(Ronald Martinez/Getty Images)

The 31-year-old left winger out of Oshawa, Ont., was part of Anaheim's Stanley Cup-winning squad in 2007. He then signed with the Boston Bruins.

CBCSports.ca: How did you get into hockey?

Thornton: "Being a Canadian kid, I think it's pretty standard. I started when I was seven, a little bit later than most kids, but that's when I decided I wanted to play and my parents said 'sure.' So off I went."

CBCSports.ca: What was the first game you can remember playing?

Thornton: "Actually, it was probably when I played net. I figured out I was never going to be a goalie. When you're a kid they try and throw you in every position for the first little bit, and I didn't like standing down on one end of the ice just talking to myself. I needed someone to talk to."

CBCSports.ca: Who was your funniest teammate?

Thornton: "I'm going to have to go with D.J. Smith in St. John's (from the now-defunct AHL Maple Leafs). He's always messing around. I lived with him for four years and every day, it was something new."

CBCSports.ca: Where was the most memorable tournament you ever played?

Thornton: "Probably a Quebec midget tournament, in my second year of midget. That's where the general manager from the Peterborough Petes was watching, and that's how I got my break to get into the OHL. He took a chance on me in the draft that year."

CBCSports.ca: Where was the worst arena you've ever played at?

Thornton: "Binghamton, New York, without a question (the Broome County Veterans Memorial Arena, home of the AHL's Binghamton Senators). That place is just old, just a terrible rink. It was small, dark, just awful. Haven't been there in a couple years but from what I'm told, it hasn't changed much."

CBCSports.ca: Where was the coldest game of hockey you ever played?

Thornton: "It's got to be practices in Fieldian Gardens, in St John's. I think it was natural ice, and it was absolutely freezing in that rink. You had to get on the bus and travel over there, and it didn't matter how hard you worked, you couldn't break a sweat. We went there a couple times a month, whenever the old Memorial Stadium was being used. I never wore enough layers of clothes there."

CBCSports.ca: Who was the most memorable hockey parent you ever met?

Thornton: "I'm going to have to go with, not a hockey parent, but my coach in major atom. Lionel Ingelton. I was a young kid, and I think it was my first year of AAA, and he brought me on the team.

"As I was growing up later on in life, he really helped me take the step to the next level, when I was 14 or 15. He taught me how to work, doing all that off-ice training, and he really worked on pushing through boundaries with the mental part of the game. He really helped with that."