Red Wings' Pavel Datsyuk impresses teammates

[Spinner 6]

I remember watching him in his rookie year bounce a pass to himself behind the net leaving the defender dumbfounded as to what just happened. I told my friends from the start that he was going to be one of the best. He's a humble unselfish team player and we are lucky to have him.

edit (sp)

Edited January 7, 2009 by Spinner

[stormboy 47]

Gee I wonder how you feel about the mortgage crisis, auto company failure and everything else. I forgive AIG. The past is past. Nope, I stand firm on this. There are smart people and dumb people in this world and the dumb people have had enough time in the spot light. Yes, even when it comes to hockey. If you have been wrong in the past, think about why. If you don't get it and keep on making poorly thought out ascertains then you are a fool and wasting people's time.

see, the funny thing about this post is that everything thinks they're the smart people and everyone else is the dumb people. we justify it when we're wrong, but call it "poorly thought out ascertains" made by "fools" when other people are wrong. look, there was no way that anyone could have known datsyuk would turn out to be such an amazing player. it's not beyond the realm of possibility that filppula will turn into an 80 point player in two years. but that doesn't mean the people who wanted him to be traded now are "fools" that are "wasting people's time," it just means that they made a judgment based on the evidence that turned out to be incorrect.

if kopy suddenly turns into a monster player, i think there will be about two people on this board who wouldn't have to eat crow. that doesn't make everyone else useless and those two people hockey gods.

get over yourself.

[Opie 308]

see, the funny thing about this post is that everything thinks they're the smart people and everyone else is the dumb people. we justify it when we're wrong, but call it "poorly thought out ascertains" made by "fools" when other people are wrong. look, there was no way that anyone could have known datsyuk would turn out to be such an amazing player. it's not beyond the realm of possibility that filppula will turn into an 80 point player in two years. but that doesn't mean the people who wanted him to be traded now are "fools" that are "wasting people's time," it just means that they made a judgment based on the evidence that turned out to be incorrect.

if kopy suddenly turns into a monster player, i think there will be about two people on this board who wouldn't have to eat crow. that doesn't make everyone else useless and those two people hockey gods.

get over yourself.

It is funny that a bunch of people are dogging on the guy for saying I was right and you were wrong. When more often than not in the original thread the person who turned out to be wrong was stating that X would happen with 100% certainty. Some people even going so far as to say, mark my words.

I have been the one that was right and the one that was wrong but I try to not let my opinion come off as 100% correct and everyone else is wrong.

If you thought Dats was not going to live up to the contract and stated it as your opinion he is not talking to you.

It is the people that come on here and state up and down that X will be the way things work out,only to be 100% wrong and not ever admit.

So you dog on this guy for stating that his way is right, but the people he is referring to had flaws in their arguments, when during the debate, people SWORE up and down Dats would be a bust and would not come close to the 6.7 million. Calling him names, demanding the Wings trade him, calling him a greedy Russian.

There are times (Last years Trade deadline, or this case) where reminding the people who were way overboard wrong, that maybe they should have a little more open mindedness or optimistic point of view!

Edited January 7, 2009 by Opie

[DatsMyWings13 4]

I've always liked Pavel. I noticed him his rookie season but tt wasn't until his second year that I became a HUGE fan of his. He had a great game last night, he was everywhere.(Nothing new for Pavel)

[TheUkrainian 49]

Whatever happened to NorrisNick? I haven't seen him around the forums ( at least the ones that I check up on). Then again I don't read is as much as I used to with school and stuff.

[stormboy 47]

It is funny that a bunch of people are dogging on the guy for saying I was right and you were wrong. When more often than not in the original thread the person who turned out to be wrong was stating that X would happen with 100% certainty. Some people even going so far as to say, mark my words.

I have been the one that was right and the one that was wrong but I try to not let my opinion come off as 100% correct and everyone else is wrong.

If you thought Dats was not going to live up to the contract and stated it as your opinion he is not talking to you.

It is the people that come on here and state up and down that X will be the way things work out,only to be 100% wrong and not ever admit.

So you dog on this guy for stating that his way is right, but the people he is referring to had flaws in their arguments, when during the debate, people SWORE up and down Dats would be a bust and would not come close to the 6.7 million. Calling him names, demanding the Wings trade him, calling him a greedy Russian.

There are times (Last years Trade deadline, or this case) where reminding the people who were way overboard wrong, that maybe they should have a little more open mindedness or optimistic point of view!

fair enough. i guess i try to never go so far as to say anything will happen with 100% certainty, and i try to stay away from dogging on players too much because you never know what will happen.

re: the bolded part--i can see where you're coming from there. having not gone back and researched old threads, i don't know if the targets of my quoted poster were doing those things; maybe they were, and as such, yes, they turned out to be very wrong.

i still maintain, though, that saying "there are smart people and dumb people in the world" is going a little far when pointing out that someone was totally wrong...there were people who were very right and very wrong on the issue of datsyuk...if they were 100% sure he was going to fail, then yes, they should be corrected. that doesn't make that group the "dumb people" of the world and other people "the smart ones." that was my main point, i guess. i agree that people overreact and perhaps should be more optimistic.

the point of this thread, though, is that yes, datsyuk is awesome. i'd hope that no one disagrees with this now.

[VM1138 1,921]

I was always behind Datsyuk. When he struggled in the playoffs, you could see he was creating a lot of chances and looked snake bitten around the net. I figured it would be a matter of time before he started producing.

Early on, I noticed the puck stealing and him being solid on his skates for his size as well. Pav. is the reason I got back into watching hockey again in '03. Most entertaining player I've ever seen. When he got his big contract, I said it was worth it for this reason alone but you watch, he'll produce as well. And he has.

As for saying "I'm Right!" haha, So what? A lot of people had the haughty attitude about him being a one-dimensional flashy and overpaid player who sucks in the playoffs. But if you watched closely, he didn't suck in the playoffs; he played well but couldn't seem to finish those plays off. And you knew a guy that talented would find a way...

I agree with you. From day one it was clear this guy was going to be a marquee player for us, and I'm surprised so many people were against his contract. They expected him in his first three seasons to become a dominant playoff performer? It was clear that eventually he would be. I'll never understand people dogging him. He's been the most consistently awesome player on the Wings team since....well....Federov?

[Opie 308]

fair enough. i guess i try to never go so far as to say anything will happen with 100% certainty, and i try to stay away from dogging on players too much because you never know what will happen.

re: the bolded part--i can see where you're coming from there. having not gone back and researched old threads, i don't know if the targets of my quoted poster were doing those things; maybe they were, and as such, yes, they turned out to be very wrong.

i still maintain, though, that saying "there are smart people and dumb people in the world" is going a little far when pointing out that someone was totally wrong...there were people who were very right and very wrong on the issue of datsyuk...if they were 100% sure he was going to fail, then yes, they should be corrected. that doesn't make that group the "dumb people" of the world and other people "the smart ones." that was my main point, i guess. i agree that people overreact and perhaps should be more optimistic.

the point of this thread, though, is that yes, datsyuk is awesome. i'd hope that no one disagrees with this now.

He is by far my favorite wing now, Lids was after Stevie, but dats has just become the guy to me. Now saying that Lids and Z are still up there but Dats is my guy!

I to try to stay level headed but it doesn't always work.

To be honest I was expecting a different retort from you, with the an answer ready for you "were you asking the original slammers to be level headed".

However with your reply all I can say is 100% agreement!

[egroen 384]

Here you go:

"Datsyuk Signs"

http://www.letsgowings.com/forums/index.ph...ic=41642&hl

The full contract is not disclosed until page 23.

Edited January 7, 2009 by egroen

[Kira 451]

Just remember, kids, when you're right no one remembers...and when you're wrong, no one forgets.

[selkie 10]

I remember watching him in his rookie year bounce a pass to himself behind the net leaving the defender dumbfounded as to what just happened. I told my friends from the start that he was going to be one of the best. He's a humble unselfish team player and we are lucky to have him.

I remember him back then too. My first impression of him was that he was a scrawny guy by NHL standards, and he'd sometimes get hammered, but he had this uncanny knack for good stickhandling, evading a defenseman who was trying to line him up, and getting the puck safely passed elsewhere before he got hit. He was doing all these neat little things on the ice so very correctly, and seemed to be consistently learning how to play the NHL game better.

Had no idea he'd turn out as well as he did, and I would have been happy if he'd ended up an adequate replacement for Slave Kozlov in the entertaining moves department. But he seemed to have a lot more upside than whoever it was that someone suggested we trade him to Calgary for.

[Kira 451]

You had to know when he pulled off the ten for ten shots/goals bit at camp his rookie year that there was something really special about the guy. You could tell even then that there was a star simmering under the surface, and that all he needed was time and confidence. Now that time has passed and he's got all the confidence, you see what he has become.

[Nev 1,085]

You gotta love Datsyuk. From shy 4th line centre with the dazzling stick-handling to dominant 2-way player. And the fact he plays the game with such a smile on his face (take heed Crosby) and his slightly-geeky-but-still-funny off ice persona the guy is a legend.

Props to Mike Babcock as well, he's had a big hand in turning Dats into the player he is.

[egroen 384]

And props to Steve Yzerman, for forcing Detroit's hand into signing Datsyuk.

Reading that thread over again, I had forgotten how large a part Yzerman played in signing Datsyuk to a long-term deal.

[SouthernWingsFan 854]

When we resigned him for so much money many people were freaking out. It's not so much about rubbing people's faces in it as it is more keeping people's emotions and over exaggerations in check. I remember someone saying his resigning was the end of the Red Wings as we knew it, but in the end the team was just getting started.

At the time, I took comfort in Steve Yzerman saying "he's a special kind of player," and that's why he got the contract that he did.

He wasn't wrong about that.

Exactly, on both extremes. Give/take is needed on both sides. Were Datsyuk's bigger naysayers going off the deep end sometimes years ago? Without question. Bigtime Datsyuk supporters were as well.

I have absolutely no problem with supporting your biggest fans. I recommend it and definitely prefer it over doom-and-gloom or constant criticism 400 times a day when we got the picture of criticism the first 5 times. However there have been plenty times in here as well when Datsyuk was talked about or slightly critiqued in some of the most harmless ways and nowhere even close to suggesting he is a bad player or wanting to trade him, and Datsyuk fans in here would just completely lose their grits over it, and that is almost as frustrating to read and deal with as loudmouth naysayers on here for me. Insert any other Red Wing player in this situation over the past few seasons on here (outside of possibly any goalie war threads) and favorite fans rarely ever lost their marbles over this to the frequency or amount of times that Datsyuk fans did.

Again, give and take from both ends of the spectrum. Loudmouths can tone it down a bit, but the biggest supporters need to recognize that everybody can be critiqued or joked about and their favorite player isn't going to be specially protected with yellow rubber gloves. Doesn't matter if it is Datsyuk or Lidstrom or Kopecky or Greg Goldberg the Goalie from the Mighty Ducks movies.

As for me personally, like most things I take a middle stance on this. Knew that Datsyuk underperformed a bit before a few seasons ago, but knew he still had the game to shed that label and wanted him to remain on the team even when he was getting the label as a playoff underperformer. Glad it worked out. So, I don't feel I need to man up or admit I was wrong or apologize for anything regarding this.

And I'm a middle man now. Great that he's playing well, I'm happy for Datsyuk's biggest fans, will celebrate with them and treat them to a round of beers any day of the week, but no I personally would not call others out on this who were "naysayers" or "non-Datsyuk fans" and call them stupid or idiotic for not fully 100% "believing", assuming they aren't just completely still acting like jackasses when it's obvious that they guessed incorrectly. They've already eaten their crow and know they were wrong and it's a little childish to me to stir up s**t even further like this, when there is nothing to stir or start to begin with.

If you want to call me lame or not fun, have at it, but that's usually my mojo.

Just remember, kids, when you're right no one remembers...and when you're wrong, no one forgets.

It's not about right vs. wrong or smart vs. stupid, or I told you so. Isn't to me. It's about Wings fans on both extremes all taking the high road and being happy he's one of the best players on the team and everything working out.

[stormboy 47]

Just remember, kids, when you're right no one remembers...and when you're wrong, no one forgets.

true, unfortunately.

You had to know when he pulled off the ten for ten shots/goals bit at camp his rookie year that there was something really special about the guy. You could tell even then that there was a star simmering under the surface, and that all he needed was time and confidence. Now that time has passed and he's got all the confidence, you see what he has become.

i think you hit the nail on the head here. i think that with confidence brought the enthusiasm that datsyuk now has. he hits a lot more and he celebrates a lot more, which are two things that, i believe, spark fans and teammates alike to cheer louder and play harder. it seems to me that a player like dats lacking confidence would be afraid to celebrate after goals and risk laying out hits because his shy persona would be afraid of getting ahead of itself. for example, i don't hate lebda, but when he does his little arm-twirling celebration after a (rare) goal, i'm kinda like...Really? did you earn that? i think now datsyuk realizes that he has earned the right to do that, which has further buoyed his consistency in playing. positive feedback cycle.

It's not about right vs. wrong or smart vs. stupid, or I told you so. Isn't to me. It's about Wings fans on both extremes all taking the high road and being happy he's one of the best players on the team and everything working out.

if i didn't know better, i'd think you were new to these boards. that's not a dis on you whatsoever--i too wish that more posters would take the high road. unfortunately, it's a pretty rare thing. it's the wonderful thing about the internet, because other people aren't real people--just screennames with avatars.

still, at the end of the day, we're all wings fans. :beerbuddy:

[Hockeytown0001 7,652]

true, unfortunately.

i think you hit the nail on the head here. i think that with confidence brought the enthusiasm that datsyuk now has. he hits a lot more and he celebrates a lot more, which are two things that, i believe, spark fans and teammates alike to cheer louder and play harder. it seems to me that a player like dats lacking confidence would be afraid to celebrate after goals and risk laying out hits because his shy persona would be afraid of getting ahead of itself. for example, i don't hate lebda, but when he does his little arm-twirling celebration after a (rare) goal, i'm kinda like...Really? did you earn that? i think now datsyuk realizes that he has earned the right to do that, which has further buoyed his consistency in playing. positive feedback cycle.

if i didn't know better, i'd think you were new to these boards. that's not a dis on you whatsoever--i too wish that more posters would take the high road. unfortunately, it's a pretty rare thing. it's the wonderful thing about the internet, because other people aren't real people--just screennames with avatars.

still, at the end of the day, we're all wings fans. :beerbuddy: