Pavel Datsyuk

Pavel Datsyuk (born July 20 1978, in Sverdlovsk, USSR (now Yekaterinburg, Russia)) is a Russian-born professional ice hockey player. He is currently a member of Dynamo Moscow of the Russian Super League but his NHL team is the Detroit Red Wings. He wears #13 and has nicknames ranging from "Pavs" to "Dats" to "Moves."

Contents

Playing career

Datsyuk grew up in Yekaterinburg and was never considered an elite player because of his size. He was 5 ft 8 in (173 m), 145 lb (66 kg) at the time. He stayed with local teams throuhout his youth, and was passed over in the 1996 and 1997 NHL entry drafts. He was finally picked in 1998, in the sixth round as #171 overral, by the Detroit Red Wings. He was the Wings' 8th choice in that draft and while they liked his skills, they were not certain he would ever grow enough and become strong enough to play in the National Hockey League. 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.

Pre-NHL career

He played for the local team Yekaterinburg 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 (9 goals, 17 assists for 26 points through 42 games) but the Wings saw enough in him to bring him to the NHL the next season.

NHL career

Hopes were high for the 2001-2002 season in Detroit after a blockbuster summer that saw the acquisition of Hall-of-Famers Brett Hull, Luc Robataille and Dominik Hasek. A team that already had a number of Hall of Fame-caliber players, Detroit looked to be a lock for the Stanley Cup. Pavel Datsyuk came to the city at the start of all this and it turned out to be the best possible situation for him. He had mentors such as veteran Russian player Igor Larionov and loud-mouthed Brett Hull teaching him different aspects of the game and had a solid lineup backing him up in case of mistakes. He was put on a line with Hull and Boyd Devereaux and had a productive first year, scoring 11 goals and notching 24 assists for a total of 35 points through 70 games. The League saw many examples of Pavel's brilliant puck handling skills, passing ability and accurate shot through the season and he built a name for himself as a player who could make just about any defender look like a complete fool. 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 and ended up being part of the Wings' third championship team in five years.

Expectations were high for Datsyuk's second season, particularly with the addition of another highly touted prospect to the team, Henrik Zetterberg. He did not disappoint. 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 on Anaheim in the first round and Datsyuk was held pointless by the goaltending brilliance of JS Giguere.

The departure of Sergei Fedorov in the 2003 offseason made room for Datsyuk to rise to prominence on the Wings. He took full advantage of his extra ice time and basically became the Wings' number one center. He no longer had Igor Larionov as a mentor since he had left for the New Jersey Devils but his departure allowed for Brett Hull to have a larger influence on Pavel's play. Larionov, who always was in a passing mindset, honed one part of Datsyuk's game while Brett Hull, always a shoot-first kind of player, taught Pavel to shoot the puck more. This made him a much more complete player and is the reason he scored 30 goals to go along with his 38 assists through 75 games in the 2003-2004 season. He amazed the hockey world with the goal he scored on Marty Turco on November 12th. He ended up being selected to play in the 2004 NHL All Star Game and entered the ranks of legitimate scorers in the NHL. Again, his playoff performance was lacking but that was more due to the ridiculous clutching-and-grabbing going on than anything else. He had no goals and 6 assists through 12 games before the Wings were eliminated in the secound round.

He was a restricted free agent this past off-season but could not reach a deal with the Wings despite repeated statements by his agent indicating his desire to stay here in Detroit. The Wings made what they called a generous offer but Pavel rejected it. He chose not to go into salary arbitration, as was his right, and that indicates his desire to be fair more than anything. He signed a deal with Moscow Dynamo which reportedly has escape clause that would allow him to return to the Wings if a contract is agreed on and the NHL lockout ends.

Awards

  • 2002 Olympic Bronze Medal with Russia
  • 2002 Stanley Cup with Detroit Red Wings
  • December 2003 NHL Offensive Player of the Month
  • Named to 2004 NHL All-Star Game roster


Career statistics

    Regular Season   Playoffs
Season Team League GP G A Pts PIM GP G A Pts PIM
1997-1998 Yekaterinburg Dynamo RUS 24 3 5 8 4 - - - - -
1999-2000 Yekaterinburg Dynamo RUS 15 1 3 4 2 - - - - -
2000-2001 Ak Bars Kazan RSL 42 9 17 26 10 - - - - -
2001-2002 Detroit Red Wings NHL 70 11 24 35 4 21 3 3 6 2
2002-2003 Detroit Red Wings NHL 64 12 39 51 16 4 0 0 0 0
2003-2004 Detroit Red Wings NHL 75 30 38 68 35 12 0 6 6 2
2004-2005 Moscow Dynamo RSL 12 2 4 6 2 - - - - -
NHL Totals 209 53 101 154 55 37 3 9 12 4

International play

Media

Pavel Datsyuk vs. Marty Turco - November 12th, 2003 (http://www.letsgowings.com/multimedia/031112datsyuk1a.mpg)

Navigation

  • Art and Cultures
    • Art (https://academickids.com/encyclopedia/index.php/Art)
    • Architecture (https://academickids.com/encyclopedia/index.php/Architecture)
    • Cultures (https://www.academickids.com/encyclopedia/index.php/Cultures)
    • Music (https://www.academickids.com/encyclopedia/index.php/Music)
    • Musical Instruments (http://academickids.com/encyclopedia/index.php/List_of_musical_instruments)
  • Biographies (http://www.academickids.com/encyclopedia/index.php/Biographies)
  • Clipart (http://www.academickids.com/encyclopedia/index.php/Clipart)
  • Geography (http://www.academickids.com/encyclopedia/index.php/Geography)
    • Countries of the World (http://www.academickids.com/encyclopedia/index.php/Countries)
    • Maps (http://www.academickids.com/encyclopedia/index.php/Maps)
    • Flags (http://www.academickids.com/encyclopedia/index.php/Flags)
    • Continents (http://www.academickids.com/encyclopedia/index.php/Continents)
  • History (http://www.academickids.com/encyclopedia/index.php/History)
    • Ancient Civilizations (http://www.academickids.com/encyclopedia/index.php/Ancient_Civilizations)
    • Industrial Revolution (http://www.academickids.com/encyclopedia/index.php/Industrial_Revolution)
    • Middle Ages (http://www.academickids.com/encyclopedia/index.php/Middle_Ages)
    • Prehistory (http://www.academickids.com/encyclopedia/index.php/Prehistory)
    • Renaissance (http://www.academickids.com/encyclopedia/index.php/Renaissance)
    • Timelines (http://www.academickids.com/encyclopedia/index.php/Timelines)
    • United States (http://www.academickids.com/encyclopedia/index.php/United_States)
    • Wars (http://www.academickids.com/encyclopedia/index.php/Wars)
    • World History (http://www.academickids.com/encyclopedia/index.php/History_of_the_world)
  • Human Body (http://www.academickids.com/encyclopedia/index.php/Human_Body)
  • Mathematics (http://www.academickids.com/encyclopedia/index.php/Mathematics)
  • Reference (http://www.academickids.com/encyclopedia/index.php/Reference)
  • Science (http://www.academickids.com/encyclopedia/index.php/Science)
    • Animals (http://www.academickids.com/encyclopedia/index.php/Animals)
    • Aviation (http://www.academickids.com/encyclopedia/index.php/Aviation)
    • Dinosaurs (http://www.academickids.com/encyclopedia/index.php/Dinosaurs)
    • Earth (http://www.academickids.com/encyclopedia/index.php/Earth)
    • Inventions (http://www.academickids.com/encyclopedia/index.php/Inventions)
    • Physical Science (http://www.academickids.com/encyclopedia/index.php/Physical_Science)
    • Plants (http://www.academickids.com/encyclopedia/index.php/Plants)
    • Scientists (http://www.academickids.com/encyclopedia/index.php/Scientists)
  • Social Studies (http://www.academickids.com/encyclopedia/index.php/Social_Studies)
    • Anthropology (http://www.academickids.com/encyclopedia/index.php/Anthropology)
    • Economics (http://www.academickids.com/encyclopedia/index.php/Economics)
    • Government (http://www.academickids.com/encyclopedia/index.php/Government)
    • Religion (http://www.academickids.com/encyclopedia/index.php/Religion)
    • Holidays (http://www.academickids.com/encyclopedia/index.php/Holidays)
  • Space and Astronomy
    • Solar System (http://www.academickids.com/encyclopedia/index.php/Solar_System)
    • Planets (http://www.academickids.com/encyclopedia/index.php/Planets)
  • Sports (http://www.academickids.com/encyclopedia/index.php/Sports)
  • Timelines (http://www.academickids.com/encyclopedia/index.php/Timelines)
  • Weather (http://www.academickids.com/encyclopedia/index.php/Weather)
  • US States (http://www.academickids.com/encyclopedia/index.php/US_States)

Information

  • Home Page (http://academickids.com/encyclopedia/index.php)
  • Contact Us (http://www.academickids.com/encyclopedia/index.php/Contactus)

  • Clip Art (http://classroomclipart.com)
Toolbox
Personal tools