Jonathan Cheechoo (; Cree: ; born July 15, 1980) is a Canadian former professional ice hockey right winger who played in the National Hockey League (NHL). During the 2005–06 season, he led the NHL with 56 goals and won the Maurice "Rocket" Richard Trophy. He was the first San Jose Sharks player to win the "Rocket" Richard Trophy, awarded to the NHL player with the most goals in a season. Playing career Drafted by the Belleville Bulls of the Ontario Hockey League (OHL) in the 1997 OHL priority selection, Cheechoo had a reasonably strong rookie year in 1997–98 with 76 points (31 goals and 45 assists) in 64 games, good for third place on his team. In the 1998 NHL Entry Draft, the San Jose Sharks traded the second overall pick (used to select David Legwand) to the Nashville Predators for the third overall pick (used to select Brad Stuart) and the 29th overall pick, which they used to select Cheechoo. Most had predicted that Cheechoo would be a later-round pick, and San Jose was criticized for picking a lackluster forward who "skated slower forwards than most players skated backwards" instead of the highly touted Legwand. Cheechoo joined the Bulls for the 1998–99 season and finished with 82 points (35 goals and 47 assists) in 63 games. Taking off in the playoffs, Cheechoo scored 30 points (15 goals and 15 assists) in 21 games. Five of those goals were scored during Game 7 of the OHL Final against the London Knights, a game the Bulls would win 9–2 to secure their first OHL Championship. Although he was now eligible for American Hockey League (AHL) assignment, San Jose chose to leave him unsigned, knowing he still had room to improve in the OHL. In the following season, Cheechoo had his best year, tallying a team-high 91 points (45 goals and 46 assists) in 66 games. Cheechoo added 17 points (5 goals and 12 assists) in 16 games during the playoffs. Notably, Cheechoo never played a full season while in juniors because of minor injuries he gained from his crash-and-bang style of play. For development, Cheechoo joined San Jose's AHL affiliate, the Kentucky Thoroughblades, in the 2000–01 season before deciding to give the NHL another try and retaining hockey agent Thayne Campbell. San Jose Sharks Cheechoo had a strong rookie season with Kentucky in the AHL, scoring 66 points in 75 games.