Archive for the 'Steve Yzerman' Category

Why Do I Love Steve Yzerman?

Published by Megan Saler on November 10, 2009 at 6:19 pm in 2009-2010 and Steve Yzerman. 2 Comments

I was not around to be a fan during the era of the “Dead Things.” I was born after Yzerman was already on the team. I was 15 days shy of 1 year old when he was named captain. I was in Africa when he brought the Cup back in 1997, and had just returned when he handed it to Konstantinov.

I’m embarrassed to say that I grew to love hockey after watching The Mighty Ducks. I played by myself in my concrete front yard in Nairobi, Kenya on roller skates with a broom and a tennis ball. I have no stories of Yzerman’s early years, or him bringing pride back to the Wings.

I started following the Wings during the 2001-02 season. I was a hockey fan looking for a team, and my best friend was a born and bred Wings fan. So, naturally, I picked them up. I didn’t get to enjoy the full glory of that team because I was in high school and did not have cable. I watched very few playoff games. I did not see the Statue of Liberty, or the wonderful Game 7 against Colorado. I did watch the Stanley Cup Finals. I watched Stevie lift that Cup, with his daughter next to him, and I was hooked. It wasn’t just the team that drew me, it was Stevie. It was watching him hand the Cup to Bowman, then the parade of veterans.

Like I said, I didn’t see a lot of the playoffs. But I got the DVD afterwards. And I heard the stories. Vancouver. Stevie’s knee. And from then on, he became my Captain. He’s been put on an untouchable pedestal in my mind. When people ask me who my favorite Wing is or was, I never say Yzerman. He’s above that. It’s just a given, in my mind, that he is the ultimate in the minds of every true Red Wings fan. Our favorite players could be proceeded by, “aside from Steve Yzerman.”

So why do I love Steve Yzerman? He is the best leader professional sports has ever seen. He is always a professional, regardless of the situation. He does not enjoy the spotlight, but tries to deflect it to his teammates and the organization. He is genuinely grateful to the Ilitch family and Jimmy D for giving him a chance. He can motivate an entire team without even saying a word. When the team was struggling, he did not call anyone out but pointed to himself. He never played the media game. He didn’t cry to the reporters when there were trade rumors, he just went out and showed Bowman why he had to keep him. He has the strongest, most intense stare I’ve ever seen.He exudes confidence to this day, but is still so down to earth. And, oh yeah, he’s one of the greatest all-around players to ever play the game.

And I love him for all the stuff he did before I even knew the Red Wings played hockey. I wasn’t here for his high-flying years, or for the return to glory, but I love him for it. Thanks to Steve Yzerman, and many others, I have never had to suffer the way I do as a Lions fan. Whenever the team is struggling, I still wish The Captain was there to set them straight with one of his short, concise, but powerful speeches.

That’s all I can say. There’re more reasons why I love him, but I cannot put them into words. He has a quality. If you are a Wings fan, you know exactly what I’m talking about. And you cannot put it into words either.

He’s Steve Yzerman, and he’s my captain. He’s The Captain.

What To Say?

Published by Matt Saler on November 9, 2009 at 9:01 pm in Steve Yzerman. 0 Comments

I’m sitting here watching the HHOF induction ceremony and realized I didn’t post about Steve Yzerman’s entering the Hall. To be honest, I don’t know what to say that would seem adequate. Bill comes close.

As for me, all I can say is there will never be another player like you, Stevie. I can’t put what you meant to me personally, the state of Michigan and the hockey world into words. Congratulations, Captain.

The Captain’s In

Published by Matt Saler on June 23, 2009 at 6:17 pm in Links and Steve Yzerman. 1 Comment

We’ve known this day would come for long time: Steve Yzerman is part of the Hockey Hall of Fame’s class of 2009. Joining one of the greatest leaders in sports history in entering the Hall this year will be former Red Wings Brett Hull and Luc Robataille, as well as Brian Leetch.

Congrats to all, but especially The Captain.

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1/26 Notes

Published by Matt Saler on January 26, 2008 at 11:23 am in All Star Game, Chris Chelios, Chris Osgood, Fabian Brunnstrom, Nick Lidstrom, Pavel Datsyuk and Steve Yzerman. 6 Comments

Update (6:44 PM): Watching some of the pre-event coverage on CBC here in the Detroit area (home for the weekend). They say Pavel Datsyuk will face Tomas Vokoun in the breakway contest, while Chris Osgood will be up against Alexander Ovechkin. – Matt

… Tonight at 7:00 ET is the Dodge/NHL SuperSkills competition on Versus. Of the six non-YoungStar events (obstacle course relay, fastest skater, elimination shootout, accuracy shooting, hardest shot, and breakaway challenge), I can only find confirmation that Pavel Datsyuk and Chris Osgood will be competing in the last.

However, you have to think Pavel will be in on the accuracy event, the shootout event, and possibly the fastest skater as well.

Nick Lidstrom will probably be in the hardest shot competition and possibly the accuracy event.

Osgood, aside from the breakaway competition, will have to be in the shootout event.

… Speaking of Osgood, San Jose’s Ron Wilson is still hoping to convince Mike Babcock to start Evgeni Nabokov instead of the Red Wing. Sorry, Ron, but Osgood has been the better goalie this season, with his League-leading GAA and #3 save-percentage.

At first glance, Nabokov has his own League-leading stat, his 27 wins, going for him, but he’s played in 48 of the Sharks’ 49 games. That’s a winning percentage of .5625. Osgood, by comparison, has played in 26 of 51 with 20 wins for a winning-percentage of .7692, which translates out to 36 wins over 48 games.

Nabokov deserves to start the All Star Game over Osgood, Ron? Really?

… Ron Wilson, by the way, won’t give up the idea that his Sharks outplayed the Wings in the post-season last year. His comment that the Wings are “better now than they’ve ever been” is much appreciated, though.

… James Mirtle has a post up on how to fix the All Star Game. His solution? Make it a spectacle like the Winter Classic. No argument there, but I still think changing up the section process would go a long way in getting the fans interested, as well. In a day where so many fans have fantasy teams made up of players not from their team, why not have us vote for the entire roster instead of merely the starters?

… On a related note, the folks at AOL’s NHL Fanhouse talk about the future of the Game.

… Ted Kulfan has projected lines for the Western All Stars:

Nash-Datsyuk-Iginla
Sedin-Thornton-Gaborik
Arnott-Getzlaf-Perry
Horcoff-Kopitar-Ribiero

… I find this comparison of Daniel Alfredsson to Steve Yzerman just a little off-putting. I do not deny that he is a great leader and certainly the Senators’ MVP, if not the League’s, but Yzerman was one of those leaders that comes along just once or twice in a generation. I don’t think that’s just the Red Wings fan in me talking. To say The Captain is and was someone special is a major understatement.

Ottawa GM Bryan Murray pointed out that “winning brings recognition” and there’s no doubt that winning a Cup would vault Alfredsson to a higher level in the pantheon of leaders. But to Yzerman’s status?

I was impressed by Alfredsson in the Wings recent game in Ottawa, but part of my perception of him is tainted by having watched him get beaten by Buffalo’s Jason Pominville for a series-ending overtime goal in the 2006 Conference Finals. It’s unfair of me, I suppose, but that’s one of the first things that comes to mind when I think of the guy. (via Snapshots)

… George Malik has more on the Fabian Brunnstrom story.

… Ansar Khan has a nice piece on Henrik Zetterberg and Pavel Datsyuk.

… The Freep focuses on Chris Chelios today, with seven different Chelios-related headlines on their Wings page.

Yzerman to manage Team Canda for 2007 WHCs

Published by Matt Saler on January 29, 2007 at 8:14 pm in Canada, Links and Steve Yzerman. 0 Comments

Update (04. Feb, 8:00 PM): I just remembered that Ken Holland was honored in the same way last year. - Matt

He’ll remain with the Wings, of course, but will get to pick the roster for this year’s World Hockey Championships.

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01/03 Notes

Published by Matt Saler on January 3, 2007 at 12:44 pm in Chris Chelios, Injuries, Notes, Pavel Datsyuk and Steve Yzerman. 1 Comment

Christy’s coverage of the jersey retirement ceremony is better than anything I could produce so I’ll just say a few things rather than do a comprehensive write-up.

… The new banners for Terry Sawchuk, Sid Abel, Ted Lindsay, Alex Delvecchio and Gordie Howe look great. Nice to see them modernized.

… Scotty Bowman had a funny line about the Wings’ age. He said the team kept signing older players in order to keep Yzerman feeling young, because no matter how old he got, there were always a couple guys on the team that were older.

… Bowman also said Yzerman had the highest pain threshold of any player he ever coached. That’s saying a lot, considering he once coached Mario Lemieux.

… In typical Yzerman fashion, he deflected attention away from himself, even on his night, during his speech. Right from the start, when he talked briefly about his first game in Detroit, he was putting the focus on others. First, it was the fans, who he said made that first game so special.

Then, he thanked the Ducks for participating in the ceremony.

After that, it was his wife and kids, who have waited so patiently for him over the years and are still waiting as he has taken on other responsibilities.

He then thanked the Illitches and the Detroit front office for their patience and willingness to work with him over the years.

Then, he went into overdrive, spending a lot of time thanking and praising Scotty Bowman, who he said had never gotten a proper goodbye after he retired in 2002. Anyone tuning in at this point would have thought they’d stumbled across a ceremony honoring Bowman.

He then thanked his old teammates, especially those who had not been able to be on the Cup teams. He said they were responsible for setting up the Cup runs and deserved thanks even if their names aren’t on it.

On a similar vein, he thanked the players from the previous eras for building Hockeytown and giving it such a rich history.

Finally, he thanked the fans, though he said he didn’t know how. According to The Captain, it was our high expectations that provided him with the inspiration and drive to play as he did and he said we are a huge reason his jersey was being retired. For that, he said he was sincerely grateful.

… During his speech, Yzerman made a comment to the effect that he believes his image as a great leader is greatly overblown. Needless to say, the fans at the Joe let him know what they thought of that and when the crowd had quieted down, one fan spoke for all of us when he yelled, “You’re the best, Stevie,” loud enough for the TV mics to pick up.

… Good to see the Wings put forth a winning effort last night, though it wasn’t a memorable game except for a couple things:

- Homer’s no-look pass to Hank for the game winning goal.

- Some truly awful officiating in the first period. This hurt both sides, though the Ducks were able to get a goal out of it while the Wings weren’t.

… Lastly, Pavel Datsyuk has a groin injury and is likely to miss a few more games. Josh Langfeld filled in for him last night. Chris Chelios will not fly to California with the team because he has to deal with the deadly stabbings of two of his employees at his restaurant downtown. He also has a shin injury which has kept him out of the lineup. Apparently, he’ll fly out when he’s ready.

Checking in….

Published by Matt Saler on January 2, 2007 at 5:13 pm in Steve Yzerman. 0 Comments

I’m in Holland now and don’t have time for a full post. So, a few links:

Abel to Yzerman: IwoCPO’s comments on The Captain

Behind the Jersey: coverage of the ceremony

Detroit Free Press: “19 things we remember about Stevie Y”

Snapshots: more coverage of the ceremony and The Captain

We’ll have more tomorrow.

New monthly NHL leadership award established

Published by Matt Saler on November 13, 2006 at 7:03 pm in NHL and Steve Yzerman. 0 Comments

Update (9:39 PM): IwoCPO has more on this “award.” Maybe not naming it after Yzerman wasn’t such a bad thing. Ugh. - Matt

It’s named after a former NHL captain. No, it’s not Steve Yzerman, it’s Mark Messier, who, they say, “many consider … to be the best captain in hockey history.” Gag me. How insulting. Knowing The Captain, though, he probably doesn’t mind not having to dialogue with the league about who he thinks exhibits leadership every month. Still, if they’re giving an award for intimidation, I can see it being named after Messier. But leadership? It should have Yzerman’s name on it. I mean, come on, his picture’s practically already next to the dictionary entry for the word. (via A2Y)

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11/07 Notes

Published by Matt Saler on November 7, 2006 at 5:54 am in Evgeni Malkin, Injuries, Mathieu Schneider, Notes, Pavel Datsyuk, Steve Yzerman and Valtteri Filppula. 0 Comments

… Update (9:30 AM): The Free Press’ Steve Schrader points us to a quote by Evgeni Malkin in today’s paper:

“Always I was following for Pavel Datsyuk. I was following his game, the way he’s playing. I’m not trying to copy him, but I’m trying to be same leader as Pavel Datsyuk.”

From the outside looking in, I sometimes find it hard to see Pavel as a leader, but that’s not the first time I’ve heard him called one so apparently there’s some truth in it. It can’t just be that he’s an offensive force and leads by his skilled example. I’d like to hear a more concrete explanation of his leadership, like whether or not he’s vocal in the lockerroom or on the bench, etc. (via Snapshots) - Matt

… Because he was awarded with the Lester Patrick Award yesterday, both papers have pieces on Steve Yzerman today.

It sounds like his new life as a team vice president is going well. He has a flexible schedule (can arrive at work any time between 8:00 AM and 2:00 PM), goes to most of the home games as well as some road games here and there, gets to read scouting reports, and has input on trades, according to Helene St. James.

His former teammates, apparently, have had trouble adjusting to his new role:

“They don’t recognize me as the vice president of the Red Wings — we’ll leave it at that.”

He does occasionally go down to the lockerroom to see the guys, however, though he apparently wishes there was a little less familiarity from them outside of the lockerroom. Ted Kulfan quotes him as saying,

“But I do think it’s best that if somebody wants to ask me about something, they’ll ask me as opposed to me kind of barging in and saying, ‘This is the way it should be.’”

Kulfan’s piece has some multimedia features in the sidebar that include a slideshow, some audio files, and a video.

… Everyone’s talked about how Henrik Zetterberg hasn’t been scoring enough, but I haven’t seen anyone talk about Niklas Kronwall’s lack of scoring. Until today. The News takes a brief look at Kronwall, who has been getting chances and believes he’ll get it going soon.

The paper also points out that he is #3 among Wings defensemen in minutes with an average of 20:31 a game. Not bad.

… The Freep reports that Mathieu Schneider should return to the lineup tomorrow night against Edmonton after he participated in practice yesterday. I like the quote the paper has from Mike Babcock:

“I thought he was going to be more careful today than he was. He didn’t look like he was careful at all.”

Hey, well, if he feels good, why should he take it easy, Mike?

… One negative aspect of keeping Valtteri Filppula is that he is just one of three skilled rookies on the team all competing for ice time. George Sipple reports that Babcock is set on giving them all meaningful minutes, which will be tough given the fact that one of the three will have to sit out every game.

Based on what minutes they’ve been getting so far, it looks like Filppula (11:21 in 5) is going to be in the lineup more consistently, with Hudler (10:28 in 10) next, and Kopecky (7:02 in 11) perhaps being the odd-man out more often than not.

Yzerman and others to be honored Monday

Published by Matt Saler on November 2, 2006 at 12:09 pm in Steve Yzerman. 0 Comments

Along with Marcel Dionne, Red Berenson, Reed Larson, and Glen Sonmor, Yzerman has been rewarded with the Lester Patrick Trophy for “outstanding service to hockey in the United States.” The Wings are having a luncheon at JLA in honor of Dionne, Berenson, Sonmor, and Yzerman (all former Red Wings) on Monday, the 6th. Tickets are $125 each and will benefit the USA Hockey Foundation.

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