Joe Sakic

Joseph Steven Sakic (born July 7, 1969 in Burnaby, British Columbia, Canada) is a professional ice hockey player who is the captain of the Colorado Avalanche of the National Hockey League. On December 21, 2005, Sakic was named captain of Team Canada for the 2006 Winter Olympics. He is the 11th all-time points scorer in the NHL and 1st among active players, and widely considered one of the NHL's most talented players.

Early life

He was born in Vancouver to a family of immigrants from Croatia, (his father Marijan is from Imotski, his mother Slavica from Lika). Joe didn't speak English until he entered kindergarten. Growing up, his boyhood idol was Wayne Gretzky.

Although media guides list his birthplace as Burnaby, British Columbia, he was actually born in Vancouver; he grew up in Burnaby and attended Burnaby North Secondary School. He is a fan favourite in the Vancouver region, and a street in Burnaby has been named "Joe Sakic Way" in his honour. He is affectionately known as "Burnaby Joe" to the fans in the Vancouver region and "Super Joe" to the fans in Colorado.

His brother, Brian, played center for the Flint Generals in the United Hockey League.

Playing career

In 1986-87, Joe was Rookie of the Year for the Swift Current Broncos of the WHL. He notched 60 goals and 73 assists for 133 points. The next year, 1987-88, Joe was the WHL Player of the Year and Canadian Major Junior Player of the Year scoring 160 points (78 goals, 82 assists).

Sakic was drafted 15th overall by the Quebec Nordiques in the 1987 NHL Entry Draft, and made his NHL debut in October, 1988. While the Nordiques were in a rebuilding mode during his early years, Sakic was the best player on some dismal team lineups, eventually earning the title of captain for the first time in 1990. Sakic has been the sole captain of the Nordiques/Avalanche since the 1992-93 season.

Sakic made his NHL debut on October 6, 1988 against the Hartford Whalers, recording an assist in his first game. His first goal came two days later against goaltender Sean Burke, then of the New Jersey Devils.

In 1989-90, his second NHL season, Sakic scored 100 points in the NHL for the first time. This was a remarkable feat given that he played for a truly dreadful Nordiques team which finished the season with 31 points and a 12-61-7 record, 33 points behind the next-to-last place Vancouver Canucks. He repeated the feat in 1990-91 on a 16-50-14 squad in Quebec.

Under his leadership, the Nords made the playoffs in 1993 and the lockout-shortened season of 1995. The next year, he moved with the franchise as they became the Colorado Avalanche, leading them to the Stanley Cup in 1996 and 2001.

Sakic was awarded the Conn Smythe Trophy as the MVP of the 1996 NHL playoffs. In 2001, He won a trio of awards including the Hart Memorial Trophy as the NHL's MVP, the Lady Byng Memorial Trophy for gentlemanly conduct, and the Lester B. Pearson Award as the league MVP voted for by his peers.

Sakic is known for his prolific offensive skills and is considered by many to have the best wrist shot in the NHL.

Sakic had 2 goals and 2 assists in Canada's gold medal win over Team USA in the 2002 Winter Olympic Games in Salt Lake City and was named its MVP. He also played a part in Canada's triumph in the 2004 World Cup of Hockey.

In the 2006 Winter Olympics in Turin, Sakic captained the heavily favored but disappointing Team Canada, which failed to medal.

On June 20, 2006 it was reported that Sakic had signed a one-year, $5.75 million US deal to keep him with the Avalanche for the 2006-07 season.

On July 3, 2006, Sakic became the leader among active players for points scored when Steve Yzerman retired.

Sakic is also the last remaining player to be with the Avalanche since its move from Quebec in 1995.

Former Avalanche teammate Alex Tanguay, Team Canada teammate Simon Gagné, and Tampa Bay Lightning forward Brad Richards all credit Sakic as their boyhood idol.

Personal information

He and his wife Debbie have three children, son Mitchell, and fraternal twins Chase (boy) and Kamryn (girl).

Film Career

Sakic played an anonymous player during the tryout scene of Happy Gilmore.

Awards

1987 - WHL East Second All-Star Team
1987 - WHL Jim Piggott Memorial Trophy (Rookie of the Year)
1988 - WHL East First All-Star Team
1988 - WHL Bobby Clarke Trophy (Leading Scorer)
1988 - WHL Player of the Year
1988 - CHL Player of the Year (Canadian Junior Major)
1996 - Conn Smythe Trophy
1998 - M.A.C. (Most Assists with Children) Award winner
2001 - Hart Memorial Trophy
2001 - Lady Byng Memorial Trophy
2001 - Bud Light Plus/Minus Award (shared with Patrik Elias)
2001 - Lester B. Pearson Award
2002 - 2002 Winter Olympic Games Ice Hockey Tournament Most Valuable Player
2004 - NHL First All-Star Team
2004 - NHL/Sheraton Road Performer Award (player with the most road points)
Played in 9 NHL All-Star Games - 1990, 1991, 1992, 1993, 1994, 1996, 1998, 2002, 2004, 2006. He was captain for the 2006 team as well.

Records and achievements

Holds the Colorado Avalanche franchise record for goals, assists, and points (574G-915A-1,489P).
11th place among the top all-time NHL point scorers.
Holds record for most career playoff overtime goals (7).
First player in NHL history to record a 100-point season while playing for the last place team (Quebec Nordiques): 102 points in 1989-90. He repeated the feat the following season with 109 points.
Fourth player to captain his team to a Stanley Cup championship and win the Hart Memorial Trophy in the same year. The others are Bobby Clarke, Wayne Gretzky, and Mark Messier.
Has the 2nd-highest single-playoff goal total with 18 goals in 1996, one behind the record of 19 held by Reggie Leach and Jari Kurri.
Scored his 500th career goal on December 11, 2002 against the Vancouver Canucks.
Recorded his 1000th career point on December 27, 1999 against the St. Louis Blues.
Played his 1000th career game on March 9, 2002 against the Los Angeles Kings.
Became only the 16th player in NHL history to reach 900 assists, against the Calgary Flames on March 12, 2006.
As of the end of the 2005-06 regular season has been the only team captain in Colorado Avalanche history. Became the longest-tenured active team captain in the NHL upon the retirement of Steve Yzerman.

Career statistics

			Regular season					Playoffs
Season	Team	League	GP	G	A	Pts	PIM	GP	G	A	Pts	PIM
1985-86	Lethbridge	WHL	3	0	0	0	0	--	--	--	--	--
1986-87	Swift Current	WHL	72	60	73	133	31	--	--	--	--	--
1987-88	Swift Current	WHL	64	78	82	160	64	10	11	13	24	12
1988-89	Quebec	NHL	70	23	39	62	24	--	--	--	--	--
1989-90	Quebec	NHL	80	39	63	102	64	--	--	--	--	--
1990-91	Quebec	NHL	80	48	61	109	24	--	--	--	--	--
1991-92	Quebec	NHL	69	29	65	94	20	--	--	--	--	--
1992-93	Quebec	NHL	78	48	57	105	40	6	3	3	6	2
1993-94	Quebec	NHL	84	28	64	92	18	--	--	--	--	--
1994-95	Quebec	NHL	47	19	43	62	30	6	4	1	5	0
1995-96	Colorado	NHL	82	51	69	120	44	22	18	16	34	14
1996-97	Colorado	NHL	65	22	52	74	34	17	8	17	25	14
1997-98	Colorado	NHL	64	27	36	63	50	6	2	3	5	3
1998-99	Colorado	NHL	73	41	55	96	29	19	6	13	19	8
1999-00	Colorado	NHL	60	28	53	81	28	17	2	7	9	8
2000-01	Colorado	NHL	82	54	64	118	30	21	13	13	26	6
2001-02	Colorado	NHL	82	26	53	79	18	21	9	10	19	4
2002-03	Colorado	NHL	58	26	32	58	24	7	6	3	9	2
2003-04	Colorado	NHL	81	33	54	87	42	11	7	5	12	8
2005-06	Colorado	NHL	82	32	55	87	60	9	4	5	9	6
NHL totals			1237	574	915	1489	542	162	82	96	178	78

International play

Played for Canada in:

1988 World Junior Championships (gold medal)
1991 World Championships (silver medal)
1994 World Championships (gold medal)
1996 World Cup of Hockey (silver medal)
1998 Winter Olympics (failed to medal)
2002 Winter Olympics (gold medal)
2004 World Cup of Hockey (gold medal)
2006 Winter Olympics (captain, failed to medal)

International statistics

Year	Team	Event	GP	G	A	Pts	PIM
1987	Canada	--	1	0	0	0	0
1988	Canada	WJC	7	3	1	4	2
1991	Canada	WC	10	6	5	11	0
1994	Canada	WC	8	4	3	7	0
1996	Canada	WCH	8	2	2	4	6
1998	Canada	Oly	4	1	2	3	4
2002	Canada	Oly	6	4	6	10	0
2004	Canada	WCH	6	4	2	6	2
2006	Canada	Oly	6	1	2	3	0
Senior Int'l Totals			32	15	15	27	39

External links

sakic.ca - Unofficial site about Joe Sakic
CBS SportsLine - Joe Sakic's statistics at CBS SportsLine.com.

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