Loyalty is defined as “a faithfulness or a devotion to a person, country, group, or cause.”

One might also define loyalty as “Patrick Marleau.”

Marleau has spent his entire professional hockey career with the San Jose Sharks, who drafted him 2nd overall at the 1997 Entry Draft (behind current teammate Joe Thornton).

1997 to 2012. That’s like eleventy billion years in hockey speak.

His loyalty was put to the test in 2010 but Marleau chose to not test the free agent waters, and remain with the team that drafted him. He signed a 4-year deal, worth a tidy $27.6 mil a year. You know how we feel about math (we hate it) but even we know that works out to some serious paper.

Aside from his devotion to the Black and Teal, the Sharks alternate captain is also one serious hockey player. Add to that his overall adorableness, those eyebrows, and the fact that we don’t give the Western Conference as much love as we should, we have named Patrick Marleau this week’s Foxy Friday.

Marleau is the all-time Sharks leader in goals, even strength goals, power play goals, points, shots, AND games played. Overachiever, much?

On January 17, 2011, Marleau played his 1,000th career game, becoming the third-quickest player to that prestigious milestone as measured by age, as well as the youngest player in NHL history to reach the milestone with the same franchise.

And if that wasn’t enough, he scored a goal too.

from bleedteel.tumblr.com

Other fun facts about Mr. Marleau that make him worthy…

• He was born September 15, 1979 in Aneroid, southwestern Saskatchewan, (pop. 45). Not only does that make him extremely WUYS age appropriate, but he’s also from a town that sounds like something out of Star Wars (which we love)
• His favorite band is The Tragically Hip. Of course, it is. He’s Canadian. You probably get a copy of their album upon birth, along with a pair of skates and lumberjack hat.
• He hates loud eaters, bad drivers, and smokers.
• Most famous people in his cell phone – Justin Morneau and Sidney Crosby. The most famous person in my cell phone is Pants.
• He is fluent in “Toddlerese”. Wonder if you can get this on Rosetta Stone?
• His oldest piece of protective equipment is his shoulder pads. He claims they are “decades old”.
• Can undress out of his hockey gear in a team-low, 45-seconds. Team low? So what you’re telling me is that the Sharks had a race to see who could get naked the fastest? What we wouldn’t have given to officiate that race….

Aww shucks, guys.
(from allie-xoxo.tumblr.com)

from Sports Illustrated