Joe Will
Assistant General Manager

Joe Will, 48, begins his second season as assistant general manager following seven seasons as the team’s director of hockey operations. Will has been a member of the Sharks organization since its inception in July 1990, also previously serving as scouting coordinator and assistant to the general manager.

Will works closely with Executive Vice President and General Manager Doug Wilson on all daily departmental functions and his primary responsibilities include contract research and negotiations, scouting operations, fiscal planning, salary cap analysis and hockey administration. He’s the lead coordinator and planner for the
Sharks training camp scouting meetings and scouting conference calls each season.

One of his most important duties involves the tracking, analyzing and projecting of the team’s player payroll relative to the current and future National Hockey League salary cap to give the team the financial flexibility to ice a championship-caliber team each season.

Will also works with the organization's professional scouts and management team in player research for expansion, waivers, free agency and trades. His expert analysis of economic trends in the NHL has led to the Sharks acquisition and retention of several key veteran players over his time with the club.

The Bloomington, Minn. native also works with Director of Scouting Tim Burke in the development and implementation of draft prospect testing, draft table operations and computer scouting analysis. Will is an integral part of the team’s draft-day strategy. Without his coordinating efforts, the team would not have drafted 2001 Calder Memorial Trophy winner Evgeni Nabokov in 1994. In addition, he developed the Sharks computer scouting program that pioneered the advent of scouting programs used throughout the NHL.
Before joining San Jose, Will spent six years in the Minnesota North Stars organization in various capacities.