Patrick Marleau

Marleau won gold medals with Canada at the 2010 and 2014 Winter Olympics. Marleau, one of the most important players of the Sharks for nearly 20 seasons, is one of the fastest skaters in the NHL and exhibits a high standard of playing ability combined with gentlemanly conduct. This has earned him two nominations for the Lady Byng Memorial Trophy and has made him a popular player both among fans and his professional peers. Marleau holds the distinction of playing the most NHL games without winning the Stanley Cup, an active streak as of the end of the 2018–19 season.\n', ' Marleau was born in Swift Current, Saskatchewan to parents Denis and Jeanette Marleau and grew up on his family farm near Aneroid, Saskatchewan. There is a sign off Highway 13 just outside Aneroid indicating that Aneroid is Marleau\'s hometown. His parents have said they knew Marleau had a special talent when he was playing with 16- and 17-year-old players as a 14-year-old at the 1995 Canada Games in Grande Prairie and was interviewed by Hockey Night in Canada reporter Scott Oake.[citation needed]\n', ' 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 scoring 32 goals and 74 points, leading his team to a playoff loss to the defending Memorial Cup champions, the Kamloops Blazers, featuring future NHL star Jarome Iginla. The series ended 4–1, but Seattle took three of the losses to overtime before the Blazers won.\n', '