Patrick Sharp
Born December 27, 1981 (age 29) in Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada
Center and alternate captain for the Chicago Blackhawks
[Remember when my internet was out and Krista did an MotD I was assigned? Well, unfortunately, the shoe's on the other foot tonight, so I am helping! -Emma]
Patrick Sharp has been playing hockey for quite a long time, starting out in Thunder Bay (the Sharp family moved there from Winnipeg, after a stopover in Calgary, when he was little) before he decided to go to college at the University of Vermont. He attended for two years and played for that time, but also met his wife Abby there and they were married in summer 2010. Aww! Anyway, Philadelphia selected him in the 2001 draft and made his NHL debut in 2003. He split his time between the Flyers and their AHL affiliate the Philadelphia Phantoms, a team that hosted him completely when the next season was the lockout season. He got traded to Chicago in 2005 and especially hit his stride in the 2007-08 season, recording career-high stats in goals and assists. In 2008, he signed a contract extension keeping him in Chicago through 2011-12.
Play nice, boys.
Then in 2008, he was named an alternate! He had a shortened season due to injury that year but still did his best, especially shaping the fairly new core of young talent such as Jonathan Toews and Patrick Kane. He also got Canada the silver in the Worlds that year. Of course, the Blackhawks did something pretty fantastic in 2010 and he was a big part of that campaign. He also won the All-Star Game MVP award in 2011, having scored a goal and two assists. 2011 continued to be pretty darn good for Sharp because he was featured as the cover boy for Chicago magazine’s 50 Most Beautiful Chicagoans feature story. But, he did well on the ice too: 34 goals, 37 assists and 38 penalty minutes in the regular season; 3 goals, 2 assists and 2 penalty minutes in the playoffs. Furthermore, he’s going to be a presence in Chicago for a while more because he signed another five-year extension earlier this month.
Is he the prettiest Blackhawk? Well, he certainly makes a good case for it.
-Emma
