Detroit Red Wing's Pavel Datsyuk and His Hockey Career

Pavel Datsyuk is a very well known Detroit Red Wings player, and for good reasons. He is extremely well known for his stickhandling capabilities and is often referred to as one of the best forwards in hockey today. Pavel Datsyuk was born in Sverdlosk (now Yekaterinburg), Russia on July 20, 1978, making him thirty years old. He is 5 feet and 11 inches tall, which makes him on the shorter side when it comes to NHL players, and weighs 194 pounds. Pavel Datsyuk's hockey career really began in 1996 when he played with the Spartak Yekaterinburg, a team in the RSL (Russian Super League). In the 1997-1998 and 1998-1999 hockey seasons, Datsyuk moved to another RSL team, the Dynamo Yekaterinburg. For the next two seasons, Datsyuk played with the Ak Bars Kazan, which is also a team that is part of the RSL.

After five seasons in the RSL, Pavel Datsyuk played with the Detroit Red Wings in the 2001-2002 season. He was drafted by the Detroit Red Wings in the 1998 Entry Draft 171st overall. He played with the Detroit Red Wings until 2004, when the NHL lockout occurred. During the lockout, although Pavel Datsyuk's agent insisted that he wanted to stay with the Detroit Red Wings, he played with the HC Dynamo Moscow in the RSL, because they were never able to negotiate a deal with the Red Wings. After the lockout out, Datsyuk returned to the Detroit Red Wings and is currently playing with them in the Stanley Cup Playoffs. He was with the the Detroit Red Wings in 2002 and 2008 when they won the Stanley Cup and has a very distinguished hockey career.

He won the Lady Byng Memorial Trophy in 2006, 2007, and 2008. The Lady Byng Memorial Trophy is awarded to hockey players who have shown a great deal of sportsmanship and good conduct in addition to being very skilled in the game of hockey. He also received the Frank J. Selke Trophy in 2008. The Frank J. Selke Trophy is awarded each year to a forward who shows a great deal of skill in the defensive aspect of the game. He was also nominated for the Heart Memorial Trophy, in the 2008-2009 season, which is regarded by many as the most prestigious award in hockey. The Hart Memorial Trophy is given to the player who is deemed to be most valuable to his team. Along with his many awards, Pavel Datsyuk was selected to play in the NHL YoungStars game in 2002. He was also selected to play in the NHL All-Stars game in 2004, 2008, and 2009.

Pavel Datsyuk played hockey for Russia in the Winter Olympics in 2002 and 2006. He also played for Russia in the 2003 and 2005 World Championships. In 2004, he again played for Russia in the World Cup of Hockey.

ref-www.nhl.com