Steve Yzerman BIO
The year was 1982 and Mike Ilitch had just taken over the Detroit Red Wings from The Norris Family.
Now Detroit desperately were looking for a great player to build theire team around. For the past 13 years they had only advanced to the Play-off two times. They had to change this.
In the 1983 draft they knew they had to found a really good player, When the turn came to Detroit, as nr 4, they picked Steve Yzerman. Yzerman had just turned 18, he was rather small at 5-foot-11 and 170 pounds.
His numbers with the Peterborough Petes of the Ontario Hockey League was good but not impressive. But something about the kid felt right.
Steve Yzerman was born May 9, 1965, in Cranbrook, British Columbia. He lived there until he was nine years old. Then his father Ron Yzerman who worked for the governmentīs health and welfare department had to move to Napean, Ontario, a suburd of Ottawa. Yzerman began to play hockey at an age of 7, wich was rather late for a Canadian boy.
Yzerman made his NHL debut Oct. 5, 1983. With 1 goal and 1 assist in his first game he showed already from the start he was something speciall. He finished the year with 87 points, 39 goals wich was a new team rookie record, his 87 points were team leading. He also finished as number 2 in the voting for the top rookie of the year and became the youngest player ever to be representive at the NHL All-Star Game. Not a bad first year for Yzerman.
After his first match Yzerman just kept going in the same terrific way. He had 89 points his second season and he really lifted the Red Wings, Detroit made it to the play-off in Yzermanīs two first years. In the 85-86 season Yzerman only played 51 games but he made 42 points. Next season was a great year for Yzerman coach Jacques Demers named Yzerman the team captain, He played all 80 games and did 90 points, 31 goals, Detroit once again made it to the play-off. The 87-88 would be a very dramatic year for yzerman and the Red Wings. Yzerman had a great year with 102 points, over 100 for the first time and he did 50 goals also this for the first time, and this in only 65 games. The reason way he only played 65 games was a nasty knee injury, wich kept Yzerman off the ice all the way to the play-off.
But next season, the 88-89 season, Yzerman was back in full shape. He had an unbelivable year with a career high of 155 points, 65 goals and 90 assists, This was also an all-time team record, and it still is. Yzerman was rewarded with the Lester B. Pearson Award, as the player of the year, voted by the players them selves.
Now Steve just kept playing, He made four straight seasons with over 100 points, one with over 60 goals again and two more with over 50. The Red Wings only missed the play-off one time in this fantastic years for Stevie.
Than in the 93-94 season Yzerman got a very bad back injury, I infact think that heīs still today is a little bit troubled by this injury. Yzerman only played 58 games that season but he anyway made 82 points, very impressive. In -95 the NHL season due to a strike was shorted to 48 games. This season was not so good in points for Yzerman, but he more and more showed what a great defensive player he was. The Red Wings made a terrific play-off and reached all the way to the Stanley Cup final, but there they unfortunately lost to The Devils, 4-0.
In the 95-96 season Yzerman did 95 points and he had a great play-off with for example the OT winner against the Blues in the Conference Semi-Finals.
Now many peoples think, Oh what a career. This guy canīt miss anything. But In all this years Yzerman just missed one thing, To win the Stanley-Cup, one of the biggest things in life for all Canadian hockeyplayers. He struggeld for this thing in the hole of his carrer. Me and maybe he self began to though that he would never came to that in his life.
Then the 96-97 season came, I think it was the best period in my life. Yzerman had a pretty good season, as always, with 85 points. He had played very good in the defensive to. The team seemed very strong. Iīve never seen The Red Wings play such good hockey as they did that play-off. It seemed that nothing could stop them.
And the Stanley-Cup finals against the Flyers were so lovely, Yzerman played terrific and did one goal in three of the four matches. When Yzerman after game four stod there lifting the cup with a great smile on his face I was so happy, so happy for one of the best hockey players ever. He finally got there, and he deserved it so much, more than any other player. For 14 seasons in the same team, He always gived his everything, booth in good times and in bad times he always was there for the team he loved so much. I bet he was the happiest man in the hole world in that moment. Now I just wish him all of luck in the future and Iīll hope he will have many great years infront of him.
