The Week That Was – Alumni Edition
Each week, CHL.ca goes coast to coast to highlight the top stories from around the league.
Marleau’s major accomplishment
Patrick Marleau has taken command of one of hockey’s most revered records.
Skating in his 1,768th NHL contest on Monday, the San Jose Sharks forward and Seattle Thunderbirds graduate became the league’s all-time record holder for career games played, surpassing the legendary Gordie Howe.
“To be merely mentioned in the same sentence as Gordie Howe is an achievement most hockey players can only dream about,” NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman said in a statement. “To break one of his records is historic.”
Playing two seasons with the Thunderbirds from 1995-97, Marleau amassed 83 goals and 116 assists for 199 points over 143 games, highlighted by his second year with Seattle in which he finished with 125 points, good for third in league-wide scoring and just nine points shy of top spot. That performance also ultimately helped him earn a position on the CHL Second All-Star Team.
Congratulations to @SeattleTbirds & CHL Alumni Patrick Marleau on his 1,768th career NHL game.
What an outstanding accomplishment! 👏 pic.twitter.com/6TLINBGmaw
— Canadian Hockey League (@CHLHockey) April 20, 2021
Later selected second overall by San Jose in the 1997 NHL Draft, Marleau went on to play a decorated 23-season career with the Sharks, Toronto Maple Leafs, and Pittsburgh Penguins. On the international stage, the native of Aneroid, Sask., represented the Great White North on several occasions, with his list of accolades including Winter Olympic Gold in 2010 and 2014.
With the Sharks, beyond games played, Marleau stands as the franchise’s record holder in several major categories, including goals (522) and points (1,110). Additionally, his 1,196 total career points rank 50th all-time in NHL scoring.
“I want to be looked upon when I am gone that I gave it my all,” reflected Marleau, per the Associated Press. “Enjoyed the game, loved the game, loved being around the team, loved winning games. Those are the biggest things.”
In all, the 41-year-old Marleau is one of six CHL graduates who rank in the top-10 of NHL all-time games played, a group which also includes Ron Francis (Soo Greyhounds), Joe Thornton (Soo Greyhounds), Mark Recchi (Kamloops Blazers), Dave Andreychuk (Oshawa Generals), and Scott Stevens (Kitchener Rangers).
Luongo set to lead Canada
Roberto Luongo is getting his shot in the general manager’s chair.
Announced Monday, the Acadie-Bathurst Titan graduate has been tabbed with piecing together the Team Canada rendition that will compete at the upcoming IIHF World Championship in Latvia.
“Hockey Canada is excited to have Roberto lead our management group and to continue to work with our entire Olympic management team as we continue to prepare for the 2022 Olympics,” Hockey Canada CEO Tom Renney said in a statement.
Retiring from the NHL in 2019, Luongo has spent the past two seasons learning the management side in serving as special assistant to the general manager with the Florida Panthers, the same franchise with which he spent much of his playing career save for a seven-and-a-half year run with the Vancouver Canucks from 2006-14 in addition to his initial start with the New York Islanders. In all, Luongo’s illustrious career counted 19 seasons and 1,044 games played – the second most all-time by a goaltender.
A pair of #IIHFWorlds gold medallists will help build Team 🇨🇦 in 2021.
Roberto Luongo has been named general manager of Canada's National Men's Team, working alongside assistant GM Shane Doan.
— Hockey Canada (@HockeyCanada) April 20, 2021
In the junior ranks, Luongo split four seasons with the Val-d’Or Foreurs as well as the Titan from 1995-99, making back-to-back Memorial Cup appearances in 1998 and 1999 after guiding each club, respectively, to the President’s Cup as QMJHL playoff champions.
On the ice, the 42-year-old Montreal native has been a frequent representative of Canada in international competition, most notably at the 2010 Winter Olympics on home soil in Vancouver when the Canadians topped the Americans in overtime to capture the gold medal.
Additionally, joining Luongo as part of Canada’s management group is former Arizona Coyotes captain and Kamloops Blazers graduate Shane Doan, who will serve as assistant general manager. Earlier this year, the Halkirk, Alta., native joined the Coyotes’ front office as its newly created chief hockey development officer. Since 2007, Doan has also been a co-owner of the Blazers.
The 2021 World Championship is set to begin May 21, with Canada’s preliminary schedule opening against host Latvia before later facing Finland, Germany, Kazakhstan, Norway, and the United States. Canada has finished first place 26 times in tournament history, most recently in 2016.
Robertson shining with Stars
Jason Robertson has needed little time to find his fit with the Dallas Stars.
Skating in his first full season with the Texas-based club, the one-time CHL Top Scorer is making his mark with the Stars and is once again hearing his name mentioned for end-of-year honours as a strong candidate for Calder Trophy consideration as the NHL’s Rookie of the Year.
Getting a three-game trial with the Stars last season followed by a roster spot as part of the NHL playoff bubble, Robertson used those opportunities to help him cement a role this year.
“I was in the bubble for 66 days, as long as any team in the NHL when we made it to the Final,” Robertson told the Dallas Morning News. “Unfortunately, I did not get any playing time, but I was there in every meeting, every session with all the players so I was kind of getting a first-hand look at how fast the NHL is.”
That's 33 points on the season for rookie Jason Robertson 🔥 pic.twitter.com/boPATb4veu
— Dallas Stars (@DallasStars) April 20, 2021
This season, Robertson sits third in Stars team scoring with 14 goals and 21 assists through 40 appearances – including at least one point in each of his past five outings. In all, Robertson is producing at a near point-per-game clip and ranks second in scoring among freshmen league-wide, just two points back of Minnesota’s Kirill Kaprizov. Robertson has also been particularly effective at even strength, with all but three of his points coming at five-on-five, while he also leads all first years with a plus-17 rating.
“Going into the offseason, my No. 1 goal was just making the roster,” Robertson added. “When I made the team in January is when my focus turned to being an impact player.
“That was not my expectation at the beginning of the year. I never would have thought I would have been this successful. It is not just an individual thing but my coaches put me in a position to succeed as well as my teammates, so I am just trying to make the best of my game.”
Splitting four seasons with the Kingston Frontenacs and Niagara IceDogs from 2015-19, Robertson collected 149 goals and 168 assists for 317 points across 252 career contests, underscored by a 117-point final campaign in which he outscored all CHL talents from coast to coast and earned a spot on the OHL First All-Star Team.