Steve Yzerman

Steve Yzerman is a name that any fan of ice hockey remembers. He was a legend, and inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame 2009. He played for the Detroit Red Wings, and was their team captain for several years. He worked in the Detroit Red Wings organisation until July 2010, where he accepted the job as GM of Tampa Bay Lightning. He hired amature coach Guy Boucher in 2010 as Tampa bay lightnings 1st team coach.

The History of Steve Yzerman

Early Career

Stephen Gregory “Steve” Yzerman was born on May 9 1965 in Cranbrook, BC, Canada. He grew up in Ontario and attended Bell High School. There he played for the local hockey team, the Nepean Raiders. He was drafted into the Peterborough Petes and played there until 1983.  

When the Detroit Red Wings changed owners in the NHL draft of 1983, the new owners Mike and Marian  Ilitch was looking to get some fresh blood into the NHL. When they couldn’t get a hold of a local hockey player named Pat LaFontaine, they decided to draft Steve Yzerman instead. 
 
Only after three years in the NHL, Steve Yzerman was made the new team captain of the Detroit Red Wings. That made him the youngest player ever to receive that honor in the team. The reasons were that the coach, Jacques Demers, thought that Steve Yzerman really burned for the Red Wings. The very next year, the Detroit Red Wings won the division title for the first time in 23 years. 
 
In the 1988-89 season, Steve Yzerman managed to get one of the highest scores in NHL history, getting a 155 points through 65 goals and 90 assists. He won the Lester B. Pearson award that year, which is given to the Most Valuable Player voted by the NHLPA (National Hockey League Player Association).
  

The 90's to the New Millenia

 
In 1997, Yzerman began showing the ferociousness of the Detroit Red Wings. They won their first Stanley Cup in 42 years by beating the Philadelphia Flyers. The next year, they won it again by beating the Washington Capitals. Yzerman accounted a knee-injury however, and missed 30 games of the 2001-2002 series. He came back late however, and still managed to get high in the point leagues, and finally beating the Colorado Avalanche to win the Stanley Cup yet again. 
  

Late Career

 In his late career is when the things started to get badly however. He was hit in the eye by a puck, damaging him severely. He had to go through heavy surgery, but luckily he could return to the ice, but not after missing the World Cup of Hockey 2004. His countrymen, Joe Thornton and Joe Sakic both used the same number on their jerseys as Steve Yzerman – number 19. However, when they both declined use of the number 19 on their jerseys during national team play out of respect of   Steve Yzerman’s injury and absence shows just how much of an idol and respected player Steve Yzerman was.

 In August 2005, Yzerman signed his final years with the Red Wings. He scored his last goal in April 2007 against the Calgary Flames, accounting his 692th goal. Today, Steve Yzerman still works within the Red Wings, as their alternate governor. He is also the general manager of team Canada, and in 2009 he was inducted into the hockey Hall of Fame .     
 

GM of Tampa Bay

 In May of 2010, Yzerman announced that he will be taking over as GM for the Tampa Bay Lightning. Yzerman, who has spent his entire proffesional hockey career in the Red Wings, seems to be very exited about the new job.

Covers

 Steve Yzerman is featured on the cover of NHL 96 and NHL Rivals 2004.