Pavel Datsyuk

Verified Timeline

Lore & Background

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. With his gold medal win at the 2018 Olympics, Datsyuk joined the Triple Gold Club. Datsyuk was well known for his elite defensive play and game-changing offensive skills. He won the Frank J. Selke Trophy as the NHL's top defensive forward in 2008, 2009 and 2010 while also being a finalist for the award in 2011, 2012 and 2013. He also won four consecutive Lady Byng Memorial Trophies, from 2006 to 2009, awarded for performance and sportsmanship. He was nominated for the Hart Memorial Trophy as the NHL's most valuable player in 2009. He was also a leading player for the Russian hockey team at multiple Olympics and World Cups.

In Their Own Story

The 2008 playoffs marked the pinnacle of Datsyuk's career. In game three of the Western Conference Finals against the Dallas Stars on May 12, he scored his first career NHL hat-trick in a 5–2 victory. This performance propelled the Red Wings to the Stanley Cup Final against the Pittsburgh Penguins. In game six of that series, Datsyuk recorded two assists on goals by Henrik Zetterberg and Brian Rafalski, securing a 3–2 win and the team's 11th Stanley Cup title. During the 2007–08 regular season, he led all Red Wings forwards in blocked shots while posting a career-high 97 points (31 goals, 66 assists) in 82 games. He dominated defensively as well, leading the NHL with a plus-minus of +41 and 144 takeaways—58 more than second-place Mike Modano. These achievements earned him both the Frank J. Selke Trophy and the Lady Byng Memorial Trophy.

Reader's Guide

Datsyuk was born in Sverdlovsk, Russian SFSR, in the Soviet Union. His parents have called him by his diminutive (nickname) "Pasha" from an early age. His childhood had more than its fair share of difficulties, especially at the age of 15, when his mother died. While Datsyuk displayed above-average hockey skills, he was often overlooked by scouts because of his smaller size. 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 defenceman 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. Despite being selected in the 1998 NHL Entry Draft, Datsyuk continued to play for Dynamo Yekaterinburg through 2000, when he then played for Ak Bars Kazan during the 2000–01 season. During the 2000–01 season for AK Bars Kazan, he recorded 42 games played, nine goals, and 17 assists. When Datsyuk began his NHL career for the Red Wings, he was mentored by compatriot 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 2002 playoffs. After the Red Wings won the Presidents' Trophy

Did You Know?

• Datsyuk won the Lady Byng Trophy four consecutive times from 2006 to 2009.
• He was drafted 171st overall by the Detroit Red Wings in the 1998 NHL Entry Draft.