Pavel Datsyuk

Pavel Valerievich Datsyuk (Па́вел Вале́рьевич Дацю́к, ; born 20 July 1978) is a Russian former professional ice hockey player.

Datsyuk was nicknamed the "Magic Man" honoring his incredible stickhandling and creativity with the puck.

He began playing for the farm club of Dynamo Yekaterinburg in the mid-1990s, though he seemed headed for an undistinguished career until noted Olympic trainer Vladimir Krikunov began coaching the team.

The boy "with the twitchy walk" caught the eye of Krikunov, but not on the ice.

Instead, Datsyuk excelled on the soccer field, where his anticipation, vision and intelligence were more apparent.

Under Krikunov, Datsyuk evolved into a particularly efficient two-way player, and he began to draw wider attention among Russian hockey fans.

Despite his early successes, however, he went undrafted in the 1996 and 1997 NHL drafts.

Datsyuk was first noticed by Detroit Red Wings Director of European Scouting Håkan Andersson in the summer of 1997–98.

Andersson was in Moscow to scout defenseman Dmitri Kalinin, but the one who caught his eye was Datsyuk, described as "this little guy on the other team."

Andersson made another trip to see Datsyuk and would have gone a third time, though his flight was canceled due to a storm.

A scout from the Calgary Flames was scheduled to fly on the plane as well, and as a result of the storm Andersson believes he was the only NHL scout to have seen Datsyuk play prior to the 1998 NHL Entry Draft, when the Red Wings drafted him 171st overall.

When Datsyuk began his NHL career for the Red Wings, he was mentored by Soviet stars Igor Larionov and Sergei Fedorov, as well as Detroit captain Steve Yzerman.

He was put on a line with Brett Hull and Boyd Devereaux and had a moderately productive first year.

The length and difficulty of the NHL season forced him to sit out a number of games at the end of the year in preparation for the Stanley Cup playoffs.

From 2001 to 2016, he played for the Detroit Red Wings of the National Hockey League (NHL).

Datsyuk won the Stanley Cup in 2002 and 2008 with the Red Wings, and the Gagarin Cup in 2017 with SKA Saint Petersburg.

He was part of the Russia men's national ice hockey team at the Olympic Games in 2002, 2006, 2010 and was team captain in 2014 and 2018.

He contributed three goals and three assists to the Red Wings' 2002 Stanley Cup run.

Expectations were high for Datsyuk's second season, particularly with the addition of another highly touted prospect to the team, Henrik Zetterberg.

Zetterberg replaced Boyd Devereaux on the Datsyuk–Hull line, and the famous version of the "Two Kids and an Old Goat Line" was born.

He played only 64 games due to a knee injury but ended up with 51 points for the season.

His playoff performance was disappointing, however, the same as the entire Red Wings team; Detroit was swept by the Mighty Ducks of Anaheim in the first round, and Datsyuk was held pointless.

The departure of Sergei Fedorov in the 2003 off-season made room for Datsyuk to rise to prominence on the Red Wings.

He took full advantage of his elevated ice time, where his playmaking skills earned him a spot in the 2004 NHL All-Star Game.

In the 2004 playoffs, he had no goals and six assists through 12 games before Detroit was eliminated in the second round by the Calgary Flames.

Datsyuk became a restricted free agent during the 2004–05 off-season but could not reach a deal with the Red Wings despite repeated statements by his agent, Gary Greenstin, indicating his desire to stay in Detroit.

He chose not to take the salary dispute to arbitration, and instead played with Dynamo Moscow during the 2004–05 NHL lockout.

On 4 September 2005, Datsyuk then signed a one-year contract with Avangard Omsk of the Russian Superleague (RSL), where Dynamo Moscow matched the offer two days later, retaining the player.

On 19 September 2005, the day the arbitration committee of the RSL was set to determine which club had Datsyuk's rights, Datsyuk agreed to a two-year deal with the Red Wings for a total of US$7.8 million.

He also won four consecutive Lady Byng Memorial Trophies, from 2006 to 2009, awarded for performance and sportsmanship.

Datsyuk won the Frank J. Selke Trophy as the NHL's top defensive forward in the 2007–08, 2008–09 and 2009–10 NHL season.

He was nominated for the Hart Memorial Trophy as the NHL's most valuable player following the 2008–09 season.

Datsyuk is well known for his elite defensive play and game-changing offensive skills.

He was also a leading player for the Russian hockey team at multiple Olympics and World Cups.

Datsyuk was born in Sverdlovsk of the Soviet Union.

His parents have called him by his short name "Pasha" from an early age.

His childhood had more than its fair share of difficulties, especially at the age of 16, when his mother died.

While Datsyuk displayed above-average hockey skills, he was often overlooked by scouts because of his smaller size.

In 2017, Datsyuk was named one of the "100 Greatest NHL Players" in history, and was the only active player outside of the NHL at the time of announcement.

With his gold medal win at the 2018 Olympics, Datsyuk joined the Triple Gold Club.