A biography for Joe Thorntonhasn’t been written yet.
“In the summer, I would play street hockey every day with my cousins and my brothers. And in the winter we'd play on the backyard rink.”
“You rarely see any team stay the same.”
“I think to get first in your division you've got to have a lot of depth, a lot of character, a lot of skill, a lot of competitiveness.”
“The shootout after overtime is a great idea, so nobody goes home with a tie.”
“Hey, I love seeing the smiles of my teammates when they score.”
“I've been with Team Canada for a lot of World Cups and World Championships, and to be part of an Olympic team would be a huge thrill for me.”
“I've played with a lot of good goal scorers in my career and a lot of good players.”
“For a passer that's probably the key, having the Jonathan Cheechoos, the Glen Murrays, the Joe Pavelskis, the Patty Marleaus, the list goes on and on and on the guys that I've played with over the years who put the puck in the back of the net.”
“Hockey players are a different breed.”
“Leadership comes a little bit easier with age.”
“You go out and play hard, no matter what.”
“I don't have Facebook, Twitter, Instagram or any of that stuff.”
“When you see pictures of Gordie even at 50, you could see he was just a powerful man. You see Patty Marleau and he's built too. He's very durable because he's so strong, very flexible, but ultimately he puts in the work during the offseason. He doesn't take a day off and he's always trying to get better. He never takes a second off.”
“As I get older, I think there's going to be more pressure on me, and there should be.”
“I like practicing every day, you get better by practicing.”
“I'm really good. I'll tell you that all day.”
“Boston is the first major city I ever lived in. I spent eight great years there and I grew up there. I wouldn't change it for anything.”
“You get a rib injury and it hurts to breathe. If you sneeze, you think you're gonna die.”
“I'm just really passionate about the game of hockey. It's all I know and I love it.”
“I'm not trying to reinvent the wheel, I'm just coming out and playing my game.”