Pictured above from left to right: Mark with his father, Len; Mark as a young hockey player in Ontario; Mark and his brother David with their grandpa Lou.
For Mark Jankowski, becoming a hockey player was pretty much destiny.
"I guess you could say it was sort of given with my family background," the 26-year-old forward said with a laugh.
Jankowski's Hockey Bloodlines Run Deep
Jankowski, who signed a one-year deal with the Penguins on the first day of free agency (Oct. 9), has bloodlines that run deep in the sport starting with his great-uncle, the late Red Kelly.
"He lived in Toronto, so I saw him every once in a while," said Jankowski, who grew up in Dundas, Ontario, about an hour outside of the city. "We'd go to his house and see him at some family gatherings and things like that. We'd be able to talk about hockey and his career and share stories and stuff."
Kelly, a Hockey Hall of Famer who was named one of the NHL's 100 Greatest Players, won eight Stanley Cups - four as a defenseman with the Detroit Red Wings and four as a forward with the Toronto Maple Leafs. He also captured the Hart Trophy, Norris Trophy and the Lady Byng Trophy (four times) while recording 823 points in 1,316 games in his 20-year career.
After his playing days were over, Kelly moved behind the bench, and eventually took over as head coach of the Penguins for the 1969-70 campaign. He led Pittsburgh to its first-ever playoff appearance that spring, and assumed general manager duties for the following season.
All in all, Kelly coached 274 games from 1969-1973, which ranks fourth in Penguins franchise history.
"Coming to Pittsburgh now with my great-uncle Red as coach and GM there for a number of years, it's pretty cool having that connection to the city," Jankowski said. "It's awesome. I didn't get to talk too much to him about his time in Pittsburgh, I talked more about his playing days when he was in Detroit and Toronto. But I know he definitely said he loved the city of Pittsburgh, and so I'm really excited to live there."
In addition to that, Mark's late grandfather Lou Jankowski played a lengthy professional career that included 131 career NHL games for Detroit (where he was teammates with Hall of Famers like Gordie Howe, Ted Lindsay and Alex Delvecchio) and Chicago.
As a kid, Mark said he didn't quite understand the significance of what his family members did for a living, but learned to appreciate it as he progressed in the sport.
"My dad's telling me yeah, your grandpa played in the NHL and your great-uncle is Red Kelly and I'm like alright, that's pretty cool. Whatever that means," Mark said with a laugh.
"Then as you get older, you realize when you get more into hockey and you look at the history books a little bit more and you see that, it's just something cool that you can say and people that you can talk to about things and just keep listening to their stories. I know between my grandpa and my great-uncle, the stories that they told about their time in the NHL and pro hockey in general, you hear some cool stuff. So I'd say it's pretty neat being able to have those people that you could talk to growing up."
That all being said, the biggest influence on Mark's career was his father, Len, who played four years of collegiate hockey at Cornell University before spending some time overseas playing professionally in Europe.
Len always had hockey games on TV in their house and had Buffalo Sabres season tickets, as their home arena was about an hour and 15-minute drive.
"I just remember my earliest memories of hockey were going to those Sabres games with my dad," Mark said. "And I guess that's kind of where I fell in love with the game and wanted to play hockey myself."
Once Mark did begin playing, he also remembers Len taking him to the store to buy his first set of hockey equipment, driving him to his first practices and setting up a shooting area in their basement.
"He'd be showing me toe drags and different moves and shots, and we'd be down there all the time," Mark said. "So, I think he's someone that was definitely the biggest influence on me."
When it came time for Mark's draft day in 2012 - at PPG Paints Arena right here in Pittsburgh - his high school graduation from Stanstead College, a prep school in Quebec, was scheduled for the same day.
"I was trying to decide if I was going to go to the draft or if I was going to stay for graduation, and then kind of made a last-minute decision like oh, we should go to the draft," he said. "It's a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity."
After Mark took his last calculus exam - "I think I probably left it half-blank because I was nowhere near thinking of math at that time" - Len was there to pick him up with the car packed and ready to make the drive to Pittsburgh. Mark was selected in the first round (21st overall) by the Calgary Flames.
"Just hearing my name called was the biggest thing," he said. "Honestly, I kind of blacked out. I heard my name called and I stood up and turned to my brother or my dad. One of them was the first one I hugged, and then you go down the line. And then after that, I don't remember anything until after I was on the stage."
Mark went on to play four seasons at Providence College, where he was teammates with Brandon Tanev the entire time and won the NCAA championship in 2015. After spending the first four seasons of his pro career with the Flames - where he recorded 64 points in 208 career games - Jankowski was thrilled to join the Penguins organization.
Not only because Jankowski will be reunited with Tanev, who is one of his best friends, but for the opportunity to play alongside someone like Sidney Crosby.
"When I tell people about Pittsburgh or when people are congratulating me or something, usually the first thing they're saying is oh, you get to play with Sid, you're so lucky," he said with a laugh. "So that's going to be exciting, for sure. I'm really looking forward to the opportunity here. Obviously it's a great team with some great players."
