Topic: Trevor Linden

Trevor Linden, OBC (born April 11, 1970, in Medicine Hat, Alberta) is a retired Canadian professional ice hockey player. He played centre and right wing with four different teams: the Vancouver Canucks (in two stints), New York Islanders, Montreal Canadiens, and Washington Capitals. Before joining the NHL in 1988, Linden helped the Medicine Hat Tigers of the Western Hockey League (WHL) win consecutive Memorial Cup championships. In addition to appearing in two NHL All-Star games, Linden was a member of the 1998 Canadian Olympic team and participated in the 1996 World Cup of Hockey.

Throughout his career, Linden has been recognized as a respected leader on and off the ice. He was named captain of the Canucks at the age of 21, making him one of the youngest captains in league history. While captaining the Canucks, Linden led the team to within a game of winning the Stanley Cup in 1994. It was during this time that he began to be called Captain Canuck. In 1998 he was elected President of the National Hockey League Players' Association (NHLPA), a position he held for eight years. As President, he played an instrumental role in the 2004–05 NHL lockout, including taking a direct role in negotiations with league owners. Off the ice, Linden 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. After 19 seasons in the NHL, Linden retired on June 11, 2008, twenty years to the day after he was drafted into the NHL. Linden's jersey number 16 was retired by the Canucks on December 17, 2008, the second number retired by the team.

Trevor Linden's grandfather, Nick van der Linden, immigrated to Canada from the Netherlands in 1929. He ran a construction company until his son Lane, Trevor's father, replaced him in 1979. Trevor was born in Medicine Hat to Lane and Edna Linden. Linden was a skilled athlete; despite hockey being his top priority, he also participated in baseball, golf, volleyball, basketball, and speed skating. An excellent student in school, he was offered a scholarship to Princeton University to play for their hockey team; instead, Linden chose to stay in Medicine Hat and play with the local major junior team, the Medicine Hat Tigers of the WHL. Linden grew up watching the Tigers and idolized Lanny McDonald, who played in Medicine Hat before he joined the NHL.