from Eric Gilmore at NHL.com,

San Jose Sharks forward Bracken Kearns already had played for seven different minor-league teams over six-plus seasons before he made his NHL debut, Oct. 20, 2011, as a member of the Florida Panthers.

Kearns turned 32 two days before making his Stanley Cup Playoff debut, May 14 for the Sharks, in Game 1 of their Western Conference Semifinals against the Los Angeles Kings.

If the Sharks gave out awards for Most Patient Player, it undoubtedly would go to Kearns, the son of former Vancouver Canucks defenseman Dennis Kearns.

"My dad's first year in the NHL, he was 26 and he played 10 years," Kearns said. "He was a bit of a late-bloomer. He always told me in this game you need somebody to like you, a GM or a coach. Sometimes you have to go through people who aren't really big on you until you find the right situation, and this organization's been really good to me."

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