Just a day after being announced as an inductee to the Hockey Hall of Fame this November, Russian forward Pavel Datsyuk, who has been prevented by injury from playing since 2021, officially announced his retirement from the game at age 45.

Datsyuk, a member of Yekaterinburg’s junior system in the Russian Superleague, was considered to be an NHL long-shot, a sixth round draft pick of the Detroit Red Wings in 1998. But the Wings’ scouting staff found a true hidden gem in “the Magic Man,” as Datsyuk broke out almost immediately, dazzling fans and opponents with his brilliant stick-work and top-notch defensive play. Datsyuk captured his first of two Stanley Cups in his sophomore season in 2002, taking on a more central role in his second win in 2008. A four-time NHL All-Star, Datsyuk also captured the Selke Trophy as the game’s top defensive forward three times, and the Lady Byng Trophy as the league’s most gentlemanly player four times, and stunningly made the playoffs in each of his 14 seasons in Detroit. After notching 918 points in 953 career games played, Datsyuk announced a return to Russia in 2016, helping SKA Saint Petersburg capture the Gagarin Cup in his first season. Datsyuk would play two more seasons with SKA before capping his stellar 23-season career with where he started, spending his two final years with Avtomobilist.

A native of the Urals city of Sverdlovsk, Datsyuk did not debut for The Big Red Machine until the 2001 World Championship, his first of seven appearances at the Worlds, where he would amass a tally of one Gold (2012), one Silver (2010) and two Bronze (2005, 2016) medals. Datsyuk also played at five straight Olympics between 2002 and 2018, book-ending his appearances with a Bronze (2002) and Gold (2018) medal, the latter as a member of the Olympic Athletes From Russia, earning him entry as the 29th member of the Triple Gold Club. Datsyuk also competed at the 2004 and 2016 World Cup Of Hockey, and was part of the tour-winning squads on the Euro Hockey Tour in 2013 and 2017.

Even with all of his international success, Datsyuk surprisingly only captured the IHLC four times over his long career, first coming on the Euro Hockey Tour in 2000, and last at the start of the 2018 World Championships. We wish Pavel and his family the very best for his retirement and the things to come!

Photo Credit: PyeongChang 2018 – IIHF – HHOF – IOC