With a goal in a 5-2 victory over the St. Louis Blues on Thursday night, San Jose Sharks forward Jonathan Cheechoo set a record for the most goals in an NHL season by a Belleville Bulls graduate with 41. Dan Quinn who scored 40 goals with the Pittsburgh Penguins during the 87-88 NHL season had held the old record. Cheechoo had tied the record with a hat-trick earlier in the week in a 4-3 win over the Los Angeles Kings. Cheechoo currently sits fourth in the NHL in goals and is battling for the Rocket Richard Trophy given to the league's top goal scorer each season.

It likely comes as no surprise to most Bulls fans that Cheechoo has set this record as he was a prolific goal scorer his entire OHL career from scoring twice in his OHL debut to finishing three seasons in a Bulls uniform with 111 regular season goals which still ranks his sixth on the Bulls all-time list. He also added another 24 goals in the playoffs for Belleville. The former Bulls first round pick has found great chemistry with linemate and NHL leading scorer Joe Thornton who starred in the OHL with the Sault Ste. Marie Greyhounds shortly before Cheechoo joined the Bulls. In the 40 games since Thornton joined the Sharks from the Boston Bruins, Cheechoo has scored 34 goals and added 19 helpers to help the Sharks bounce back from a horrendous start and into a battle for a playoff spot in the tight Western Conference. Of those 34 goals, Thornton has assisted on a staggering 27 of them.

The Moose Factory, Ontario native was selected in the second round by San Jose in the 1998 NHL Entry Draft. After graduating from the Bulls, Cheechoo spent two full seasons in the AHL before cracking the Sharks roster in 2002. Cheechoo's previous career high in goals came during the 03-04 season where he scored 28 in just his second NHL season as he helped the Sharks advance all the way to the Western Conference Finals. During the NHL lockout last season, Cheechoo spent time playing in Sweden before returning to the Sharks this season.

As was the case in his time with the Bulls, Cheechoo has also shown a propensity to elevate his game when it matters most. After finishing fourth in the NHL in 03-04 with nine game winning goals, Cheechoo already has seven this season, which is good enough for fifth in the league. While the Sharks forward is yet to breakout with a five goal game like he did in game seven of the 1999 OHL Championship to lead the Bulls to their only OHL title, he has continued to score in bunches this season with no fewer than eight multi-goal games including four hat-tricks.

The hockey world in now finding out what Bulls fans have known for years; Jonathan Cheechoo is an elite goal scorer. With 18 games remaining in the Sharks regular season it will be interesting to see if Cheechoo can become the first Bulls graduate in team history to crack the 50 goal plateau in the NHL as he continues to battle for the goal scoring lead.