Joe Thornton

Infobox Ice Hockey Player

---

image_size = 200px
position = Centre
shoots = Left
height_ft = 6
height_in = 4
weight_lb = 235
team = San Jose Sharks
league = NHL
nationality = Canada
birth_date = birth date and age|1979|07|02
birth_place = London, ON, CAN
career_start = 1997
draft = 1st overall
draft_year = 1997
draft_team = Boston Bruins
former_teams = Boston Bruins

Joseph Eric Thornton (born July 2, 1979) is a professional ice hockey centre and an alternate captain for the San Jose Sharks of the National Hockey League. He was drafted by and played seven seasons for the Boston Bruins before being traded to San Jose. His on-ice vision, strength on the puck, deft passing ability, and power forward style of play have led to him becoming one of the league's premier top line centres.cite web|url=http://sports.espn.go.com/nhl/news/story?id=2242875 |title=ESPN - Thornton traded to Sharks for three players - NHL |publisher=Sports.espn.go.com |author=Associated Press |date= |accessdate=2008-09-27] For the 2005–2006 season Thornton was awarded the Hart Memorial Trophy for being the NHL's Most Valuable Player.

Playing career

Boston Bruins (1997 – 2005)

Drafted 1st overall in the 1997 NHL Entry Draft by the Boston Bruins, Thornton played six seasons for the Bruins, his best season coming in 2002–03 when he scored 101 points.cite web|url=http://www.legendsofhockey.net:8080/LegendsOfHockey/jsp/SearchPlayer.jsp?player=14853 |title=Legends of Hockey - NHL Player Search - Player - Joe Thornton |publisher=Legendsofhockey.net:8080 |date= |accessdate=2008-09-27]

During the 2004–05 NHL lockout, Thornton played for Hockey Club Davos on a line with fellow young Canadian star Rick Nash and Niklas Hagman, winning the Swiss ice hockey championship.cite web|url=http://hockeydraft.ca/players/joe-thornton.aspx |title=Joe Thornton |publisher=Hockeydraft.ca |date= |accessdate=2008-09-27]

an Jose Sharks (2005 - present)

2005–2006 season

After Thornton voiced his unhappiness with his contract in Boston in 2005, many teams reportedly sent offers to the Bruins.cite web|url=http://sports.espn.go.com/nhl/columns/story?id=2106450 |title=ESPN - What will the new NHL look like? - NHL |publisher=Sports.espn.go.com |author=Scott BurnsideSpecial to ESPN.com |date= |accessdate=2008-09-27] However, Thornton re-signed with the team on August 11, 2005, for a three year deal worth US$20.0 million. On November 30, 2005, Thornton was traded to the San Jose Sharks in a blockbuster four player deal, which sent forwards Marco Sturm and Wayne Primeau and defenceman Brad Stuart to Boston.cite web|url=http://sports.espn.go.com/nhl/news/story?id=2242875 |title=ESPN - Thornton traded to Sharks for three players - NHL |publisher=Sports.espn.go.com |author=Associated Press |date= |accessdate=2008-09-27] Thornton was the team's leading scorer at the time by a substantial margin and many felt that Bruins GM Mike O'Connell had dealt away one of the few players who was truly showing an exemplary effort.cite web|url=http://hockeycountry.blogspot.com/2005/12/mike-oconnell-is-retarded.html |title=Hockey Country: Mike O'Connell is retarded |publisher=Hockeycountry.blogspot.com |date=Thursday, December 01, 2005 |accessdate=2008-09-27] On January 10, 2006, Thornton returned to Boston as a member of the Sharks, but was ejected for checking Bruins' defenceman Hal Gill from behind at 5:13 of the first period.cite web|url=http://www.boston.com/sports/hockey/bruins/articles/2006/01/11/shark_attack/ |title=Shark attack - The Boston Globe |publisher=Boston.com |author=Nancy Marrapese-Burrell, Globe Staff | January 11, 2006 |date=January 11, 2006 |accessdate=2008-09-27] Thornton received a five minute major and a game misconduct.cite web|url=http://www.nhl.com/nhl/app?service=page&page=Recap&gameNumber=630&season=20052006&gameType=2 |title=NHL.com - Recap |publisher=NHL.com |date= |accessdate=2008-09-28] The misconduct was later rescinded by the NHL.

Upon arriving in San Jose, Thornton improved the Sharks' fortunes. Thornton made an immediate impact, hitting the cross-bar and almost scoring on his first shift as a Shark. With 14 points in his first 6 games, he found instant chemistryFact|date=August 2008 with winger Jonathan Cheechoo, often setting up Cheechoo for one-time shots in the slot. With Thornton as his centreman, Cheechoo became a 50-goal scorer and won the Rocket Richard Trophy. Thornton himself would lead the NHL with 96 assists and win the Art Ross Trophy as leading NHL scorer, the first player to do so the same season he was traded.

The 2005–06 playoffs saw Thornton in a familiar scenario as past postseason campaigns he has been a part of. He was never able to produce points as he was in the regular season and there was a startling lack of chemistry between Thornton and Cheechoo.Fact| I believe Cheechoo also wasn't paired with Joe for a good chunk of the playoffs, and didn't Cheech undergo surgery after the season, possibly leading to other causes other than lack of production from Joe? ()|date=August 2008 Joe recorded 4 assists in a five-game quarterfinals series against Nashville and had 2 goals and 3 assists in the semifinals series against Edmonton, a series that the Sharks lost in 6 games.

2006–2007 season

Thornton began the 2006–07 campaign at a far slower pace production-wise than his Hart Trophy-winning year the previous season. He did not score his first goal of the season until the Sharks' 12th game. However, it was later revealed he was battling toe injuries for the entire first half of the season, until he was finally able to recover sometime in January.cite web|url=http://www.mahalo.com/Joe_Thornton |title=Joe Thornton - Mahalo |publisher=Mahalo.com |date= |accessdate=2008-10-05]

After recovering from the injuries, Thornton resumed scoring at the same frenetic pace that earned him accolades in 2005–06. Although 19th in league scoring at the time of the NHL's Christmas break, Thornton scored so many points that he ended up battling Penguins superstar Sidney Crosby for the scoring title late in the year, eventually finishing 2nd in scoring to Crosby with 114, 6 fewer than the Pittsburgh sophomore. Always a tremendous passer, Thornton became just the third player in NHL history (with the other two being Hall of Famers Wayne Gretzky and Mario Lemieux) to record consecutive 90-assist seasons.cite web|url=http://www.thenhlarena.com/lofiversion/index.php/t592.html |title=The NHL Arena > Joe Thornton #19 |publisher=Thenhlarena.com |date= |accessdate=2008-10-05]

It appeared as though Thornton was finally having the breakout postseason expected of him all these years after he recorded six assists (although no goals) in the first-round series against Nashville. He proceeded to score a goal and add three assists in the Sharks' first three games of the second round against Detroit. However, Thornton was effectively neutralized by superstar Red Wings defenceman Nicklas Lidström,cite web|url=http://sports.yahoo.com/nhl/playoffs/sandet?season=2006 |title=NHL - 2007 Playoffs San Jose Sharks vs. Detroit Red Wings - Yahoo! Sports |publisher=Sports.yahoo.com |date= |accessdate=2008-10-05] among others, in the final three games of the series, as the Sharks were once again bounced from the playoffs in the second round.

In the offseason, Thornton signed a three-year contract extension worth US $21.6 million that will run to June 2011.cite web|url=http://sports.espn.go.com/nhl/news/story?id=2922448 |title=ESPN - Three-year extension keeps Thornton in San Jose through 2011 - NHL |publisher=Sports.espn.go.com |author=Associated Press |date= |accessdate=2008-10-05]

Leadership issues

Thornton was under heavy scrutiny for his leadership while in Boston. He was criticized for being unable to raise his level of play during the playoffs, as he never scored more than nine points in two series or finished with a plus/minus rating higher than +1.Fact|date=August 2008 Many people feel that Robbie Ftorek gave Thornton the "C" too early. Nonetheless, Thornton did tremendously in his new role in San Jose, as he put up career numbers in his first season with the Sharks. His success translated into Thornton becoming the MVP of the league.

During the absence of usual alternate captain Alyn McCauley from the San Jose lineup, Joe Thornton donned the "A" for the first time as a Shark in a game against Phoenix on March 30, 2006Fact|date=August 2008, and wore the "A" whenever McCauley was out of the lineup for the remainder of the season. Thornton has worn the "A" continuously since the beginning of the 2006–07 season. Many critics expected Thornton to fare better in San Jose where leadership duties would be falling primarily to captain Patrick Marleau. This proved to be the case, as Thornton won the Art Ross Trophy handily, while Marleau still finished with 86 points.

Thornton scored at a slightly cooler rate in the playoffs, posting two goals and seven assists in eleven games, but unlike in Boston his performance was not worthy of criticism; the Sharks' radio and TV announcers emphatically proclaimed him the team's best player on the ice even in the games the Sharks lost to the Edmonton Oilers in the second round of the playoffs.

Thornton was selected to play for Team Canada at the 2006 Winter Olympics and was expected to be key member of the Canadian National Team, unfortunately Thornton and the team failed to medal after they lost to Russia in the Quarter finals.

Events outside of hockey

Thornton was accused of hitting two police officers on May 17, 2003, after coming to the aid of his brother, John Thornton, at the bar Burty Bob's Two in St. Thomas, Ontario. He faced two charges of assaulting police and one of obstructing justice. Crown lawyer Kevin Gowdey announced at a court hearing he would not be pursuing the case against the Bruins Captain (at the time) in return for Thornton apologizing to the parties involved and beginning a "significant period of community service." [http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/hockey/news/2003/08/12/thornton_charges_ap/ cnn.com]

Awards

*1996 — OHL All-Rookie Team
*1996 — OHL Rookie of the Year
*1996 — Canadian Major Junior Rookie of the Year
*1997 — OHL Second All-Star Team
*2002 — NHL All-Star
*2003 — NHL All-Star
*2004 — NHL All-Star
*2004 — Won the Spengler Cup
*2004 — Won the World Cup of Hockey
*2005 — Won the Swiss ice hockey championship
*2006 — Won the Art Ross Trophy
*2006 — Won the Hart Memorial Trophy
*2006 — Named an NHL First-Team All-Star
*2007 — NHL Western All-Star
*2008 — NHL Western All-Star

Career statistics

International play

Played for Canada in:
*1997 World Junior Championships (gold medal)
*2001 World Championships
*2004 World Cup of Hockey (gold medal)
*2005 World Championships (silver medal)
*2006 Winter Olympics

International statistics

ee also

*Power forward (ice hockey)
*List of NHL seasons
*List of NHL players
*Notable families in the NHL

References

External links

*TSN-NHL-profile|39
*hockeydb|23710
*Thornton's charges at [http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/hockey/news/2003/08/12/thornton_charges_ap/ cnn.com]
*youtube|qWohKJmSG5E|NHL promo featuring Joe Thornton