INTERNATIONAL BACKGROUND

Represented Canada five times as a player … Played for Canada at the 1996 World Cup of Hockey, finishing second … Won the 1991 Canada Cup with Canada … Won a silver medal with Canada at the 1989 IIHF World Championship in Sweden … Won the 1987 Canada Cup with Canada … Won the 1984 Canada Cup with Canada

HOCKEY BACKGROUND

Is currently special assistant to general manager and president Glen Sather with the New York Rangers … Announced his retirement on September 12, 2005 … Retired as the second-leading scorer in NHL history, with 1,887 points … Ranks second all-time in games played (1,756), seventh in goals (694) and third in assists (1,193) … Played with the Edmonton Oilers, New York Rangers and Vancouver Canucks, captaining all three teams … Is the only player to captain two teams to the Stanley Cup – Edmonton (1990) and New York (1994) … Won six Stanley Cups – five with Edmonton (1984, 1985, 1987, 1988, 1990) and one with New York (1994) … Had his No. 11 retired by both Edmonton and New York in 2005-06 … Elected to the Hockey Hall of Fame in 2007, in his first year of eligibility … Twice won the Hart Trophy as NHL MVP (1990, 1992) … Twice won the Lester B. Pearson Award as NHL MVP voted by the players (1990, 1992) … Won the Conn Smythe Trophy as playoff MVP in 1984 … Named to the NHL first all-star team four times (1982, 1983, 1990, 1992) … Named to the NHL second all-star team once (1984) … Played in 15 NHL All-Star Games (1982, 1983, 1984, 1986, 1988, 1989, 1990, 1991, 1992, 1994, 1996, 1997, 1998, 2000, 2004) … Edmonton’s third-round pick (48th overall) in the 1979 NHL Entry Draft … Was the last active player who played a game in the World Hockey Association and who played a game in the 1970s … Played with the Indianapolis Racers and Cincinnati Stingers in the WHA … On November 13, 2006 the NHL announced the Mark Messier Leadership Award, given to an individual who leads by example on the ice, motivates his teammates and is dedicated to community activities and charitable causes