Steve Yzerman: Leading by Example!

By Karl Samuelson

There have been many defining moments in the career of Steve Yzerman but none more emblematic than what occurred during a game against the Carolina Hurricanes on January 21st at the Joe Louis Arena in Detroit. After losing a draw to Keith Primeau, the Red Wings' captain moved to deflect a Paul Coffey shot from the point. He got tangled up with Primeau and fell awkwardly to the ice, taking the full force of a shot from short range on the bridge of the nose, between his eyes.

"It was too bad he got hurt on the play but he got hurt in a manner in which he's been successful," says Mitch Korn, goaltending coach with the Nashville Predators, "giving everything he's got, on every shift, regardless of the score. Here is a legitimate superstar who went down and took a shot to the face. He didn't get hurt avoiding a check. He didn't get hurt in any other manner but giving it everything he had at that point in the game. Yzerman went down and blocked that shot and that pretty much says it all."

In spite of the serious facial cut, Yzerman was instinctively driven to meet his obligation as the leading vote-getter among North American centermen and perform three days later at the All-Star Game in Tampa. He even requested a visor from the Red Wings' trainer but it was ultimately determined that Yzerman needed to give his body a little more time to heal. He missed the All-Star event but was back leading his team in record time.

"He was cut pretty bad," recalls Detroit general manager Ken Holland. "I was worried it was around his eye but we learned quickly that it was on the bridge of his nose. Steve is an amazing player. He gets the puck in the face, is cut for 30 stitches and suffers a broken nose. The guy misses one game and comes back and is the best player on the ice. He's the driving force on this club."

Yzerman has been the catalyst for the Red Wings ever since he was drafted in the first round (fourth overall) of the 1983 Entry Draft. The Red Wings had missed the playoffs in 12 of the previous 13 seasons and the glory of a Detroit Red Wings powerhouse was a distant memory. The team's return to eminence coincided with Yzerman's growth as a hockey player. He was made the youngest captain in team history in 1986-87 at the age of 21 and today stands as the longest-serving captain (in games) in NHL history.

"Everybody's personality is different so they handle their responsibilties differently," says Yzerman of the captain's role. "Take Mark Messier as an example. He is a real fiery guy who takes the bull by the horns. That's the way he fulfills his responsibitity as captain. My approach is not complicated. I approach each day by working hard, playing hard and setting an example."

Yzerman has always set an example for the Red Wings. When Detroit needed a goal scorer, Yzerman scored at a torrid pace-notching 50 or more goals five times and twice cracking the 60-goal barrier. When the team needed a playmaker, he turned other guys into marksmen. Whenever the team needed someone for the other players to follow, he came through in spades - winning faceoffs, blocking shots, killing penalities and even playing on the wing.

"Steve entered the league as a highly productive, offensive talent and made his mark on offensive statistics," explains Holland. "He was one of the league leaders in goals, assists and points every year. The whole franchise was really on his shoulders when he got here. There were some tough seasons here in Detroit but he put the franchise on his back and carried it."

The Edmonton Oilers twice met up with Yzerman in the playoffs in the late 1980s and while they eliminated the Red Wings 4 games to 1 both times, it wasn't easy trying to contain Number 19.

"Steve Yzerman always plays well," says Bruce MacGregor, the Oilers' assistant general manager. "We tried to play our defensive guy against him and tried to shut him down but he always played well and always hurt us. The main thing was to keep him under control. We knew he was going to score against us but the main thing was not to let him go crazy. Steve is a great player and a great competitor. He played well all those years and it wasn't easy playing when they were losing. They eventually gave him a supporting cast so other teams couldn't just hone in on his line anymore."

The Red Wings emerged as a high-powered hockey team in the 1990s, showcasing other skilled performers such as Sergei Fedorov, Nicklas Lidstrom and Slava Kozlov but the team consistently underachieved in the playoffs.

"Our team had a lot of success in the regular season and every year followed up with a disappointing playoff series," explains Holland. "We put together a highly offensive team that scored a lot of goals and played wide-open, firebrand hockey. The perception was that we won because of our offense and lost because of our goaltending but that was an unfair perception because we didn't play good team defense."

When the Red Wings handed the coaching reigns to Scotty Bowman in 1993, the coaching legend proceeded to preach a new doctrine around the dressing room - one based on team defense as the cornerstone of success. After enduring three more years of playoff elimination (1993-96) at the hands of the San Jose Sharks, New Jersey Devils and Colorado Avalanche, the game plan of Bowman and assistant coaches Barry Smith and Dave Lewis was executed brilliantly and resulted in back to back Stanley Cup championships in 1997 and 1998. No player supported a commitment to the total game more vigorously than Yzerman.

"Scotty Bowman demanded that everybody in that locker room change their style of play," explains Holland. "Nobody knew better than Scotty that in order to win championships the team had to become one of the league leaders in goals-against and defense had to become a number one priority. Steve Yzerman was the first to totally change his game and went from being the offensive guy to being the best two-way centerman in the NHL. Once your leader changes his game for the good of the team, then everbody on our team realized they had to as well. When you've got Scotty Bowman and Steve Yzerman demanding that you play a certain way, everybody else follows suit."

Marcel Pronovost was one of the greatest defensemen in the game and won four Stanley Cups in Detroit from 1949 to 1965. A member of the Devils' scouting staff for the past 10 years, the Hall of Famer is duly impressed with the evolution of the Red Wings' leader.

"I think Steve Yzerman proved his versality and greatness as a player by adapting to two different coaching methods." offers Pronovost. "Steve was a high scorer when the franchise needed it. When Detroit needed a name to sell tickets, Steve Yzerman showed up. When it came time to win and to sacrifice himself to play more of a defensive game, he performed and he performed well. In my mind, he is the heart and soul of the Red Wings right now."

"I think he was always a complete player it's just that the circumstances have changed," says Carolina coach Paul Maurice. "Steve Yzerman's emergence as a total player has been seen by the media as a change in his game but I think it's more a case of moving forward. The Detroit Red Wings got to the point where they don't have to rely on him for his offense every night. He's always been a complete palyer but the team was not as good over the years and had to rely on him every night to provide offense. The Detroit Red Wings have the supporting cast and while Steve Yzerman is a great offensive player, he is also a great defensive player."

The skills of some superstars deteriorate with age but that's not the case with the 33 year old Ottawa native. At 5-11, 185 pounds, Yzerman is deceivingly strong and deceptively quick. He has won more battles in the trenches than a player his size deserves to win - utilizing hockey smarts and grim determination. His management of the ice surface is masterful, enabled by his vision and passing skills. He makes everyone on the ice dangerous. Outside of the Great One himself, no player brings more passion and drive to the game than Steve Yzerman.

"Like a fine wine, he seems to get better with age," says Holland. "Even in the last couple of years he has looked faster and quicker. He makes us go both in practice and in the games. Steve Yzerman has accomplished so much in this league and when the younger players see how committed he is to working on his game and working on his conditioning, they'd better follow suit. Steve sets the pace for everything we do and he makes us go."

No team has won three consecutive Stanley Cups since the New York Islanders' dynasty of the early 1980s but the Red Wings have set their sights on nothing less. While the two-time champions have not enjoyed a banner regular season, they're not approaching this year's defense of the Cup any differently than last year.

"We have played a lot better since Christmas," explains Yzerman. "(We've) played a lot better with a lot more intensity and enthusiasm in our play. And we have lost some games where I think we played better than we did early in the season in games which we won. I think as long as we keep grinding along we will get it back. Our approach really isn't any different. The one thing that makes if different is there is more competition. Phoenix has really elevated their play. Dallas has got stronger each of the last three years. I think Colorado after a slow start has come on and is a difficult team. So I think the west is more competitive."

Although the Red Wings have not been in their usual spot atop the league standings, they haven't lost any respect aroung the league. Said Maurice: "Detroit is a classic example of a team that is not where it is used to being in the standings but nobody has changed their opinion of them."

The Red Wings' roster is essentially the same as it was last year when they won the Stanley Cup, with Larry Murphy, Nicklas Lidstrom and Anders Eriksson forming the backbone of the blue-line and a bevy of proven playoff performers up front, including Sergei Fedorov, Slava Kozlov, Igor Larionov, Thomas Holmstrom and Martin Lapointe. If anything, the team was strengthened with the addition of stalwart defensemen Uwe Krupp, who has been hurt mort of the season, and Todd Gill, who performed outstanding since joining Detroit from St. Louis until an injury felled him in early February.

Success in the playoffs is synonymous with good goaltending and Chris Osgood proved his mettle last spring and now gives the Red Wings a chance to win every night.

"I don't know if anybody in recent memory had more pressure on him in the playoffs than Chris Osgood had last year," says Holland. "We won the Stanley Cup the year before with Mike Vernon in net and last spring it's the same team comming off a great year with Chris Osgood in the net. When he let in the off long shot or bad goal it didn't affect the way he played. That's the way to judge a goaltender because they're all going to give up bad goals. The question is how do they respond to a bad goal or a bad game and Chris came through in flying colors. Chris is a mentally tough goalie and a big part of our team."

Osgood...Fedorov...Lidstrom...Eriksson...Murphy...they will all be lead in the playoffs by one man.

"Steve Yzerman is the captain, he's our leader and everybody in the locker room knows it," concludes Holland. "He hasn't been handed that right, he has earned that right. Come playoff time, Steve Yzerman is going to be the guy to lead this team. Last year we won the Cup and he won the Conn Smythe Trophy as the MVP in the playoffs. When we won our first Cup the year before he probably deserved to win the Smythe Trophy that year too. Mike Vernon, Steve Yzerman and one or two others could have won the Conn Smythe in 1997. Steve could realistically have two Conn Smythe Trophies."

He might yet, Mr. Holland. He might yet.