Associated Press article
June 15, 1998
His face has been shoved in the ice, he has been cross-checked in the back, slammed into the boards and knocked to the ice countless times.
Every time the Washington Capitals have had the opportunity to hit Steve Yzerman in the Stanley Cup Finals, they’ve done it. But the Detroit Red Wings captain has gotten up every time and made the Capitals pay, much like he has made every opponent pay in the playoffs this season.
Yzerman’s play has put the Red Wings within a game of capturing their second straight Stanley Cup on Tuesday night. His league-leading 24 points (6 goals, 18 assists) also has put the 33-year-old on the verge of winning the Conn Smythe Trophy as the MVP of the playoffs.
Typically, Yzerman downplayed the possibility of winning the award on Monday, noting that goaltender Chris Osgood and defenseman Nicklas Lidstrom were also good candidates. That’s the kind of response that defenseman Viacheslav Fetisov’s expects from the teammate he calls a “class act.”
“You can see how he is willing to compete and fight on every shift on the ice,” Fetisov said. “Even when he makes a mistake, you can see the expression on his face, everyone knows he is unhappy and will fix it.
“It’s tough to shut down these kinds of guys. They never stop. They never quit. It’s amazing. He is not the biggest guy in hockey, but his heart and his soul everybody in this room feels, and we try to follow him.”
Associated Press article
June 15, 1998
View article at CNNSI
Steve Yzerman won his second Stanley Cup and his first Conn Smythe Trophy on Tuesday night.
Once called a player who couldn’t lead his team to victory in the big games, Yzerman was finally officially recognized as the most valuable player of the playoffs with his strong all-around contribution.
“No one has ever deserved the Conn Smythe more,” teammate Brendan Shanahan said. “He carried our team through the playoffs just like a captain should.”
June 15, 1998
Flash back 15 years, back into the realm of what-might-have-been. A wispy, physically unassuming 18-year-old centerman from suburban Ottawa expects to be drafted fourth overall by Detroit, a possibility he finds quite pleasant.
But upon further reflection he wishes there is a way fate could somehow sweep him to the third pick and to the team he adored his entire life.
“I grew up loving the New York Islanders ever since they first joined the league,” Steve Yzerman says. “And now that I think about it, yeah, it would have been pretty exciting to go to your favorite team as a child.
“Bryan Trottier was my hero growing up. That’s who I patterned myself after. He’s the reason why I wear No. 19.”
