Mulletman
Registered User
- Feb 23, 2013
- 3,999
- 3,855
Since Joe Thornton got traded to San Jose he has done some incredible things. I've never seen any guy get as much out of mediocre players as Joe before. It's mind boggling what he's done with guys like Cheechoo, Marleau and Burns over the years.
When he arrived in San Jose he turned Cheechoo into a Rocket Winner in his first year and if it wasn't for Cheechoo getting a career ending injury, Thornton would've made him go down as one of the best goal scorers of this generation.
Before Thornton came to San Jose Marleau had never hit 30 goals or 60 Points. But Thornton took him under his wing and showed him the way and now Marleau has 7 30 goal seasons and 7 60 Point seasons. And Marleau also hit 500 career goals this season, something that he would've never done without Thornton. When it's all said and done there's a very good chance that Thornton will drag Marleau into the Hall of fame one day!
And just look at Burns. The guy was an outcast and never really found any success playing multiple years in Minnesota. And he wasn't all that great in his first few seasons in San Jose either. But then he and Joe started to hang out a lot during the 2014-15 season. Joe saw the potential in Burns and even started to grow a beard to make Burns feel more at home. Burns has now hit 60 Points 3 times and 25 goals twice after this. Remember that Burns played a full 10 seasons Before this were he was pretty mediocre. And there's a chance Burns might win the Art Ross this season, which would make Joe just the second player to center a defenseman to the Art Ross. And I'm not sure we should count Esposito since Orr was generational.
So with all this in mind would Thornton be the best mentor ever in hockey if Burns wins the Art Ross? Has anybody else come close to getting this much out of mediocre players before?
When he arrived in San Jose he turned Cheechoo into a Rocket Winner in his first year and if it wasn't for Cheechoo getting a career ending injury, Thornton would've made him go down as one of the best goal scorers of this generation.
Before Thornton came to San Jose Marleau had never hit 30 goals or 60 Points. But Thornton took him under his wing and showed him the way and now Marleau has 7 30 goal seasons and 7 60 Point seasons. And Marleau also hit 500 career goals this season, something that he would've never done without Thornton. When it's all said and done there's a very good chance that Thornton will drag Marleau into the Hall of fame one day!
And just look at Burns. The guy was an outcast and never really found any success playing multiple years in Minnesota. And he wasn't all that great in his first few seasons in San Jose either. But then he and Joe started to hang out a lot during the 2014-15 season. Joe saw the potential in Burns and even started to grow a beard to make Burns feel more at home. Burns has now hit 60 Points 3 times and 25 goals twice after this. Remember that Burns played a full 10 seasons Before this were he was pretty mediocre. And there's a chance Burns might win the Art Ross this season, which would make Joe just the second player to center a defenseman to the Art Ross. And I'm not sure we should count Esposito since Orr was generational.
So with all this in mind would Thornton be the best mentor ever in hockey if Burns wins the Art Ross? Has anybody else come close to getting this much out of mediocre players before?
