San Francisco Chronicle - (Sunday)
After catching a rooster, Marleau chases a legend
Denise Keen remembers the moment well.
Attending a rodeo in the small hamlet of Hallonquist, Saskatchewan, her youngest brother, Patrick Marleau, was among a throng of children gathered in a ring waiting for the elusive rooster to be set free. The mission was to catch the ornery bird. Most times the rooster escapes scotfree.
But not this time.
“He must have been 7 or 8 years old,” his sister said. “If he didn’t catch that rooster!”
Marleau’s prize catch was placed in a gunny sack, tossed in back of the suburban and whisked back with the family of five to their 1,600acre grain and cattle farm in Aneroid, home to 75 people at the time.
Marleau is after a bigger and more improbable catch these days. The 41yearold
Sharks forward is only days short of passing Gordie Howe for most games played in the NHL. Marleau could tie “Mr. Hockey” at 1,767 in St. Paul, Minn., on Saturday and become No. 1 in Las Vegas two days later.
“I’m proud, very proud of the accomplishment,” said Denis Marleau, Patrick’s father. “But you don’t want to brag about it. You’ve got to
keep it under your hat a little bit.”
A humble, hardwork, familyfirst upbringing — where life for young Patrick was getting chores done in time to play hockey — served as a foundation for a 23year NHL career marked by topend skill and unprecedented durability.
“For the last 23 years he’s been the one looking after himself, eating right, staying in shape, getting his rest, and being prepared,” older brother Richard said. “He’s the one who’s carried it along.”
Patrick Marleau (never “Patty” as a youth) displayed ability and determination from the first time he stepped on the naturalice rink in town. Denis gave Patrick a chair to push for balance as he took his first strides. But as wet snow accumulated around the legs causing resistance, Patrick ditched the chair, turned away and skated off on his own.
“It was unbelievable,” Denis recalls. “He had strong ankles. Usually kids starting out that young are all wobbly on their skates.”
A figure skater growing up, Denise recalls Patrick’s determination to ride a bike when his legs didn’t yet reach the pedals. Instead, he balanced himself below the top bar, slung his legs onto each pedal and somehow rode it without crashing.
“Nobody was going to stop him from getting on there and going somewhere,” said Denise, an educator with two sons and now living outside of Medicine Hat, Alberta.
Years later, when Patrick was big enough to ride the bike in a traditional manner, he’d tease that Leghorn rooster by chasing it around.
“One time Patrick went out in the tractor and be darned if that rooster didn’t jump on the fender and just stared at him,” Denis said. “Patrick didn’t know what to do. I told him, ‘You teased him enough, now he’s upset with you.’ ” Like so many Canadians, Denis Marleau has a hockey back story. He was offered a spot on the Weyburn Junior B Red Wings at age 15. However, as the only boy to help on the farm, and education being the priority, Denis’ mom put her foot down. He later got his fix by playing in a men’s senior league until age 39.
Their father was always available and eager to coach Richard and Patrick. And it came with a simple message.
“Patrick probably remembers I told him, ‘I can drive you up and down the road, but the stuff has got to come from within,’ ” Denis said.
Hauling bales of hay, picking rocks from the pasture, and feeding cattle were among the Marleau chores. They worked on the farm after school and on Saturdays. Jeanette Marleau, Patrick’s mother, said Sunday was reserved for family time that featured outdoor activity.
“He was the youngest,” said Richard, who now lives one town over in Ponteix, has a daughter and ostensibly runs the Marleau farm. “Sometimes the youngest ones don’t get tasked, not as much is expected. Kids are kids. But Mom and Dad made sure he worked.”
“They had to be responsible, get their work done and no fooling around,” Jeanette said. “They had fun, too, but the work was there and they had to get it done.”
Once done, Richard and Patrick played hockey just about everywhere — outdoors, in the basement or on the slippery linoleum floor of the farmhouse kitchen.
“There was usually hockey equipment drying somewhere on the kitchen floor,” Jeanette said. “We just let them play. It’s not like my floor was that very special.”
All three kids rode and showed horses as members of 4H. Patrick was a standout runner in track and field — a trait inherited from both parents. And he was a dominant righthanded pitcher in baseball.
“I coached him as a Little Leaguer,” Denis said, “and he could chuck it pretty good.”
Ultimately, it would come back to hockey. The Marleaus didn’t watch a lot of TV, but “Hockey Night in Canada” was mustsee for Patrick. It was a fight to summon him for supper when a game was on. And Patrick to watch his favorite player — Mario Lemieux.
“One Saturday night he says, ‘Dad, you’ve got to come see this,’ ” Denis recalls. “And it was Mario Lemieux. He scored a goal with two players hanging on to him.”
Shortly thereafter Patrick received a VHS highlight tape featuring Lemieux for Christmas. He played that tape over and over.
Denis had his favorites, too. Wouldn’t you know Gordie Howe was among them? Detroit was his favorite team. Denis attended an oldtimers exhibition in nearby Swift Current headlined by the colorful Eddie Shack and Howe.
“I only saw him on TV in the NHL,” Denis said. “In person I was amazed how he just glided down the ice with no effort at all at his age.”
Patrick displays similar style. In addition to his 566 career goals (23rd alltime), Marleau’s powerful and effortless stride has always set him apart. Catching that elusive rooster was the first hint. And what became of the proud Leghorn?
“It was sort of a pet, I guess,” Jeanette said of the rooster. “I don’t remember it having a name. Unless it was a swear word.”