Owen Nolan, 24, whose parents emigrated from Belfast when he was seven months old in order to raise their son away from the violence of Northern Ireland, recently made history in this year’s NHL All-Star Game, scoring three goals. Receiving the sellout crowd’s biggest ovation, Nolan set the record for the fastest two goals in All-Star play, scored eight seconds apart.

Nolan came late to the game of hockey. He didn’t even put on skates until the relatively advanced age of nine. In Canada, where he grew up, most kids skate almost as soon as they can walk. But his Irish parents didn’t share their adopted country’s fascination with frozen water. Nolan says if it weren’t for some Mends of his father who were interested in playing hockey, he never would have started.

Nolan previously played with the Nordiques before being traded to the Sharks in exchange for Sandis Ozolinsh. He finished the 1995-6 season scoring 69 points (33 goals, 36 assists) in 81 games, which was a career high. He was also the runner-up for NHL Player of the Week in December with 6 points (4 goals, 2 assists) in 3 contests.

Nolan has also been known to turn his hand to things you might not expect from a young hockey player — he cooks. The first pick of the 1990 draft, he was 18 and living alone in Quebec. Determined not to give himself food poisoning, he got some pointers from a few restaurateur friends, did a lot of experimenting, and taught himself to be a pretty good cook.