Logan Couture

Minor

Although he was born in Guelph, Ontario, Couture spent most of his youth growing up in Birr, near London, Ontario. He started playing minor hockey with the Lucan Irish (DD) of the OMHA's Southwestern Ontario League.

Couture led his Lucan Irish Novice team to the OMHA's Red Lobster Cup for a SW Ontario title in 1998 and an OMHA All-Ontario DD title in 1999. His Irish Atom team also won the OMHA Ontario DD title in 2001. Both of those teams also won the International Silver Stick 'C' championships. He then moved to London and played three years with the 'AAA' London Junior Knights of the Minor Hockey Alliance League, where he was a teammate of current Los Angeles Kings defenceman Drew Doughty. After his Bantam year with the Jr. Knights, Couture signed with the Junior B St. Thomas Stars.

Junior

In May 2005, Couture was drafted by the Ottawa 67's 12th overall in the 2005 OHL Priority Draft. Couture went on to score at a near point-per-game pace as a rookie with 64 points in 65 games in 2005–06, third in league rookie scoring behind John Tavares and Sergei Kostitsyn. The next season, in 2005–06, Couture was added to the OHL roster for the 2006 ADT Canada-Russia Challenge, replacing Jordan Staal, who was retained by the NHL's Pittsburgh Penguins. Couture was also selected to play for the Eastern Conference in the 2007 OHL All-Star Game, winning the shooting accuracy competition. After completing his second OHL season, where he improved to 78 points in 54 games, Couture was drafted ninth overall by the San Jose Sharks in the 2007 NHL Entry Draft.

Returning to the 67's in 2007–08, Couture's production dipped to 58 points in 51 games, his lowest major junior total. He had also been named to the 2008 OHL All-Star Game, but was replaced by Michael Swift of the Niagara IceDogs due to injury. Next season, in 2008–09, he finished in ninth place in league scoring with 39 goals and 48 assists for 87 points in 62 games. He also appeared in the 2009 OHL All-Star Game. Near the end of the season, he was named OHL Player of the Week on March 16, 2009, following an eight-point performance in three games.

Professional

On October 25, 2009, Couture made his NHL debut for the San Jose Sharks against the Philadelphia Flyers. He scored his first NHL goal on November 5, 2009, against Chris Osgood of the Detroit Red Wings. On April 22, 2010, Couture scored his first two playoff goals against the Colorado Avalanche in Game 5 of the first round of the 2010 Stanley Cup playoffs. He scored the game-tying goal in Game 3 in the second round against the Red Wings.

Couture was also an integral part of the success of the 2009–10 American Hockey League (AHL)'s Worcester Sharks, as he played 42 games and scored 20 goals and 33 assists for 53 points. He was a league-leader with nine game-winning goals and was named to the AHL All-Rookie Team. He was also voted onto the AHL All-Star starting line-up for AHL Team Canada, and finished the game with a goal and two assists as well as scoring a shoot-out goal.

Couture played his first full season with the Sharks in 2010–11 and finished with 32 goals (second among rookies) and 56 points (also second). He earned a nomination for the Calder Memorial Trophy for these achievements, along with the New York Islanders' Michael Grabner and the Carolina Hurricanes' Jeff Skinner, that latter of which who won the award.

On August 26, 2011, Couture signed a two-year, $5.75 million extension through to the 2013–14 season. During the 2012–13 NHL lockout, Couture played for Genève-Servette HC of the Swiss National League A. In the 2012–13 NHL season, when play resumed after the lockout, Couture played in all 48 regular season and 11 playoff games with the Sharks, leading the team in goals (21), blocks among forwards (51), game-winning goals (5), shots (151) and power play goals (7).

On July 5, 2013, the Sharks announced that the club had signed Couture to a five-year, $30 million contract extension, which would come into effect on July 1, 2014. On December 29, 2013, against the Anaheim Ducks, Couture scored his 100th career regular season goal. On January 6, 2014, the Sharks reported that Couture would have surgery to repair a wrist injury on January 8; he missed six weeks as a result. After the 2014 seven-game playoff series loss to the eventual Stanley Cup champions Los Angeles Kings, Couture underwent surgery on his hand to repair an injury suffered in a fight with the Kings' Mike Richards in Game 6.

During the 2015–16 season Couture suffered a broken fibula in a practice, and in the second game after he returned to play from that injury he suffered an arterial bleed which required remedial surgery. These injuries caused him to miss 30 games. However he bolstered the San Jose Sharks line-up upon his return and helped lead the team all the way to the Stanley Cup finals, where they lost in 6 games to the Pittsburgh Penguins. Couture led all players in playoff assists (20) and scoring (30).

In August 2016 Couture was named to the Team Canada team for the World Cup of hockey, replacing Dallas Stars Jamie Benn.

Personal life

Couture was born in Guelph, Ontario, to Chet and Lori. At birth, there was a NHL-future omen: The delivery-room nurse Bernadette Devorski is the mother of NHL referee Paul and NHL linesman Greg Devorski. He has a younger brother by two years, Judson. He grew up in a small town called Birr just north of London, ON. He attended Prince Andrew Public School and Northridge Public School for grades 7 and 8. Logan attended Lucas Secondary School. Coming from an athletic family, his father, Chet Couture, is a London Fire Department Captain who played OHA senior hockey for 13 years and was a veteran Ontario Lacrosse League (OLA) and National Lacrosse League (NLL) referee, while his mother, Lori, a graduate of Brock University, is a physical education teacher at Lucas Secondary School. Logan's grandfather on his mother's side, the late Cy Lemon, is a Canadian Lacrosse Hall of Fame inductee. His uncle Brian Lemon is a former nine-year veteran Major Indoor Lacrosse League (MILL) pro lacrosse and OLA lacrosse player, and is the current NLL vice-president of operations. On his father's side, his late grandfather, Bob Couture, was a skilled softball pitcher and guitar player, naming his son Chet after the legendary Chet Atkins. Growing up, Logan was a Buffalo Sabres and a Dominik Hašek fan. Logan was an exceptional athlete excelling specifically in hockey, lacrosse and baseball, where he was a two-time Honda Canada/Toronto Blue Jays "hit-run-throw" contest Canadian national champion in his age group. Logan decided at age 13 to drop the pursuit of baseball for the game of hockey. He is also a Buffalo Bills fan.

Records and accomplishments

Awards

*unable to play due to injury