On the Wings

As the Detroit Red Wings 2006-07 Season gets underway, it is only proper to take a look back at a Wings legacy player, who has greatly impacted Hockeytown. In particular, I would like to give a special On the Wings salute to Marty Pavelich, as today marks his 79th birthday. Pavelich epitomized his position as a stellar Left Wing and Center in the 1950’s era, and remains one of my own personal favorite Wings players of that period. His outstanding ability, statistical performance and character ultimately helped the Red Wings achieve four Stanley Cup victories, throughout his eleven total seasons as a Wings player.

“He just makes you play him. He won’t take no for an answer.” -Jack Adams, former Red Wings head coach.

From 1944-1947, Pavelich started off his hockey career playing minor league hockey with The Galt Red Wings of Ontario, which was a connected junior affiliation league with the Detroit Red Wings at the time. Out of the 74 games he played with that organization, Pavelich scored a remarkable 52 total goals. This, and his notable competitive edge, was enough to convince the Wings managers to draft him for the Detroit Red Wings, on September 9, 1947. For a left winger, he was decent for his size, as he weighed around 170 lbs with 5′ 11″ in height. As such, he was able to effectively perform in penalty killing opportunities, through checking and offensive rushing. He reached his all time career high in the 1951-52 season, with 17 goals and 19 assists out of the total 69 games he played. Although Pavelich did not demonstrate a consistent strength in shooting or skating abilities, former Wings Coach Jack Adams quickly took note of his obvious powerhouse potential. When Sid Abel left, before the 1952-53 season, Adams placed Pavelich as center, on the primary penalty killing line with Gordie Howe and Ted Lindsey. Pavelich immediately flourished in this and similar line chemistries, by supplementing the offensive lines with his trademark forechecking efforts. Pavelich’s career gradually declined to his final 1956-57 season, however, from becoming burnt out from his tireless career. During this last season, he scored only 3 total goals and made 13 assists. After retiring from hockey, at the age of 30, Pavelich decided to pursue an entrepreneurial partnership in business. He teamed up with Ted Lindsay and opened a successful company that supplied auto-part manufacturers. According to Kelley King’s article entitled “Catching up with…Ted Lindsay, Hero of Hockey,” from the February 28th 2000 edition of the Sports Illustrated Magazine, Pavelich is currently retired and living in Big Sky, Montana, where he enjoys a simple life of skiing and fishing in a remote surrounding.

Pavelich’s strengths may best compare with the abilities of Kris Draper, a current Red Wings center. Both these Wings demonstrate striking similarities in their abilities to lead intense and decisive penalty killing formations, and competitive edges. Going as far to say that Draper and Pavelich’s strategies identically relate would be a clear exaggeration. However, it is not difficult to see that, like Pavelich, Draper is a present day leader of the Red Wings penalty killing efforts. For example, in the October 21, 2006 game against the Edmonton Oilers, Datsyuk managed to receive a two minute tripping penalty at 6:30 into the second period. Draper immediately stepped up by stealing the puck from Jarret Stroll, disrupting the Oilers’ powerplay formation as a result. It is aggressive strategies such as this that Draper and Pavelich are particularly well known for. Because of their stellar offensive work, there are many parallels in how these players each led The Red Wings to several Stanley Cup Victories.