Born	September 15, 1979 (1979-09-15) (age 30), Swift Current, SK, CAN[1]
Height Weight	6 ft 2 in (1.88 m) 220 lb (100 kg; 15 st 10 lb)
Position	Centre / left wing
Shoots	Left
NHL team	San Jose Sharks
Ntl. team	Canada
NHL Draft	2nd overall, 1997 San Jose Sharks
Pro career	1997 – present

Patrick Denis Marleau (born September 15, 1979 in Swift Current, Saskatchewan) is a Canadian professional ice hockey player for the San Jose Sharks of the National Hockey League. Marleau is the all-time Sharks leader in points and has played his entire NHL career with the Sharks since being drafted second overall in the 1997 NHL Entry Draft.

[edit] Early years

Patrick grew up on his family farm near Aneroid, Saskatchewan.^{[citation needed]} Most media guides incorrectly list his birthplace as Aneroid instead of Swift Current (Aneroid does not have a hospital).^{[citation needed]}

[edit] Playing career

[edit] Junior career

Patrick Marleau's junior hockey career took him to the Seattle Thunderbirds of the Western Hockey League (WHL) where he played two seasons. In his rookie campaign in 1995–96, Marleau exploded onto the scene in Seattle tallying 32 goals and 74 points, leading his team to a playoff loss to the defending Memorial Cup champion Kamloops Blazers featuring future NHL star Jarome Iginla. The series ended 4-1, but Seattle took 3 of the losses to overtime before the Blazers won.

During the 1996–97 season, Marleau was named captain of the Thunderbirds and led them to a second place finish, behind the Portland Winter Hawks, in the Western Conference during the regular season. Marleau improved to 51 goals and 125 points, finishing top-three in the league in both categories. In the playoffs, Marleau led the Thunderbirds to the club's first and, thus far, only Western Conference Championship before the team bowed out in the WHL Finals to the eventual Memorial Cup champion Lethbridge Hurricanes in four games. Marleau finished second in the WHL's Player of the Year voting, losing to Peter Schaefer of the Brandon Wheat Kings.

[edit] San Jose Sharks

Patrick Marleau in warmups on March 28, 2008

Following his second year of major junior, he was drafted second overall by the San Jose Sharks in the 1997 NHL Entry Draft, behind current teammate Joe Thornton, who was selected by the Boston Bruins. Although he struggled early in his career, Marleau learned to combine his excellent offensive talents with defensive prowess from former Sharks head coach Darryl Sutter.

With the departure of five-year captain Owen Nolan following the 2002–03 season, the Sharks employed a rotating captaincy for the first half of the 2003–04 NHL season, seeing Mike Ricci, Vincent Damphousse and Alyn McCauley wear the 'C' before the captaincy was permanently awarded to Marleau at the mid-way part of the season. When coach Ron Wilson initially rotated the captaincy to Marleau, previous captain Alyn McCauley advised him to leave it with Marleau.^{[citation needed]} The new captain went on to match his previous personal high of 57 points from 2002–03.

Due to the NHL lockout, Marleau was inactive during the 2004–05 season, but returned in 2005–06 having just signed a new three-year US$12.5 million contract in August 2005, with a breakout season, becoming a point-per-game player with career-highs of 34 goals, 52 assists and 86 points in 82 games. New rule changes implemented by the NHL at the start of the first season back from the lockout that emphasized speed may have contributed to Marleau's successful campaign. In a game against the Colorado Avalanche on March 19, 2006, Marleau scored 2 goals to acquired his 400th career point,^[2] edging him closer to Owen Nolan's franchise mark of 451 points. Near the halfway point of the season, the Sharks also acquired superstar Joe Thornton from the Boston Bruins. The Sharks quickly became considered a contender, but was upset by the eighth-seeded Edmonton Oilers in the second round. At the end of the season, Marleau was voted one of three finalists for the Lady Byng Trophy, awarded to the most gentlemanly player, but lost out to Pavel Datsyuk of the Detroit Red Wings.

In 2006–07, Marleau passed Owen Nolan's franchise marks for goals, assists and points all within a few weeks. On January 4, 2007, he passed Nolan's 451-point mark with a goal and three assists in a win against the Detroit Red Wings.^[3] He then scored his 207th goal a week later on January 11 in a win against the Los Angeles Kings.^[4] Marleau continued at a point-per-game pace on the season with 78 points in 77 games, ranking second on the team in each category. In January 2007, Marleau played in his second NHL All-Star Game and scored a goal. With high expectations for the playoffs, the Sharks were, however, eliminated by the Detroit Red Wings in the second round in six games. In the off-season, Marleau signed a two-year contract extension worth $12.6 million in August 2007, keeping him with the Sharks until the end of the 2009–10 season.^[5]

The following season, Marleau reached the 500-point mark for his career against the Phoenix Coyotes on November 14, 2007. His production for the season, however, dipped to just 48 points, his lowest total since the 2001–02 season. In the playoffs, Marleau became the first NHL player since Brett Hull in 2002 to score shorthanded goals on consecutive days in the playoffs when he scored back-to-back shorthanded markers in game three and four of the Western Conference Semifinal against the Dallas Stars. Despite his efforts, which included 8 points in 13 games total for the post-season, the Sharks were eliminated in the second round for the third consecutive year.

In the midst of a rejuvenated year for Marleau, overcoming his previous season's dismal offensive output, he was selected to the 2009 NHL All-Star Game in Montreal, replacing the injured Pavel Datsyuk.^[6]

In the summer of 2009, Marleau was stripped of his captaincy by Coach Todd McLellan.^[7] Rob Blake was named captain on 30 September, 2009. Later in the year, while Blake was injured, Marleau was promoted to alternative captain, joining Joe Thornton and Dan Boyle.

On November 27 2009, Marleau notched two goals against the Edmonton Oilers and completed the hat trick with a short-handed goal to tie the game at 4-4. The Sharks finished the game with a score of 5-4 in a shootout.

On December 1 2009, Marleau played in his 900th career game (all with the Sharks), and notched two goals in a 5-2 win over the Ottawa Senators.

On December 26, 2009, Marleau scored his 300th (and 301th) career goal in a 5-2 win over the Anaheim Ducks.

[edit] International play

Medal record
Competitor for  Canada
Ice hockey
World Championships
Silver	2005 Austria
Gold	2003 Finland
World Cup
Gold	2004 Canada

Marleau won a gold medal with Team Canada at the 2003 World Championships in Finland. Later, in the midst of the 2004–05 NHL lockout, Marleau joined Team Canada for two international tournaments, the 2004 World Cup, and the 2005 World Championships, capturing a World Cup title by defeating Finland in the final and a silver medal at the World Championships. In the summer following his silver-medal effort with Team Canada, he was invited to the national team's development camp for the 2006 Winter Olympics, but was omitted from the final roster.

[edit] Awards

• Named to the WHL West First All-Star team in 1997.
• Won a World Championships gold medal with Team Canada in 2003.
• Played in the NHL All-Star Game in 2004, 2007 and 2009.
• Named the San Jose Sharks player of the year in 2004 and 2009.^{[citation needed]}
• Won a World Cup championship with Team Canada in 2004.
• Named San Jose Mercury News South Bay Sportsperson of the Year in 2006.
• 2007 Lady Byng Trophy finalist
• 2008–09 President's Trophy (With San Jose Sharks)

[edit] Records

• San Jose Sharks' all-time leader in goals - 276 (as of 2008–09)
• San Jose Sharks' all-time leader in assists - 334 (as of 2008–09)
• San Jose Sharks' all-time leader in points - 610 (as of 2008–09)

[edit] Career statistics

[edit] See also

• Captain (hockey)

[edit] References

[edit] External links

• Patrick Marleau's NHL player profile
• Patrick Marleau's career stats at The Internet Hockey Database
• Patrick Marleau at TSN.ca
• Scouting report