Datsyuk Aiming For a Miracle

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TAMPA — This could be the last act of the “Magic Man.” Unless the Detroit Red Wings can talk him out of it, Pavel Datsyuk will retire from the NHL after the Stanley Cup Playoffs and go home to Russia even though he has a season left on his contract. READ MORE..

Datsyuk was born in Sverdlovsk (Cвердловск) (now Yekaterinburg), in the Urals region of Russia.
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His parents have called him by his short name “Pasha” from an early age. His childhood had more than its fair share of difficulties, especially at the age of 16, when his mother died. While Datsyuk displayed above-average hockey skills, he was often overlooked by scouts because of his smaller size. He began playing for the farm club of Dynamo Yekaterinburg in the mid-1990s, though he seemed headed for an undistinguished career until noted Olympic trainer Vladimir Krikunov began coaching the team.

During the 2006–07 season, Datsyuk debuted Reebok’s new hockey stick, with holes bored into the shaft to make it more aerodynamic, dubbed the 9KO. He completed the season matching his previous campaign’s total of 87 points. Prior to the beginning of the playoffs, on 6 April 2007, Datsyuk signed a seven-year, US$46.9 million contract extension with the Red Wings. He then helped Detroit advance to the Western Conference Finals against the eventual Stanley Cup champions, the Anaheim Ducks, contributing 16 points in 18 games.

You think you have him tied up, and Datsyuk will make the puck disappear off your stick and reappear in your net, just like that.

Not only can Datsyuk beat you, he can embarrass you. Not only can he embarrass you, he can embarrass you for eternity. One play can turn into thousands of replays, living forever on TV and in cyberspace.

“Just look at his highlight tape,” Lightning center Brian Boyle said. “Hopefully I’m not on it.”

Marty Turco is on it. Datsyuk once took a pass and broke in alone on the Dallas Stars goaltender. Datsyuk turned his lower body right and his upper body left. A left-handed shot, he started on his forehand then drew the puck across on his backhand. As Turco flailed to the left, Datsyuk darted right and put the puck into a wide-open net. Now you see it; now you don’t.

“His edges are ridiculous,” Boyle said. “His strength on his skates is off the charts. He makes it look like he’s going that way and he goes the other way. … His legs and his upper body are completely independent, and then you have his hands, the third part.”

And out of all the great players the Red Wings have had during their 25-season playoff streak — Steve Yzerman, Nicklas Lidstrom, Sergei Fedorov, and on and on, a roster of Hockey Hall of Fame members — Datsyuk has been the most entertaining for one simple reason: You never know what he’s going to do.

Datsyuk still has tricks up his sleeve at age 37. If you’re a fan, enjoy the show before the curtain comes down. If you’re the Lightning, make sure you don’t get caught watching the show — or, worse, wind up as part of it.

“It’s fun to watch,” Boyle said. “It’s difficult to defend.”

by Nicholas J. Cotsonika @cotsonika / NHL.com Insider

https://www.nhl.com/news/pavel-datsyuk-looking-to-make-some-more-magic-in-playoffs/c-280284840?tid=280202816