San Jose >> Joe Thornton left an unforgettable mark on the city of San Jose during a 15-year run as the Sharks’ best and most recognizable player. Now he has attained hockey immortality.

Thornton, in his first year of eligibility, was elected to the Hockey Hall of Fame on Tuesday, becoming the first player who spent the majority of his NHL career with the Sharks to be given the sport’s highest individual honor.

“Holy doodle, holy doodle, boys,” Thornton said when reached by phone on Tuesday by two previous first-ballot Hall of Famers: Ron Francis, the Chair of the Hockey Hall of Fame Selection Committee, and Lanny McDonald, the Hall’s chairman of the board. “Oh my god. I’m shaking. Thanks boys. Holy moly.

“I appreciate you guys so much. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. What a tremendous honor. I don’t know what to say. This is incredible.”

Also elected in the Players’ Category were Duncan Keith, Zdeno Chára, Alexander Mogilny, Jennifer Botterill, and Brianna Decker. In the Builders’ Category, Jack Parker and Danièle Sauvageau received the necessary votes.

The Boston Bruins selected Thornton with the first overall pick in the 1997 draft, and the St. Thomas, Ontario, Canada, native became one of the game’s greatest playmakers and personalities of his era. Thornton debuted in the NHL at the age of 18 — his arrival was delayed a few months by a broken arm — and played 24 NHL seasons until his last game in 2022. Thornton officially retired as a player in Oct. 2023.

Thornton, 45, is sixth on the league’s all-time list with 1,174 games played and is 14th with 1,539 career points. Thornton, known as one of the NHL’s premier passers, is seventh all-time with 1,109 assists.

The majority of those statistics, and several of Thornton’s most enduring memories, came with the Sharks. They acquired the 6-foot-4, 220-pound centerman, nicknamed “Jumbo,” from the Bruins on Nov. 30, 2005 and he became the franchise’s first true superstar. Thornton never hoisted the Stanley Cup with the Sharks, but immediately helped San Jose become one of the NHL’s most successful franchises, on and off the ice.

Thornton ranks first in assists (804), points per game (0.96), power-play points (402), and plus-minus (+161) in Sharks history. He is second all-time in points (1,055) and even-strength points (645), third in games played (1,104), and fourth in goals (251). He also served as the team’s captain from 2010 to 2014.

Thornton is the ninth individual who played with the Sharks to be elected to the Hall, joining Ed Belfour, Rob Blake, Igor Larionov, Sergei Makarov, Jeremy Roenick, Teemu Selänne, Mike Vernon, and Doug Wilson. But he is the first who spent the majority of his career in San Jose.

“He meant the world to (San Jose),” Sharks general manager Mike Grier said Tuesday before the selections were announced. “He changed the franchise here. Him coming here changed everything and brought a little belief in the fan base that we’re going to have a chance to win every single year.”

In 2005-06, Thornton captured the Hart Trophy as MVP and Art Ross Trophy as the league’s scoring leader. Thornton was also a four-time All-Star and an Olympic gold medalist for Canada in 2010. He also helped Canada capture gold at the World Cup of Hockey in 2004 and 2016.

“I knew how good of a player he was, but it wasn’t until I got to play with him at the Olympics that I realized just what a great teammate he is,” said Keith, who starred on Canada’s 2010 Olympic team, which faced enormous expectations. “Just such a personable guy, and definitely made sure myself and some of the other younger players felt comfortable and relaxed.”

With Thornton, San Jose missed the playoffs just once from 2005 and 2019, advancing to the Cup Final in 2016 and also reaching the Western Conference finals in 2010, 2011, and 2019.

From Dec. 1, 2005 to March 11, 2020 — Thornton’s last game with the team — the Sharks had the NHL’s best regular season record at 659-376-125. During those 15 years, sellout crowds at SAP Center were the norm.

In an elaborate ceremony inside the downtown arena last November, Thornton, before a sellout crowd of 17,435, had his No. 19 raised to the rafters, where it hangs next to Patrick Marleau’s No. 12, which was retired in 2023.

“He’s probably the most recognizable figure in San Jose still to this day,” Grier said. “His outgoing demeanor and personality and his love of life and hockey kind of transformed the city a little bit and transformed the Sharks for sure.”

Still looking to win his first Cup, Thornton, at the age of 41, left the Sharks in 2020 as the franchise began to rebuild. He signed a one-year contract with the Toronto Maple Leafs, who lost in the first round of the 2021 playoffs, and then a one-year deal with the Florida Panthers, who lost in the second round in 2022 in his final NHL season.

Thornton often is mentioned as one of the greatest NHL players never to win the Stanley Cup. That group includes forwards Marcel Dionne, Eric Lindros, Pavel Bure, Jarome Iginla and goalie Henrik Lundqvist.

Thornton will take his rightful place in the Hall along with those legends when the induction ceremony is held on Nov. 10 in Toronto.

Thornton and others were selected by an 18-member committee, a group comprised of executives, media representatives, and former players and coaches. Committee members can nominate no more than one individual in the Player Category, the Builder Category, and the Referee or Linesman Category. Nominees needed to be submitted by April 15.

From that pool of nominees, the committee can select a maximum of four male players, two female players, two builders, or one builder and one referee or linesman. All nominated candidates needed to receive at least 14 votes (75%) to be elected.

Marleau, the Sharks’ all-time leading scorer with 1,111 points and NHL’s all-time leader in games played with 1,779, was in his second year of eligibility. Marleau is 25th all-time with 566 career goals, and 53rd all-time with 1,197 points. He played 21 seasons with the Sharks, first from 1997 to 2017, and another 114 games between 2019 and 2021.