Trevor Linden

Trevor Linden

Trevor John Linden (born April 11, 1970) is a Canadian former professional ice hockey player. He spent 19 seasons in the National Hockey League, playing centre and right wing for four teams. Linden was named captain of the Vancouver Canucks at age 21, making him one of the youngest captains in league history. He retired on June 11, 2008, 20 years to the day after he was drafted into the NHL. His jersey number 16 was retired by the Canucks on December 17, 2008.

About Trevor Linden in brief

Summary Trevor LindenTrevor John Linden (born April 11, 1970) is a Canadian former professional ice hockey player. He spent 19 seasons in the National Hockey League, playing centre and right wing for four teams. Linden was named captain of the Vancouver Canucks at age 21, making him one of the youngest captains in league history. He was a member of the 1998 Canadian Olympic team and participated in the 1996 World Cup of Hockey. He retired on June 11, 2008, 20 years to the day after he was drafted into the NHL. His jersey number 16 was retired by the Canucks on December 17, 2008. On April 9, 2014, he was named president of hockey operations for the Canucks, a position he held until July 2018. His grandfather, Nick van der Linden, emigrated to Canada from the Netherlands in 1929. He ran a construction company until his son Lane replaced him in 1979. Trevor was born in Medicine Hat, Alberta to Lane and Edna Linden. He grew up watching the Medicine Hat Tigers and idolized Lanny McDonald, who played in the Western Hockey League before he joined the NHL in 1988. In his first full season in the WHL, Linden had 36 points in 72 games, and then had 9 points in 20 playoff games, including two goals in the championship game, helping Medicine Hat win their first Memorial Cup as Canadian junior champions. The next year, he had 110 points in 67 games and led the Tigers to their second consecutive Memorial Cup title. He made his NHL debut on October 6, 1988, against the Winnipeg Jets, aged 18.

The Vancouver Canucks selected Linden second overall, after the Minnesota North Stars selected Mike Modano. The Canucks made the playoffs in the first season for the first time in 1988–89, and finished second to Brian Leetch, of the New York Rangers, in voting for the Calder Memorial Trophy. He also became the first rookie to win the Cythe Division award, given to the Canucks’ most valuable player. In 1998, he became president of the National hockey League Players’ Association. As President, he played an instrumental role in the 2004–05 NHL lockout, including negotiations with league owners. Off the ice, he has taken an active role in charities, and was awarded the King Clancy Memorial Trophy for leadership on the ice and humanitarian contributions off the ice in 1997, as well as the NHL Foundation Player Award in 2008. He is the first player to score 30 goals and come within one point of tying Ivan Hlinka’s team record of 60 points as a player, set in 1981–82–82. He has also been named All-Rookie Team, All-Star Team, and All-American Team, Team Canada Team. In addition to appearing in two NHL All-Stars Games, he also played in two World Cups of Hockey and was a part of the 1996 Canada Olympic team. He won the Stanley Cup Finals in 1994, where the Canucks lost in seven games. He played for the Vancouver Vancouver Canucks, New York Islanders, Montreal Canadiens and Washington Capitals.