Pavel Datsyuk took the GM’s advice to heart on his way to the Hockey Hall of Fame

On November 22, 2024By Littum

Pavel Datsyuk sat down behind the podium in the interview room and smiled.

“Site,” he said.

Datsyuk’s sense of humor matches his hockey skills, which is saying something considering he was at Little Caesars Arena Thursday to be feted by the Detroit Red Wings in honor of his induction into the Hockey Hall of Fame earlier this month. A video tribute played on the Jumbotron before Datsyuk dropped a ceremonial puck prior to the game between the Wings and the New York Islanders.

A two-time Stanley Cup champion with the Wings as well as an Olympic and World Cup gold medalist with Russia, Datsyuk was picked by the Wings in the 1998 draft in the sixth round, 171st overall.

Three summers later, he made his first foray into Detroit at development camp.

“One good memory I have is Ken Holland bringing me and Yuri Butsayev to Joe Louis Arena,” Datsyuk said. “Joe Louis Arena is empty, no ice. We’re standing like on the second floor. The arena is so big. He tells me, if you train hard, you might play here one day. I remember this. And actually my season tickets ended up being below where we stood.”

Datsyuk played for the Wings that fall, and all the way through 2015-16, recording 918 points in 953 games. He won the Cup in 2002 and 2008. His electrifying skills stood out even on the star-studded 2001-02 team, to the point where he played alongside veteran Brett Hull, who was inducted into the Hall in 2009.

“Brett Hull is a great player, I learn a lot from him,” Datsyuk said. “Just throw the puck where he is and he’ll take care of it. But my first year playing, we have an incredible team and I can learn from everybody every day. I can turn left, learn, turn to right, learning. Lots of great players and they have patience with me and explain things to me even though I don’t understand English. It’s appreciated.”

These days, Datsyuk, 46, enjoys being a development coach with his old team in Yekaterinburg, Russia, for 16- to 20-year-olds. When they asked him about the NHL, Datsyuk said he tells them his former teammates in Detroit, “are good players, professionals, not only on the ice, but off the ice.

“Also tell them to enjoy every moment. You never know what’s going to happen.”

Datsyuk called his time with the Wings, “awesome. I had a good 14 years, good memory.”

Contact Helene St. James on [email protected]. Follow her on Twitter @helenestjames.

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Her latest book, “The Franchise: Detroit Red WingsA Curated History of the Red Wings,” published October 2024. Her books, “On the Clock: Behind the Scenes with the Detroit Red Wings at the NHL Draft” and “The Big 50: The Men and Moments that made the Detroit Red Wings ” are available from Amazon, Barnes & Noble and Triumph Books. Personal copies available via her email.