Joe Thornton Joseph Eric Thornton ( born July 2 , 1979 ) is a Canadian professional ice hockey centre and captain of the San Jose Sharks of the National Hockey League ( NHL ) . He was selected first overall by the Boston Bruins in the 1997 NHL Entry Draft and went on to play seven seasons with the club . During the 2005 – 06 season , he was traded to the Sharks . Splitting the campaign between the two teams , he received the Art Ross and Hart Memorial Trophies as the league ' s leading point - scorer and most valuable player , respectively . Thornton ' s 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 . Listed at 6 - foot - 4 and 230 pounds , he has received the nickname Jumbo Joe . Playing career . Amateur career . Thornton grew up playing minor hockey in his hometown of St . Thomas , Ontario , for the St . Thomas Travelers . He played " AA " hockey for the Travelers until joining a peewee team that won an Ontario Minor Hockey Association ( OMHA ) championship in 1992 – 93 . Moving on to the bantam level , Thornton joined the " AAA " Elgin - Middlesex Chiefs of the Minor Hockey Alliance of Ontario for the 1993 – 94 season . During his bantam year , he also appeared in six games for the Junior B St . Thomas Stars of the Ontario Hockey Association ( OHA ) . The following season , he joined the Stars full - time and reeled off 104 points over 50 games . Beginning in 1995 – 96 , Thornton began a two - year career in the major junior Ontario Hockey League ( OHL ) with the Sault Ste . Marie Greyhounds . He posted a 76 - point season in his first year , earning both OHL and CHL Rookie of the Year honours . The following season , Thornton improved to 41 goals and 122 points , second overall in league scoring behind Marc Savard of the Oshawa Generals , and was named to the OHL Second All - Star Team . Boston Bruins ( 1997 – 2005 ) . After his second OHL season , Thornton was selected first overall in the 1997 NHL Entry Draft by the Boston Bruins . Thornton suffered a fractured arm in the Bruins ' preseason but made their roster for the 1997 - 98 campaign . He scored his first NHL goal on December 3 , 1997 , in a 3 – 0 win against the Philadelphia Flyers . Coach Pat Burns was measured in his deployment of Thornton , using him almost exclusively on the fourth line and making him a regular healthy scratch . Averaging eight minutes and five seconds of ice time per game over the course of the season , he registered three goals and seven points in 55 games as a rookie . In the 1998 playoffs , Thornton went scoreless in six games . In 1998 - 99 , Thornton saw significantly more ice - time , averaging 15 minutes and 20 seconds per game , and improved to 41 points in 81 games , as well as a 9 - point effort in 11 playoff games . Thornton continued to build into a key player in the Bruins ' lineup , increasing his points total in each of the following two campaigns . Prior to the 2002 – 03 season , he was named team captain , succeeding Jason Allison , who had left for the Los Angeles Kings in 2001 ; the captaincy position was vacant for a full season after Allison ' s departure . In his first season as team captain , Thornton recorded 68 points over 66 games . The following year , he notched his first career 100 - point season with 36 goals , a career - high , and 65 assists . He ranked third in league point - scoring , behind Peter Forsberg of the Colorado Avalanche and Markus Näslund from the Vancouver Canucks . Thornton ' s production declined to 73 points in 77 games in the 2003 - 04 campaign . He suffered a fractured right cheekbone in a fight with Rangers center Eric Lindros during a game on January 19 , 2004 . The two power forwards fought after Lindros cross checked Thornton to the head . The injury required surgery , keeping him out of the lineup for three games . Thornton ' s combination of size and skill had him touted as the " next Eric Lindros " when he first entered the league , but following his injury Thornton ' s style of play changed dramatically from that of a aggressive power forward to more of a finesse player , and his penalty minutes plummeted from that season onward . The 2003 - 04 campaign also saw a drop in Thornton ' s goal - scoring production that has never rebounded , as his last 30 - goal season remains the 2002 - 03 season . HC Davos and trade to San Jose ( 2004 – 05 ) . After his production decreased to 73 points over 77 games in 2003 – 04 , Thornton went abroad to play for HC Davos of the Swiss National League A due to the 2004 – 05 NHL lockout . He played on a line with fellow NHL players Rick Nash and Niklas Hagman , helping HC Davos to a league championship and Spengler Cup win . Since then Nash and Thornton keep a close contact to Arno del Curto and HC Davos , Thornton returns every summer to train for up to a month with the club . With the NHL set to resume in 2005 – 06 , Thornton became a restricted free agent in the summer of 2005 and was reportedly unhappy with the state of the Bruins franchise , as well as the criticism of his play in the Bruins ' early playoff exit in 2004 . Thornton was under heavy scrutiny for his leadership style and was criticized for being unable to raise his level of play during the playoffs . Many people felt that Bruins coach Robbie Ftorek gave Thornton the captaincy too early . Regardless , Thornton re - signed with the team on August 11 , 2005 , to a three - year deal worth US $ 20 million . While Thornton was off to a strong start production - wise ( 33 points in 24 games ) , the Bruins were struggling in the standings . On November 30 , 2005 , Thornton was traded to the San Jose Sharks in a four - player deal , which sent forwards Marco Sturm and Wayne Primeau and defenceman Brad Stuart to Boston in exchange for the Bruins captain . Thornton was the team ' s leading scorer at the time by a substantial margin . Then - Bruins general manager , Mike O ' Connell , later stated in a June 2011 interview that he " would still make the trade , " and that it was " satisfying " to see Boston win a Stanley Cup before Thornton ' s San Jose Sharks did . O ' Connell further explained the trade by questioning Thornton ' s character both on and off the ice at the time , contrasting him with Patrice Bergeron , who was in his second full season with the Bruins when the trade took place . O ' Connell recalled making the decision with assistant general manager Jeff Gorton to alternatively build the team around Bergeron . San Jose Sharks . Upon arriving in San Jose , Thornton improved the Sharks ' fortunes and found instant chemistry with winger Jonathan Cheechoo . During the absence of usual alternate captain Alyn McCauley from the San Jose lineup , Thornton donned the " A " for the first time as a Shark in a game against the Phoenix Coyotes on March 30 , 2006 , and wore the " A " whenever McCauley was out of the lineup for the remainder of the season . Tallying 92 points in 58 games with the Sharks after the trade , Thornton finished the season with a league - leading 96 assists and 125 points total to earn the Art Ross Trophy as the league ' s top scorer . He became the first player to win the award while splitting the season between two teams . Due to Thornton ' s success , Cheechoo also enjoyed a career - season , winning the Rocket Richard Trophy as the league ' s top goal - scorer with 56 markers . In the playoffs , however , Thornton was once again criticized for his play as his production decreased to 2 goals and 9 points in 11 games as the Sharks were ousted in the second round . In the off - season , Thornton was honoured for his regular season play and was awarded the Hart Memorial Trophy as league MVP to go with his Art Ross Trophy . He is the only player in NHL history to win the Hart Trophy while playing for two different teams in the same season . Thornton began the 2006 – 07 campaign being awarded permanent alternate captaincy , but struggled in the first half of the season while suffering from a toe injury that did not heal until January 2007 . After recovering , Thornton enjoyed a productive second half , battling Penguins superstar Sidney Crosby for a second consecutive scoring title late in the year , eventually finishing 6 points behind Crosby with 114 . With a league - leading 92 assists , Thornton became only the third player in NHL history to record back - to - back 90 - assist seasons , joining Wayne Gretzky and Mario Lemieux . Thornton began the 2007 playoffs by recording six assists in the Sharks ' first - round series against Nashville . Advancing to the second round against the Detroit Red Wings , he notched a goal and three assists in the first three games of the series . However , Thornton was effectively neutralized by Red Wings defenceman Nicklas Lidström , for the remainder of the seires as the Sharks were eliminated in six games . In the off - season , Thornton signed a three - year contract extension worth US $ 21 . 6 million that , keeping him with the Sharks until June 2011 . In the 2007 - 08 NHL season , Thornton finished with 96 points ( 29 goals and 67 assists ) to finish fifth in NHL scoring . In 2008 – 09 , Thornton was named captain of the Western Conference for the 2009 NHL All - Star Game in Montreal . He completed the season with 86 points . In the subsequent post - season , he recorded a goal and four assists in six games as the Sharks were eliminated in the first round by the Anaheim Ducks . In September 2009 , before the start of the 2009 - 10 NHL season , the Sharks acquired Dany Heatley in a three - player trade that sent former Thornton ' s struggling linemate Jonathan Cheechoo , left winger Milan Michalek and a 2nd round pick to the Ottawa Senators . Thornton , Heatley , and Sharks captain Patrick Marleau were joined on the Sharks ' top line and enjoyed immediate offensive success together . The trio helped the Sharks to one of their best regular seasons in franchise history . Although the line ' s production slowed down in the second half of the season , all three Sharks players finished in the league ' s top 15 in point - scoring . Thornton ' s 89 points ranked eighth , while his 69 assists were second to Henrik Sedin of the Vancouver Canucks . Marleau and Heatley finished 14th and 15th in league scoring with 83 and 82 points , respectively . The Sharks entered the 2010 playoffs as the first seed in the West for the second consecutive year . After advancing past the Colorado Avalanche and Detroit Red Wings in the first two rounds , the Sharks were eliminated by the Chicago Blackhawks in the Western Conference Finals . Thornton finished the playoffs with a career - high 12 points in 15 games . After the elimination , team management vacated all the Sharks ' captaincy positions , including Thornton ' s role as one of the alternate captains . Prior to the 2010 – 11 season , he was chosen to replace the retiring Rob Blake as the eighth captain in team history on October 7 , 2010 . Nine days later , he signed a three - year , US $ 21 million contract extension with the Sharks . Near the start of the 2010 - 11 season , Thornton scored the fourth hat trick of his NHL career against Martin Brodeur in a 5 - 2 win over the New Jersey Devils . In November 2010 , Thornton was suspended two games for a controversial hit to the head against St . Louis Blues forward David Perron . David Perron missed the remaining 72 games of the 2010 - 2011 season due to post - concussion syndrome . Later in the campaign , he eclipsed Marleau as the Sharks ' all - time leader in assists . Thornton scored his 1 , 000th career point with a goal in a game against the Phoenix Coyotes on April 8 , 2011 . In the 2010 - 11 season , Thornton scored only 70 points in 80 games , his lowest point production since the 2001 - 02 season , when he had 68 points in 66 games . However , he reached a new career high in playoff points with 17 , notably scoring the series clinching goal in the first round against the Los Angeles Kings . International play . Thornton was named to Canada ' s national under - 20 team for the 1997 World Junior Championships in Switzerland . Underaged at 18 years old , he recorded four points in seven games , helping Canada to a gold medal . Two years later , he made his debut with the Canadian men ' s team at the 2001 World Championships in Germany . Thornton collected a goal and an assist over six games , as Canada was eliminated in the quarterfinal by the United States . His next international appearance occurred at the 2004 World Cup . Established by then as a premiere player in the NHL , Thornton tied for third in tournament scoring with six points ( a goal and five assists ) over six games . He notched two assists in the championship game against Finland , helping Canada to a 3 – 2 win . At the 2005 IIHF World Championship in Austria , Thornton led all scorers with 16 points ( 6 goals and 10 assists ) in 9 games and was named tournament MVP . Canada advanced to the gold medal game , where they were shutout 3 – 0 by the Czech Republic . Thornton made his first appearance in the Winter Olympics in 2006 . He recorded 3 points as Canada was shutout in three of six games , losing to Russia in the quarterfinal . Four years later , he was again chosen to Canada ' s Olympic team for the Winter Games in Vancouver . Thornton was joined by his Sharks linemates Dany Heatley and Patrick Marleau , as well as Sharks defenceman Dan Boyle on the squad . The offensive trio of Sharks played on the same line in the Olympics , as well . Thornton registered a goal and an assist over seven games , helping Canada to a gold medal finish . Personal life . Thornton is married to Tabea Pfendsack , whom he met while playing in Switzerland during the 2004 - 05 NHL lockout . The couple has a daughter , Ayla , born on July 14 , 2010 . Born in London , Ontario , Thornton became a naturalized United States citizen in July 2009 at a ceremony in Campbell , California , a small city near San Jose . Joe and former Sharks teammate Scott Thornton are first cousins . Off - ice incident . 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 . " Awards . Major junior NHL SUI International