Photo Credit – Yahoo Sports
After tonight’s goal by Patrick Marleau of the NHL’s San Jose Sharks, DUBNetwork thought it might be a good chance to showcase Patrick Marleau and the eight other former WHL/WCHL players who have reached the 500 NHL goal plateau.
Joe Sakic (Retired) – 625 NHL goals. Joe Sakic is fondly remembered during his time in the NHL as Burnaby Joe. He is currently 15th in all time NHL goal scoring. Sakic played for one franchise in the Quebec Nordiques and the Colorado Avalanche, hoisting the Stanley Cup twice, as well as winning multiple other NHL awards. Sakic was involved in parts of 3 seasons in the Western Hockey League, beginning with 3 games with the Lethbridge Broncos. In his remaining 136 games with Swift Current, Sakic amassed 293 points on 138 goals and 155 assists.
Jarome Iginla (Active) – 616 NHL goals. One of three active players with 500 goals, Iginla played his entire WHL career with the Kamloops Blazers. In three seasons with the Blazers, Iginla accumulated 236 points in 183 games. He also competed in two Memorial Cups where he had eight points in eight tournament games. His Blazers won both times he went in 1994 and 1995. Iginla is now playing with his fourth NHL team and was originally drafted by the Dallas Stars. Iginla was traded to the Calgary Flames before ever playing a game. He has since played for the Boston Bruins, Pittsburgh Penguins, and now the Colorado Avalanche.
Mark Recchi (Retired) – 577 NHL goals. Originally a New Westminster Bruin, Recchi was traded to the Kamloops Blazers during their Memorial Cup run in 1986-87 and also played there in 1987-88. During the 87-88 season he produced 61 goals in 62 regular season games. He finished his WHL career with 292 points (109G, 183A) in just 178 games. Drafted in 1988 by the Pittsburgh Penguins, Recchi went on to play for nine teams, including two stints with the Philadelphia Flyers and three with the Penguins. He has three Stanley Cup rings.
Mike Modano (Retired) – 561 NHL goals. Three full seasons in the WHL with the Prince Albert Raiders helped Modano earn 294 points in just 176 games. He had 118 goals in that span. Modano was drafted by the Minnesota North Stars in 1988 and played every season with that franchise (Minnesota/Dallas Stars) until his last year in the league, when he joined his hometown Detroit Red Wings. Modano won a Stanley Cup with the Dallas Stars.
Marian Hossa (Active) – 517 NHL goals. Selected fifth overall in the 1997 Import Draft by the Portland Winterhawks, Hossa went on to play just one WHL season but it was memorable. He scored 85 points in 53 games (45G,40A) Had 19 points in 16 playoff games, won the Memorial Cup with nine points in four games, represented Slovakia at the World Junior Championships, and played in his first seven NHL games. Drafted by the Ottawa Senators, Hossa is now with his fifth team (Chicago Blackhawks) after stints with the Atlanta Thrashers, Pittsburgh Penguins and Detroit Red Wings. He has three Stanley Cups to his name thus far in his career.
Mark Messier (Retired) – 694 NHL goals. Messier makes this list due to his seven playoff games with the WCHL Portland Winterhawks. He had four goals and an assist. He previously had played two seasons in the AJHL with Spruce Grove and St. Albert. Messier went on to play along side Wayne Gretzky with the Edmonton Oilers and then had two stints with the New York Rangers around three seasons with the Vancouver Canucks.
Lanny McDonald (Retired) – 500 NHL goals. The oldest member of this list, McDonald played in the WCHL back in 1970-71 with the Calgary Centennials, he then moved on to the Medicine Hat Tigers. In parts of three seasons in the WCHL, McDonald recorded 112 goals and 143 assists in his 142 games. He led the 1972-73 Tigers to the WCHL title. He was the fourth overall selection in the 1973 Entry Draft, to the Toronto Maple Leafs. He went on to play for the Colorado Rockies and the Calgary Flames. McDonald won his only Stanley Cup with the Flames in 1989.
Bryan Trottier (Retired) – 524 NHL goals. played three seasons for the Swift Current-then-Lethbridge Broncos of the WCHL from 1972-75. In his last season he led the league in assists with an impressive 98. Even more impressive is the fact that he has seven Stanley Cup rings. He earned four as a key member of the New York Islanders’ dynasty of the 1980’s, two with the Pittsburgh Penguins and one as an assistant coach with the Colorado Avalanche. Trottier also boasts a Calder trophy, a Hart trophy, an Art Ross trophy, a Conn Smythe trophy, a King Clancy trophy and was a recipient of the National Aboriginal Achievement Award. That is quite the list of accomplishments
Patrick Marleau (Active) – 500 NHL goals. Marleau is the 45th player in NHL history to reach the 500 goal mark. He joined the Seattle Thunderbirds in time for the 1995-96 season. In his two full seasons in the WHL, Marleau accumulated 83 goals and 116 assists (199 points) in 143 games. He was drafted second overall by the San Jose Sharks and has never played for another NHL team in his career. While he has not yet drank from Lord Stanley’s Mug, Marleau has won two World Championships and two Olympic Gold Medals for Canada.
