Bob Duff, the columnist for Windsor Star, recently wrote a book about No. 19. You can read excerpts from each chapter at this website. I couldn’t find too much information about the book itself (ie. availability) so I emailed Duff and got a quick response.
The book, Nineteen, will be released on January 2nd and will be sold by the Detroit Red Wings. You will be able to order a copy from their website. If the Wings are selling it, I wonder if they’ll have copies for sale at the game.
Want to take your chance on winning a copy? Windsor Star is giving away five signed books if you (1) correctly answer three trivia questions and (2) are randomly selected.
During the 2nd intermission of the Sweden-Slovakia game in the WJC, Steve Yzerman was interviewed by SVT. You can watch the 8 minute interview online here. The interview is at the 1 hour and 41 minute mark and lasts about 8 minutes. Clicking on fullskärm to the bottom right of the video feed will make it a full screen.
Thanks to LGW forum reader redwingrulez19 for the link.
For those of you attending the Yzerman Jersey Retirement ceremony (and the game against the Ducks), don’t forget to arrive at the Joe early! The ceremony starts at 6:30pm, but you’ll definitely want to get there before then because I expect it to be crowded. If I see any empty seats, I’ll be mad. Everyone in attendance will receive a replica Yzerman banner!
The Michigan Hockey publication named Yzerman’s retirement as the biggest moment for the Detroit Red Wings in 2006.
ESPN.com Page 2 column
December 12, 2006
by LZ Granderson
One of the great things about growing up in Detroit was our proximity to Canada. In 10 minutes or so you could be in Ontario, where the exchange rate was still strongly in our favor, the legal drinking age was 18 and it was safe to eat the fish you caught.
We could also get Channel 9, the Canadian television station which, before the days of cable, would broadcast the Red Wings. This is where I first saw the grace and beauty of hockey and the magic of Steve Yzerman.
For a while my family of seven had only one television, so debating what we would watch was a form of entertainment itself. Occasionally I would bring up the Red Wings. Those were also the occasions my mother allowed the other kids to curse at me.
“Hell no, that’s for white people,” and then my older sister would turn on “The Dukes of Hazzard” and cheer for a car with the confederate flag painted on the roof. She never saw the irony. I never pointed it out.
Why do we have to look towards the Canadian Press to update us, Detroiters, on how No. 19 is doing as VP? I realize it’s a lot of the same “just trying to learn how the business is run,” but why couldn’t a reporter for a Detroit newspaper/media give us an update?
“I have no regret at all,” Yzerman said in an interview with The Canadian Press. “The last couple of years was a struggle just to get out there. I put a lot of effort in getting ready to play. To me, I’ve almost found it a relief to not have to physically try and keep up because it was becoming very difficult for me to do that. “I’m very happy with my decision.”
“I’m free to make my own schedule,” he says. “I don’t necessarily have to go down to Joe Louis Arena every day. I watch our team play quite a bit. I watch some of our prospects play on a regular basis, try to get to at least one game a week. And I spend some time around the office in a lot of the departments to get a feel for what they’re doing.”
George Malik at Snapshots found a newspaper article from The Record about Yzerman scouting two Wings prospects at a Saginaw Spirit game (OHL).
“He’s got a real good sense for the game,” said the 41-year-old Yzerman, who drove an hour from his Detroit-area home to see Kindl in OHL play.
“He plays his position really well. Our organization is very high on him.”
…
Last night, Yzerman spoke to Kindl after the game. Some of that Stevie Y leadership must be rubbing off a bit.“He’s a good guy,” Kindl said of Yzerman. “He tries to talk to me and I try to learn things from him.”
Canadian Press article
December 5, 2006
by Pierre Lebrun
Steve Yzerman is at peace. He made the right decision when he called it quits on a sensational 20-year playing career.
“I have no regret at all,” Yzerman said in an interview with The Canadian Press. “The last couple of years was a struggle just to get out there. I put a lot of effort in getting ready to play. To me, I’ve almost found it a relief to not have to physically try and keep up because it was becoming very difficult for me to do that. “I’m very happy with my decision.”
So happy that when he watches his team play these days, in his new front-office role as team vice-president, it feels right.
“I’ve really enjoyed watching hockey games, moreso than maybe I expected,” Yzerman said.
