Pavel Datsyuk

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Position Center
Shoots Left
Nickname Pasha
Height
Weight		 5 ft 11 in (1.8 m)
197 lb (90 kg)
NHL Team Detroit Red Wings
Nationality Flag of Russia Russia
Born July 20, 1978,
Sverdlovsk, USSR
NHL Draft 171st overall, 1998
Detroit Red Wings
Pro Career 1998 – present

Pavel Datsyuk (Павел Дацюк, Pavel Dacjuk) (born July 20, 1978, in Sverdlovsk, USSR (now Yekaterinburg, Russia)) is a Russian-born professional ice hockey player currently playing for the Detroit Red Wings.

Contents

[edit] Playing career

[edit] Pre-NHL career

Datsyuk was not considered an elite player because of his small size. He stayed with local teams throughout his youth, and was passed over in the 1996 and 1997 NHL Entry Drafts. He was finally picked in 1998 NHL Entry Draft, in the sixth round, 171st overall, by the Detroit Red Wings. The Red Wings scouts liked his skills, but they were not certain he would ever grow enough and become strong enough to play in the NHL. As it turns out, he did grow and gain the necessary strength and the Wings decided to bring him to North America. He arrived in Detroit for the 2001-2002 NHL season. He played for the Ekaterinburg Dynamo for the 1997-1998 and 1999-2000 seasons before moving up to the Russian Super League's Ak Bars Kazan for the 2000-2001 season. His numbers were not exceptionally impressive in the RSL, but the Wings saw enough in him to bring him to the NHL the next season.

[edit] NHL career

When Datsyuk began his NHL career for the Red Wings, he had mentors including Soviet legend Igor Larionov, Detroit captain Steve Yzerman, and Russian star Sergei Fedorov to help him learn his way around the NHL. 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 got to him eventually, causing him to sit out a clump of games at the end of the year in preparation for the playoffs. He contributed three goals and three assists to the Wings' 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 Devereaux on the Datsyuk-Hull line and the famous version of the "Two Kids and an Old Goat Line" was born. He only played 64 games due to a knee injury, but ended up with 51 points on the year. His playoff performance was a bit disappointing that year but the same could be said about the entire Red Wings team. They were swept by the Mighty Ducks of Anaheim in the first round and Datsyuk was held pointless.

Olympic medal record
Men's Ice Hockey
Bronze 2002 Salt Lake City Ice Hockey

The departure of Sergei Fedorov in the 2003 off-season made room for Datsyuk to rise to prominence on the Wings. He took full advantage of his extra ice time. He ended up being selected to play in the 2004 NHL All-Star Game and entered the ranks of legitimate scorers in the NHL. In the playoffs, he had no goals and 6 assists through 12 games before the Wings were eliminated in the second round.

He was a restricted free agent during the 2004-05 off-season, but could not reach a deal with the Wings despite repeated statements by his agent indicating his desire to stay in Detroit. He chose not to go into salary arbitration and played with HC Dynamo Moscow during the 2004-05 lockout. On September 19, 2005, after protracted negotiations, Datsyuk agreed to a two-year deal with the Red Wings for a total of $7.8 million (USD).

During the 2005-06 NHL season, his high level of play combined with his sportsmanlike play (he recorded just 22 penalty minutes the entire season) won him the Lady Byng Trophy. He also earned himself a spot on the Russian team for the 2006 Winter Olympics.

[edit] Awards

[edit] Career statistics

    Regular Season   Playoffs
Season Team League GP G A Pts PIM GP G A Pts PIM
1996-97 Dynamo Yekaterinburg Rus 18 2 2 4 4 -- -- -- -- --
1997-98 Dynamo Yekaterinburg Rus 24 3 5 8 4 -- -- -- -- --
1998-99 Dynamo Yekaterinburg Rus 22 12 15 27 12 9 3 7 10 10
1999-00 Ak Bars Kazan Rus 15 1 3 4 4 - - - - -
2000-01 Ak Bars Kazan Rus 42 9 17 26 10 4 0 1 1 2
2001-02 Detroit Red Wings NHL 70 11 24 35 4 21 3 3 6 2
2002-03 Detroit Red Wings NHL 64 12 39 51 16 4 0 0 0 0
2003-04 Detroit Red Wings NHL 75 30 38 68 35 12 0 6 6 2
2004-05 HC Dynamo Moscow Rus 47 15 17 32 16 10 6 3 9 4
2005-06 Detroit Red Wings NHL 75 28 59 87 22 5 0 3 3 0
Rus Totals 168 42 60 102 50 23 9 11 20 16
NHL Totals 284 81 160 241 77 42 3 12 15 4

Stats as of the end of the 2005-06 season

[edit] International play

Played for Russia in:

International statistics

Year Team Event   GP G A Pts PIM
2002 Russia Oly 6 1 2 3 0
2003 Russia WC 7 1 4 5 0
2004 Russia WCH 4 1 0 1 0
2005 Russia WC 9 3 4 7 0
2006 Russia Oly 8 1 7 8 10
Senior int'l totals 34 7 17 24 10

[edit] External links


Preceded by:
Brad Richards		 Lady Byng Memorial Trophy Winner
2006		 Succeeded by:
incumbent
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