Steve Yzerman | |||
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Hockey Hall of Fame, 2009 | |||
Born |
Cranbrook, British Columbia, Canada |
May 9, 1965 ||
Height | 5 ft 11 in (180 cm) | ||
Weight | 185 lb (84 kg; 13 st 3 lb) | ||
Position | Centre | ||
Shot | Right | ||
Played for | Detroit Red Wings | ||
National team | Canada | ||
NHL Draft | 4th overall, 1983 Detroit Red Wings |
||
Playing career | 1983–2006 |
Medal record | ||
---|---|---|
Representing Canada | ||
Men's ice hockey | ||
Olympic Games | ||
2002 Salt Lake City | ||
World Championships | ||
1985 Czechoslovakia | ||
1989 Sweden | ||
Canada Cup | ||
1984 Canada | ||
World Junior Championships | ||
1983 Soviet Union |
Stephen Gregory "Steve" Yzerman (/ˈaɪzərmən/; born May 9, 1965) is a Canadian retired professional ice hockey player and current general manager of the Tampa Bay Lightning of the National Hockey League (NHL). He is widely considered to be one of the greatest players of all time. Yzerman spent his entire NHL playing career with the Detroit Red Wings and is a member of the Hockey Hall of Fame. On January 27, 2017, in a ceremony during the All-Star Weekend in Los Angeles, Yzerman was part of the second group of players to be named one of the '100 Greatest NHL Players' in history.
Prior to the 1986–87 season at the age of 21, Yzerman was named captain of the Red Wings and continuously served for the next two decades (dressing as captain for over 1,300 games), retiring as the longest-serving captain of any team in North American major league sports history. Once voted to be the most popular athlete in Detroit sports history, locals often simply refer to Yzerman as "The Captain." Yzerman led the Wings to five first-place regular season finishes and 3 Stanley Cup championships (1997, 1998 and 2002).
Yzerman won numerous awards during his career, including the Lester B. Pearson Award (Most outstanding player) in the 1988–89 season, the Conn Smythe Trophy (Most Valuable Player of the Stanley Cup playoffs) in 1998, the Selke Trophy as the League's best defensive forward in 2000 and the Bill Masterton Memorial Trophy for perseverance in 2003. He was a ten-time NHL All-Star, a First Team All-Star in 2000 and a member of the All-Rookie Team in 1984.