Nicknamed ‘The Magic Man,’ Pavel Datsyuk’s magnificent skating and stickhandling prowess made him one of the most electrifying players in hockey.

Pavel Datsyuk was born July 20, 1978 in Sverdlovsk, Russia, USSR. Beginning at the age of sixteen, Datsyuk played with Dynamo-Energiya Yekaterinburg of the Russian Superleague (RSL), staying with the team until 1999-2000. He joined AK Bars Kazan of the Russian Superleague (RSL) in 2000-01.

At the 1998 NHL Entry Draft, Datsyuk was selected by the Detroit Red Wings in the 7th round, 171st overall. He joined the Red Wings in 2001-02, and was a member of the Stanley Cup-winning team that year. Pavel played fourteen seasons with the Red Wings from 2001-02 to 2015-16. During that time, he used his formidable skills to win the Frank J. Selke Trophy as the League’s best defensive forward on three occasions (2007-08, 2008-09 and 2009-10). While still executing in an impressive manner, his gentlemanly play earned him the Lady Byng Memorial Trophy four times (2005-06, 2006-07, 2007-08 and 2008-09) as well as being runner-up in 2014-15. He also won the NHL’s Plus-Minus Award in 2008.

Those individual awards pale in comparison to his contributions to the Red Wings. Detroit won the Presidents’ Trophy as the NHL’s regular season champions in 2001-02, 2003-04, 2005-06 and 2007-08. They won the Clarence S. Campbell Bowl as the NHL’s Western Conference champions in 2001-02, 2007-08 and 2008-09. And Datsyuk and the Detroit Red Wings won the ultimate prize, the Stanley Cup, in 2002 and 2008.

Datsyuk was selected for the NHL YoungStars Game at the 2002 NHL All-Star Game Weekend. He earned a spot on the NHL’s Second All-Star Team in 2009 and was chosen for the NHL All-Star Games in 2004, 2008, 2009 and 2012. The 2010-11 NHL Players Poll showed Datsyuk as the player who was the ‘Hardest to Take the Puck From’ and ‘Cleanest Player.’ The next year’s poll awarded him ‘Smartest Player,’ ‘Most Difficult to Play Against,’ ‘Hardest to Take the Puck From,’ ‘Most Difficult to Stop,’ ‘Cleanest Player’ and ‘Toughest Forward to Play Against.’

Pavel Datsyuk announced his retirement from the NHL on June 18, 2016. His NHL regular season totals are 953 games played, with 314 goals and 604 assists for 918 points. His NHL playoff totals are 157 games played, scoring 42 goals and assisting on 71 others for 113 points.

During the NHL lock-out in 2004-05, he returned home and played with Moscow Dynamo in the Russian Superleague and helped the team win the Continental Cup and the Russian Superleague championship while being named the RSL’s Most Valuable Player. After retiring from the NHL, Pavel returned to the KHL to play three seasons with SKA St. Petersburg from 2016-17 to 2018-19, and helped SKA St. Petersburg win the Gagarin Cup championship in 2016-17. He played two seasons with Avtomobilist Yekaterinburg from 2019-20 to 2020-21, and announced his retirement from hockey on July 2, 2022.

Datsyuk represented Russia at the 2002 Olympics, winning a Bronze Medal and finishing the tournament with the best plus/minus (+8). He represented Russia at seven IIHF Men’s World Championships, winning five medals (Gold in 2012, Silver in 2010 and Bronze in 2005, 2016, and 2017). He was the recipient of the IIHF Directorate Award Forward at the 2010 IIHF Men’s World Championship and was named a member of the Media All-Star Team.

Pavel is a member of the IIHF Triple Gold Club by winning Olympic Gold in 2018, the World Championship in 2012 and the Stanley Cup in 2002 and 2008. In 2017, the NHL’s centennial season, Datsyuk was named one of the 100 NHL Greatest Players of All Time. He was awarded the Kharlamov Trophy as the Best Russian NHL Player as selected by peers, the Russian NHL players, in 2011 and 2013.

In 2024, Pavel Datsyuk received the highest honour given to any hockey player when he was inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame in the Player Category.