Is that so difficult?
- Pikey

- westsidebluejacket

You're killing the English language.

You're killing the English language.
- Pikey

i know

no. of course not.

thought it went without "sayig".
- brodie_bruce

- davies

- westsidebluejacket

- davies

- westsidebluejacket

[!]

[!]
- davies

No fair he's banned he cant responded to that

No fair he's banned he cant responded to that
- 20 cents

he's in a better place

he's in a better place
- davies

yes, intill March 12

yes, intill March 12
- 20 cents

Not long enough if you ask Pikey (and I did).

yes, intill March 12
- 20 cents

- davies

What's so funny?

Not long enough if you ask Pikey (and I did).
- TheyreTadpoles

I agree (frank) him

yes, intill March 12
- 20 cents

You spell a lot like WSBJ.

Are you Garth?

You spell a lot like WSBJ.

Are you Garth?
- TheyreTadpoles

You spell a lot like WSBJ.

Are you Garth?
- TheyreTadpoles

your an bumhole like pikey are you pikey?

your an bumhole like pikey are you pikey?
- 20 cents

No, I'm Asp.

Don't you see it says I like the Canadiens?

No, I'm Asp.

Don't you see it says I like the Canadiens?
- TheyreTadpoles

asp doesn't actually like the canadiens so i know you're lying

It's no secret that I am a huge Patrick Marleau fan. My friends, my family, my fiancée... they all know it. A lot of people I know are die hard fans for certain sports teams. But none of them have the same level of dedication to one particular athlete that I do.

I have all kinds of Sharks stuff, but it's my Marleau merchandise that always stands out. I have a Marleau jersey, hockey cards, autographed pictures and even a tiny Marleau helmet that came with a pack of Energizer batteries. I have been waiting for 10 years for McDonalds to have a Marleau hockey card and I literally bought 40 packs this year before I got my hands on one. It now sits on the mantle above the TV in our living room.

I live in the great city of Regina, Saskatchewan. Many people (more like everyone) wonder and ask me why I am a fan of a team in Sunny California. The majority of people here adopt Canadian teams, especially the two Alberta teams which we are closest to. So how did it come to be that I am such a huge Marleau fan?

My dad used to take me to go see the Regina Pats play. One of their best players at the time was a guy named Jeff Friesen. Friesen was born in Meadow Lake, Saskatchewan. My grade 7 teacher actually played WHL hockey with Friesen and would tell me stories about him. Since then, I have always been a fan of Saskatchewan players.

Fast forward to the 1997 NHL Entry Draft. The Sharks had the 2nd overall pick that year. If you remember correctly, the Bruins (my dad and brother's favorite team) had the 1st overall pick and picked Joe Thornton. When San Jose picked Patrick Marleau, a Saskatchewan native, I knew at once who my favorite player would be from then on.

Patrick Marleau has had an up and down career to say the least. Marleau has won a gold medal in the World Hockey Championship in 2003 and the World Cup of Hockey in 2004. He also led the Sharks in 2003-04 to the Western Conference Final which is the farthest the Sharks have ever gone in the playoffs. I still believe that if there hadn't been a lockout that the Sharks would have had a good a chance as anyone at the cup. He is also a 3 time All-Star.

Then came the day that Joe Thornton was traded to the Sharks. That day changed everything. No longer was Marleau considered the best player on the team and was reduced to being second banana. Deep down, I always secretly disliked Thornton for that and always felt that Marleau was the better player. I would hope that Marleau could somehow find a way to show that he was superiour. And Marleau did just that in the 2005-06 playoffs. Marleau had 9 goals and 14 points whereas Thornton had 2 goals and 9 points.

At that point Marleau had a reputation as being a great playoff performer and that reputation was well deserved. Marleau was the guy who came up big in important situations. He had more playoffs goals than anyone else over a several year span for a long time. Even now I still think he is right up there in playoffs goals since 2001-02.

Now I am not saying that Marleau hasn't had a few bad playoff series. What I am saying is that he has been unfairly grouped together with Joe Thornton as a playoff choke artist. Even in the Anaheim series I still feel Marleau had an okay series and you can't deny that he had 100% of the team's game winning goals in that series. In the past few seasons Marleau hasn't been amazing in the playoffs but considering the way his team was playing he wasn't bad enough to garner all the negative criticism he has received. It is not a stretch to say that he has been a top 3 forward in the playoffs for the Sharks every single year.

I will never forget the day Marleau was selected to the Canadian Olympics team. Very few people gave him the credit he deserved and even fewer picked him to make the team even though Marleau been a league leader in goals all season. After the pick was made many were criticizing that not only Marleau was selected but that 3 other Sharks were as well because of their reputation as playoff chokers.

Not only did Marleau play up to expectations in these Olympics, he blew pretty much everyone away by how great he played. In 7 games at the Olympics, Marleau had 2 goals, 3 assists and was a +1. Now we all know that stats aren't everything, but no one can argue that for a tournament of this magnitude those are very good numbers.

Marleau did the small things well in the tournament, too. He played on the power play and killed penalties with efficiency. He used his speed and was great on the fore check and back check. He took face offs. He wasn't afraid to throw his body around. He played smart hockey and didn't take any penalties. He generated a plethora of scoring chances and kept goalies on their toes. He led the team in shots and was 3rd in ice time for forwards.

Marleau came up big in every one of Canada's important wins.
Here is a summary:

Switzerland: This may have been Marleau's best game. Without him, Canada would have lost this game. Marleau scored a goal for Canada and had the primary assist on Canada's second goal. If you remember correctly, the final score was 3-2 with the third goal being a shootout winner from Crosby.

Russia (quarter finals): Canada was up 1-0 midway through the first when Marleau made his mark. Marleau made a great play to enter the zone, dish off the puck and crash the net to screen the goalie. It is my biased opinion that this puck was actually tipped my Marleau and that he should have gotten credit for the goal instead of Boyle. Nevertheless, Marleau was intergral to the goal and got an assist for it.

Slovakia (semi finals): Marleau set the tone for this game midway through the first. He scored Canada's first goal and really got the momentum going for his team. Morrow scored less than 3 minutes later, feeding off that momentum. It is cool to note that all three players that scored in what was Canada's 2nd most important game were the three players on the team that were from Saskatchewan.

USA (gold medal): While not on the scoreboard, Marleau still played a vital role in Canada's second goal. Marleau crashed the net on this goal which resulted in a few things happening. He was right in the face of Ryan Whitney and Ryan Miller. This left them out of position causing the puck to go off Whitney's skate and right onto Perry's stick with an open net in front of him. Although it may have been a small thing, it made a huge difference in the outcome of Team Canada in this tournament.

That Olympic tournament was the pinnacle for me as a hockey fan. Canada's gold medal in hockey on home ice is arguably Canada's greatest sporting achievement. Marleau could retire tomorrow and he would still go down as one of Canada's all time greatest hockey players simply for his contributions to this team. While I may cheer for different teams or players in the future, deep down I will always be a Patrick Marleau fan.

http://www.hockeybuzz.com...thread_id=74947&page=last


I think this guy likes Patrick Marleau.

http://www.hockeybuzz.com/boards/thread.php?thread_id=74947&page=last


I think this guy likes Patrick Marleau.
- Yan

holy zombie jesus.

holy zombie jesus.
- Feeling Glucky?

holy redundant

http://www.hockeybuzz.com/boards/thread.php?thread_id=74947&page=last


I think this guy likes Patrick Marleau.
- Yan

at him (frank)ing up the thread title

at him (frank)ing up the thread title
- Crimsoninja

Priceless.