Nine players throughout the San Jose Sharks’ history have worn the number 33. Currently though, it belongs to backup goaltender Alex Nedeljkovic, who is about to enter his second season as a member of the Sharks.
The 37th overall selection in the 2014 NHL Draft by the Carolina Hurricanes, Nedeljkovic was a fairly highly-touted prospect early in his career. It took him quite a while to finally reach the NHL, but he made a major impact during the 2020-21 season, his final campaign in the Hurricanes organization, and earned himself consideration for the Calder Trophy alongside Kirill Kaprizov and Jason Robertson. Ultimately, Kaprizov took home the award, but Nedeljkovic seemed to be on a path to stardom.
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While many bought into the hype around Nedeljkovic, the Hurricanes didn’t and they traded him to the Detroit Red Wings. He struggled to regain his prior form in Detroit and seemed like a completely different goaltender. After just two seasons, the Red Wings opted to let Nedeljkovic leave the organization, and he signed with the Pittsburgh Penguins for the 2023-24 campaign.
While Nedeljkovic wasn’t great during his first season in Pittsburgh, he was on par with the Penguins’ other netminder, Tristan Jarry and as a result, he earned a two-year contract extension. After his play dropped even further during his second season in Pittsburgh, he was traded to the San Jose Sharks, where he remains today.
Despite disappointing counting stats during the 2025-26 season, Nedeljkovic was often more reliable than Yaroslav Askarov and as a result, Ryan Warsofsky showed quite a bit of trust in the veteran. The Parma, Ohio native earned himself another two-year contract with the Sharks and is set to start the 2026-27 season behind the aforementioned Askarov.
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