Mike Modano was just the second American-born player to be selected first overall in the NHL Entry Draft when he was picked by the Minnesota North Stars in 1988. Five years earlier, the North Stars made had made American Bryan Lawton the number-one pick, but unlike Lawton, Modano has become a star in the NHL.

Modano was a high-scoring junior with the Prince Albert Raiders of the Western Hockey League and an all-star in his final season of 1988-89 despite missing 25 games with a broken wrist. He made his NHL debut when he played two playoff games for the North Stars that season and became a regular in Minnesota in 1989-90. His 75 points ranked second behind Sergei Makarov in rookie scoring. Modano finished aas the runner-up for the Calder Trophy. The following year, he helped the North Stars to reach the Stanley Cup finals with 20 points in 23 playoff games.

Modano led the North Stars in points in 1991-92 and in 1992-93. The team moved to Dallas in 1993-94 and Modano scored 50 goals that season, leading the Stars with 93 points. His 50 goals set a franchise record for centers and made him just the third player in Minnesota/Dallas history (Brian Bellows, Dino Ciccarelli) to score 50 in a season.

In international play, Modano represented the United States at the World Junior Champoinships in 1988 and 1989, finishing second behind fellow American Jeremy Roenick in scoring in the 1989 tournament. He played for the US at the 1990 and 1993 World Championships and was tied for the team lead in scoring with Brett Hull at the 1991 Canada Cup. Modano was a member of the American team that beat Canada in teh World Cup of Hockey in 1996 and played for the US Olympic team in Nagano in 1998.

From "Total Hockey 1997-98 Hockey Encyclopedia"

Power Play Modano Article, Sept/Oct '97

Career Highlights

*Enters 2000-01 first on the Stars all-time list for goals (349) and game-winning goals (55), and second on the all-time list for assists (467), points (816), and games played (787)
* In 1998-99, was named the Stars’ Bill Masterton Award winner for team MVP as voted by his teammates for the sixth time
* Set a career-high and tied for first in Stars history for most hat tricks in one season (3)
* He was tied for fourth in the NHL in shorthanded goals (4), was tied for sixth in shorthanded points (5), was tied for seventh in game-winning goals (7) and was 13th in points (81)
* Was first on the team in goals (34), assists (47), points (81) and shots (222), was tied for first in plus/minus (+29) and was third in game-winning goals
* He had a team-high 22 multi-point games and seven three-point outings
* Earned six point streaks of at least four games
* Earned the game-deciding goal in each of the Stars first three games (2-0-1) becoming the first player in franchise history to record the game-deciding goal in the first three games of the season and tying the team record for consecutive game-deciding goals (Wayne Connelly, Jan. 27-31, 1968, 3-0-0)
* Last time a NHL player scored game-deciding goals in first three games - Brian Propp, Philadelphia Flyers, 1982-83
* Opened the season with a four-game point streak (3-3-6), Oct. 10-17
* Had three points (1-2-3) in the Stars first game of the season, Oct. 10 vs. Buffalo
* Attempted his first career penalty shot on Dec. 7 at Calgary, but was unsuccessful (Moss)
* Recorded his fifth career hat trick, with a shorthanded goal, and finished +4 on Dec. 23 at Toronto
* Posted his 400th career NHL assist with his second assist on December 26 at Colorado
* Was named the NHL's Player of the Week for the period ending Dec. 27 after recording six points (3-3-6) in four games
* Had a season-high nine-game point streak (4-8-12), Jan. 12-Feb. 1
* Recorded his 700th career NHL point with an assist on January 20 vs. Toronto
* Played in the 1999 NHL All-Star Game for the North American Team on Jan. 24 in Tampa
* His third All-Star appearance, he tied for the game-high in points with Mats Sundin, totaling one goal and three assists, and was +4, which also equaled the game high
* Was the Stars' Player of the Month for January after earning 16 points (6-10-16) in 16 games
* Recorded his sixth career hat trick, and second of the season, on Feb. 19 vs. Chicago
* Recorded his 300th career NHL goal, the game-winner, on Feb. 23 at Nashville after posting his third hat trick of the season and seventh of his career
* Was named the Stars’ Player of the Month for February after recording 15 points (7-8-15) in 12 games with two hat tricks and three game-winning goals
* Had a season-high four-game goal streak (5-1-6), Mar. 7-14
* Left the game early on Mar. 23 at Phoenix after suffering a laceration around his eye
* Missed four games, Apr. 3-9, with a groin strain
* Finished second in NHL playoff scoring with 23 points and led the NHL in playoff assists (18)
* Led the Stars in scoring in the Quarterfinals vs. Edmonton with four points (1-3-4)
* Had a six game playoff point streak, Apr. 21-May 8
* In the Semifinals vs. St. Louis he finished first on the team in series points (7), and tied for first in goals (3), assists (4) and plus/minus (+5)
* Scored the overtime, series-clinching goal in Game Six at St. Louis
* Had a five-game point streak (3-5-8), May 12-24
* Totaled five points (1-4-5) in seven games in the Conference Finals vs. Colorado
* Led all players with seven points in the Stanley Cup Finals (0-7-7)
* Suffered a broken wrist late in Game Two of the Finals, but returned for Game Three and the remainder of the series
* Recorded two assists in Game Five vs. Buffalo for his sixth multi-point game of the playoffs
* He also won 65% of his face-offs (15 of 23)
* Assisted on both goals in Game Six, playing 61 shifts with 46:12 of ice time in the Cup-clincher, and won 33 of 57 face-offs (57%)
* In 1997-98, was first on the team in plus/minus (+25) and shorthanded goals (5), second in assists (38) and points (59), third in shots (191), tied for fourth in power play goals (7) and was fifth in goals (21)
* Recorded his fourth career hat trick, and added an assist, on Oct. 10 vs. Chicago with his second goal good for the 600th point of his NHL career
* Had four consecutive multi-point games (6-5-11), Oct. 10-18
* He had only one other time in his career with four straight multi-point games, Jan. 9-15, 1992 (4-5-9)
* Named the Stars’ Player of the Month for October
* Was named the NHL's Player of the Month for October after registering 19 points (9-10-19) and finishing +9 in 14 games
* It was the second time he won NHL honors in a span of three months (also, March 1997)
* Had a career-high seven-game assist streak (1-7-8), Oct. 25-Nov. 7.
* Had multi-point games in three consecutive outings (1-5-6), Nov. 15-19
* Missed ten games with a third degree MCL tear in his right knee, Dec. 5-29, suffered on Dec. 3 vs. Edmonton
* Had two assists for the North American squad at the 1998 NHL All-Star Game
* Had a four-game point streak Jan. 21-29, his fifth point streak of the season of four or more games
* Had two goals in four contests for Team USA at the 1998 Winter Olympics, tying for the team lead in goals
* Suffered a severely separated shoulder on Mar. 12 at Phoenix, and returned to the lineup on Apr. 18 vs. Chicago after missing 17 games
* He registered two assists in the season finale for his 17th multi-point game of the season
* Led the Stars in points (14) and assists (10) in the 1998 Playoffs and tied for the team lead in goals (4)
* Set a career playoff high with three assists in Game One of the Semifinals vs. Edmonton
* In 1996-97, was named the Stars’ Bill Masterton Award winner for MVP as voted by his teammates
* Led the Stars in goals (35), assists (48), points (83), PPG (9), SHG (5), GWG (9), and plus/minus (+43)
* Finished second in the NHL in plus/minus, T2nd in SHG and GWG and 16th in scoring
* Tied a franchise record by becoming just the fourth player in franchise history to record 80+ points in four different seasons
* Became only the fifth player in Stars history to score 30+ goals in five different seasons
* Named the NHL Player of the Month for March, collecting 18 points (5-13-18) and going +13 in 11 games
* Was just the second player in franchise history to capture NHL Player of the Month honors (Beaupre, Feb., 1986)
* His nine GWG tied the then-franchise record
* He also assisted on 14 GWG, scored two GTG and assisted on two GTG, giving him a hand in 51% of the Stars’ game-deciding goals (27 of 53)
* Was named to the Western Conference All-Star Team, but did not play due to a strained knee
* Recorded his 300th NHL assist on Oct. 30 vs. Buffalo
* Tied a career-high with a six-game goal streak (7-2-9), Jan. 21-31
* Equaled a career-high with four assists on Mar. 19 vs. Phoenix
* Played for Team USA in the 1996 World Cup of Hockey
* Collected two goals and four assists for six points in seven games during the tournament
* In 1995-96, he led the Stars in goals (36), assists (45), points (81) and shots (320) * Named the Stars’ Player of the Month in both October and January
* Collected four points on Jan. 5 vs. Winnipeg (1-3-4) and Jan. 26 at Calgary (2-2-4)
* Stars were 13-2-2 in games in which he scored at least two points
* Fired home a career-high four goals on Feb. 16 vs. Edmonton, his third career hat trick
* His 11 goals in Feb. tied for third most in the NHL for the month
* Registered a seven-game point streak (5-7-12) from Feb. 24 to Mar. 6
* Had a four-game goal streak (5-2-7), Feb. 24 to Mar. 2.
* Scored his 200th NHL goal on Dec. 29 vs. Detroit and his 500th NHL point on Mar. 20 vs. St. Louis with a goal
* Netted four shorthanded goals, tying for 10th in the NHL
* His 36 goals were the second highest total of his career (50, ‘93-94)
* Missed four games with a pulled stomach muscle from Nov. 9-17
* Missed four games with a bruised ankle, Mar. 13-23
* Underwent surgery on Apr. 11, 1995 to repair two ruptured tendons in his left ankle suffered on Apr. 4
* Did not play in the final 14 games of the ‘94-95 season and the playoffs
* Despite injuries, finished second on the team in +/- (+7), tied for second in points (29), third in assists (17) and goals (12)
* Had a career night Feb. 1 against Anaheim, setting personal highs in assists in one game (4) and points in a game (6)
* The six-point game tied for the most points in a game by an NHL player in ‘94-95
* In 1993-94, scored 50 goals to pace the club, the most ever by a Stars’ center
* Became just the third player in team annals to tally 50 in one season
* Led the Stars in scoring for the third consecutive season with 93 points, tying his career high
* Also led the club in PPG (18), shots (281), shooting pct. (17.8), GTG (2), multi-point games (29), multi-goal games (12), and PP scoring (18-21-39)
* Collected his second career hat trick at San Jose on Feb. 21
* Matched season-high with three assists vs. L.A. on Nov. 21 (including 200th of career) and vs. San Jose on Nov. 11
* Picked up his 20th goal in the team’s 24th game, fastest he’s reached 20-goal mark.
* Scored his 400th NHL point with an assist on Apr. 12 vs. St. Louis
* Missed six games with a partial tear of the medial collateral ligament suffered Jan. 6 vs. Philadelphia
* Missed making second straight All-Star Game appearance due to the injury
* Was out two games as a result of a concussion suffered vs. N.Y. Rangers on Feb. 26
* Led the Stars in goals and points in the playoffs with 7-3-10 in nine games
* Had five goals in the sweep of St. Louis including two GWG’s
* In 1992-93, led the team in points (93) and assists (60), setting career-highs in both
* Had a career-high 10-game point streak from Jan. 19 to Feb. 9 (7-14-21).
* Named NHL Player of the Week ending Feb. 6 after getting 3-5-8 in two games
* Played in his first NHL All-Star Game on Feb. 6 at Montreal
* Played for the U.S. Team in the World Championships in Germany after the NHL season
* Led the Stars in points (77) in 1991-92 and was second in goals (33) and assists (44)
* Eight GWG tied for fourth in the NHL
* Finished third on the Stars in goals (28) in 1990-91
* Represented USA in the 1991 Canada Cup and in the 1990 World Cup Tournament
* Named The Hockey News Rookie of the Year in 1989-90
* Was runner-up in the Calder Trophy voting, finishing second in NHL rookie scoring (29-46-75)
* Turned in the third-best season ever by a Stars rookie with 75 points in 80 games
* Scored his first career hat trick on March 17, 1990, at Pittsburgh
* Played two playoff games for the Stars in 1988-89, joining the club upon completion of his season in junior hockey.

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