob Blake, Scott Nicholls, Manny Malhotra, Torey Mitchell, Evgeni Nabokov, Dany Heatley," Couture continued. "There’s so many guys that I tried to pick one thing up from all those guys. And I definitely wouldn’t be playing right now if I didn’t have those guys to help me out along the way.”
The Sharks captain had missed most of the 2023-24 NHL season dealing with osteitis pubis, but recently made his return to the ice. San Jose is hoping that the 15-year NHL veteran can add some much-needed stability to a lineup that is desperately searching for it in what has been a disappointing start to the season.
Couture has played his entire career with the Sharks, becoming a key component of the most successful period in franchise history, which included the team’s only appearance in the Stanley Cup Finals in 2016.