After all, Shields was actually injured when he was forced to miss action earlier this year, and no one is saying his replacement, rookie Evgeni Nabokov, will be between the Sharks pipes for the next decade and a half.

Then again, no one is saying he won't.

Nabokov, a 25-year-old native of Kazakhstan, has been nothing short of sensational in his first full NHL season, taking the No. 1 job away from the veteran Shields while leading the Sharks to the top of the tough Pacific Division standings.

Evgeni Nabokov has become the leading candidate for the Calder Trophy.(AP)

He has won 15 times and recorded three ties in his first 22 decisions, giving up more than two goals in only four games. Nabokov ranks among the league leaders with a 1.86 goals-against average and a .931 save percentage and owns the Rookie of the Month award for November after finishing as a runner-up in the voting for October.

His coach, Darryl Sutter says that Nabokov has been the team's best player so far this year.

"I'm pretty happy about the way things are going," Nabokov told SportsLine.com in his heavily accented English. "This is the first time I'm getting to play this many games so I'm just trying to show what I can do."

His demonstrations have certainly has been impressive, particularly to those who believe he came out of nowhere. By hockey standards, he did.

Nabokov became eligible for the NHL Entry Draft in 1994, but was overlooked until the Sharks used a ninth-round throwaway pick to make him the 219th player selected. No one from the San Jose staff had actually seen him play at that point -- the breakup of the former Soviet Union had kept him out of international play for the two previous seasons -- but on the advice of one of their Russian scouts, who knew that Nabokov's father had once been a goaltender, they took a flyer.

"It was more luck than anything else," admitted San Jose scouting coordinator Joe Will. "Anybody who says they meant to hit on a guy in the ninth round is only fooling himself. It doesn't happen."

Which probably explains why Nabokov was less than overwhelmed to learn he was drafted.

"Nobody from the Sharks called me, but I found out that I got drafted by reading the newspaper a couple of days later," said Nabokov. "I didn't think about it too much because I was drafted in the ninth round and I thought, you know, whatever. It's not such a big deal.

"Besides, I had just signed a contract with Dynamo Moscow (a first-division Russian League team). That was kind of a dream for me."

Nabokov spent the next two seasons starring for Dynamo and essentially being forgotten by the Sharks. That changed in early 1997 when a couple of San Jose representatives saw him during a tournament in Finland, which they were attending to check up on some of their other prospects.

The Sharks were impressed and offered him a contract, but Nabokov hesitated before accepting.

"Moving to America was a big step," he said. "I didn't know anything about American hockey or the business stuff."

Nabokov learned quickly, according to Warren Strelow, the Sharks goaltending coach, but it wasn't easy.

"First of all, he didn't speak the language, and he had to play on a rink that was a lot smaller than he was used to with guys taking shots from all angles," he said. "A lot of it took him by surprise."

Nabokov struggled during his first year as a pro with Kentucky of the AHL going 10-21-2 and allowing nearly four goals a game, but Strelow blamed the difficulties on the infrequency of his starting assignments as much on the adjustments he had to make. He went 26-14-1 and dropped his GAA by nearly a goal and a half during the following season with Kentucky when Strelow said his natural talent and his intuition took over.

"He reads rushes very well and he's very intelligent about what's happening in front of him," Strelow said. "There's not much adventure in his game, he's patient and he lets the puck come to him. He's very, very good fundamentally."

Which is why San Jose felt comfortable enough to trade away veteran goaltender Mike Vernon midway through last season, which began with Nabokov splitting his time between Kentucky and Cleveland of the IHL. The Sharks promoted Nabokov as a result, believing he could serve as an adequate backup while Shields carried the bulk of the load.

The youngster didn't cause any second-guessing when he made his NHL debut last January against Patrick Roy and the Colorado Avalanche. Nabokov made 39 saves and fought the goaltending legend to a 0-0 draw.

"That was my best hockey memory so far, but I don't think about it too much because I can't afford to," Nabokov said. "You just have to be consistent in this league and focus on what's ahead of you. You have to make every chance you get count. That's all I'm trying to do."