Last year on January 3, I linked to an article by ESPN the Magazine senior writer Eric Adelson about Steve Yzerman and the Detroit Red Wings reaching out to a little boy named Braxton, who had been diagnosed with cancer. As the big Yzerman fan that I am, I was very touched by the article and even more impressed with how much Yzerman had reached out to Braxton.

Yzerman told the boy to stick around and watch practice. Braxton did, and his eyes locked on the players as they whizzed by. Brendan Shanahan zipped over and handed Braxton a broken stick. Brant gasped, but Braxton hardly raised an eyebrow. “That’s cool,” he said. “But it’s not Steve’s.” Brant grimaced and looked around, hoping no one heard. But behind him, then-goalie Curtis Joseph roared in laughter. The next night, Yzerman invited Braxton to the Detroit locker room.

I enjoyed the piece so much that I emailed the reporter, Eric, with a couple questions. He responded with how he came across this story.

I was actually in town to see my parents last spring, since I grew up in Ann Arbor. I dropped down to The Joe because I wanted to do a story on Yzerman for the Magazine in case he did retire. I always let the beat writers ask all their questions first before butting in, but Yzerman disappeared after only a couple of questions. I waited him out and annoyed media relations guy John Hahn (who is as much behind the Braxton cause as Steve is, by the way). Eventually, the only people in the locker room were John and I and a little kid and his dad. So I asked John who the kid was and he told me. I introduced myself and Brant told me the whole story. I promised myself that I would write the story when they raised Yzerman’s number.

Since that article, I formed a mentor/mentee relationship with Eric so I was disappointed to learn last August that Braxton’s father, Brant, had scammed the Red Wings and Steve Yzerman. Eric felt awful that he had been duped by Brant because as a reporter, he should uncover the truth instead of leading readers astray. He even apologized to me because he felt we met through a story that wasn’t even correct.

He informed me that he would be working on an article to tell the truth about Brant and that Braxton was not sick with cancer. Earlier this week, the second article was finally released uncovering the scam artist that is Brant. The amazing thing is that even after Steve Yzerman invested all this time and money in making a little sick boy happier and being duped in the process, Yzerman says he will reach out to sick kids even more.

A few months after that conversation with Hahn my phone rings. The caller ID reads “BLOCKED.” It’s Yzerman. I tell him the whole story. “Really bizarre,” Yzerman says, without sounding angry or frustrated. In a way, his calm makes sense. Yzerman began his career with one of the worst teams in NHL history. And though he lifted that club into the playoffs, he was nearly shipped to Ottawa, then asked to play second fiddle to a flashy Russian. Over the years he rehabbed from crippling injuries and, by the end of his career, needed to prop himself up on the ice with his stick. But who ever saw Yzerman angry? Who ever saw him give up?

“I’m not going to stop reaching out,” Yzerman says. “Actually, I think I might do it more often.”

And the little boy?

“Braxton is a nice young boy who seems to have been manipulated. I hope he can realize he did something wrong. It’s not too late for him.”

The true story of the hockey hero and the healthy little boy begins now.

Maple Leafs reach out to sick kid
In a similar situation but with a much better outcome, the Toronto Maple Leafs reached out to a little boy Jordan Primeau who has cancer. You can view a great segment done by TSN about Primeau’s trip to a Toronto practice and who he got to meet along the way (including a visit from Alexander Ovechkin).

Marty Henwood, a writer for Hockey.com, compares and contrasts the story of Jordan with Braxton and comes to this conclusion.

Not surprising to those who have followed his career, Yzerman plans to continue a relationship with that kid he once believed faced same obscure future as Jordan Primeau.

A player can always leave the game. Class never retires.

Yzerman may have been duped, yes. But the kid was conned far worse by his own father.

So, maybe, just maybe, the stories of Braxton and Jordan aren’t as different as we think.

The Detroit News had a great roundtable discussion with the big names in the Detroit Red Wings management including the team owner, GM, assistant GM, and VP. One of the many topics discussed was Yzerman.

News: How close was Steve Yzerman to being traded?

Devellano: There were talks. Steve Yzerman knows that. I’ve told him that. But as I told Stevie, even while it was going on, ‘Look, Steve, if you’re going to be dealt to Ottawa, we have to get something real good now to replace you and a whole lot more for the future.’ Ottawa couldn’t deliver on it. I don’t even think they could pay the contract, could they, Scotty?

Bowman: No, I don’t think so. I remember Jimmy saying, ‘You’re just spinning your wheels, because Mike Ilitch would never trade Steve Yzerman.’ And I remember Mike coming to me after my first year here — because Steve got injured that year — and saying, ‘You haven’t even seen what this guy can do.’

News: Did it ever come to your desk, Mr. Ilitch?

Ilitch: No, and I didn’t want it to come. (Laughter.) I’d heard the rumblings, but…

On his role in management after retiring as a player:

News: Touch on Steve (Yzerman) for a second. What’s his role going forward? Is it still being defined?

Devellano: Steve and I and Mr. Ilitch used to have these talks, so when we finally sat down to try to figure out just how we could utilize a guy like Steve, the more we talked, the more we felt like, you know what, let’s utilize him in every area that he would like to be involved in. Whether it be scouting, whether it be helping in Grand Rapids with the young players, whether it be marketing, maybe helping Mike Babcock with a certain problem player, or working with Kenny and Jimmy Nill on contracts.

We told Steve he can be as involved in every area of the franchise as he wants to be, and he can put in as much time as he feels he wants to. It’s kind of evolving.

Holland: For Steve, it’s how much time you can commit, because there’s a lot of down time, when not much is going on. But you need to be there every day, just to talk about things. Certainly, Steve can be right beside me.

Ilitch: He’s happy, though. He loves it. And he could end up being an owner, too, one day. He might be part of a group one day, who knows?

News: It seems you’ve always got room for another brain in the braintrust.

Devellano: Absolutely. And you know, it’s a little bit like what I’ve said about Scotty Bowman. Steve’s presence means so much, his presence to the fans, to the players, to the coaching staff, to us. Just like Scotty, I think his presence just elevates our organization, I really do.

Ilitch: Because he cares so much.

Holland: He’s a Red Wing. He can be as involved as he wants to be.

Scotty Bowman blog on NBC.com
April 20, 2007

People have asked me about coaching Steve Yzerman in the playoffs, and I go back his most recent years, like our series in Vancouver in ‘02. He came into the playoffs all banged up and we didn’t know how long he was going to able to stay with it after going down 0-2 at home. But then we were seeing him produce in Vancouver with goals and playing hurt. He was terrific in that he kind of willed that series to us because of his determination and the fact that he wasn’t going to shut it down.

I don’t know if there was a moment where I realized Steve was transforming himself as a player. When I got to Detroit, he was a real scoring machine, and they had an offensive-type team, but the team wasn’t going to be able to win in the playoffs. In those years, teams could shut them down. The team eventually got a little better, we changed some players around and got a better mixture. But guys that can play offense, generally — if they want to and they apply themselves — can play defense. Not everybody can play offense, but most people can play defense.

And sometimes, it’s a personal sacrifice, but Yzerman had a lot of responsibility on his shoulders at around that halfway stage of his career. He didn’t want to end up getting the tag that he was never on a winner. That was the big carrot for him to say he was a Stanley Cup winner. He was a good leader anyway, but he would sacrifice some of his individual numbers and he did all that. I pretty much convinced him that his stats weren’t going to be as good as they were, but he wasn’t interested in that. He was more interested in leading the team. Everything was on his shoulders to score goals and get points, but I said to him ‘If you change now and work on all parts of the game, then other players are going to have to pick up in the scoring department.’ I think that’s what happened, and we were able to go to the next level as a team.

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MLive.com article
January 2, 2007
by Ansar Khan

Hall of Famers, record-setters and Stanley Cup champions are among the host of great players who’ve donned the Detroit Red Wings jersey the past 81 years. Only a select few earned the privilege of having their number retired and raised to the rafters.

“We aren’t like a lot of teams that just retire sweaters as a PR gimmick or to sell tickets,” Red Wings senior vice president Jimmy Devellano said. “You have to be a very, very special player for that to happen.”

Steve Yzerman was that type of player. A Detroit sports icon who revived a once-proud franchise and was the longest-serving captain in NHL history, Yzerman is referred to by legions of fans as 19. Tonight, that number will be retired and hoisted to the rafters at Joe Louis Arena in what promises to be a special ceremony before the Red Wings play the Anaheim Ducks. The festivities begin at 6:30.

“Aside from the Hall of Fame, this is the next-greatest honor you can get,” Wings defenseman Chris Chelios said. “I know he doesn’t like the limelight or all these personal accolades, but I think he’s got to be very proud of what’s going to happen. I’m nervous for him and at the same time proud of him. What better guy to receive this? It’s going to be a great evening.”

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Detroit News article
July 4, 2006
by Eric Lacy

When Steve Yzerman was drafted by the Red Wings in 1983, he received a gift from then-general manager Jimmy Devellano that became a precursor for the remainder of his illustrious career.

It was a team media guide, one full of pages about Gordie Howe, Ted Lindsay and other greats.

“I went through it and immediately became excited about being a Red Wing,” Yzerman said. “I knew at the time I was joining a proud franchise with great players and a winning tradition.”

Some of those legends praised Yzerman at his retirement announcement Monday at Joe Louis Arena.

Now, Yzerman’s legacy is bound to encourage and motivate future players.

Howe, Lindsay and some of Yzerman’s former coaches and players all told stories about The Captain’s leadership, toughness and willingness to learn, lead and respond to adversity.

The reoccurring theme Monday was that Yzerman is a relentless, self-driven man who made sure to leave the game on his own terms.

Gordie Howe: ‘He wore that letter C with a lot of pride’

Mr. Hockey, Gordie Howe, knew it was time to hang it up when the pain from years of competition became unbearable.

So, Howe appreciates the way Yzerman handled his career and retirement announcement.

“I spent a lot of years hurting and didn’t really leave the game the way I wanted to,” Howe said. “I failed at retirement the first time and probably should have left earlier than I did. I’m impressed with Steve because he did it the right way. He had good reasons for leaving and mentioned spending more time with his family.

“He knows this is a good time for him to leave the game.”

Howe said he’ll remember Yzerman’s drive.

“He tried to impress everyone on the ice,” Howe said. “He was his own coach in many ways … Stevie was just a kid who never gave up and wore that letter ‘C’ with whole lot of pride.”

Ted Lindsay: Can’t imagine pain Yzerman played through

Ted Lindsay is one of the sport’s all-time greatest tough guys, and can relate to Yzerman’s pain — well, to a degree.

“Everyone has their own pain tolerance and mine was pretty high,” Lindsay said. “But I can’t imagine what Steve went through with that knee injury (in August 2002, Yzerman underwent an experimental surgery to realign his right knee).”

Consequently, Lindsay said, Yzerman can retire with no regrets because he gave hockey all he had — mentally and physically.

“I hate to see Steve stop playing because it moves him one row closer to the front of the church,” Lindsay said. “But he’ll still be around (and playing in Wings alumni games).”

Jimmy Devellano: He’s well-suited for front office role

The careers of Yzerman and Devellano are intertwined with the Wings. Yzerman was Devellano’s first draft pick for the organization.

Devellano, the team’s senior vice president, expects they will have a future together, too, as Yzerman moves into a front-office role.

It’s up to Yzerman, however, to determine how involved he wants to be with the team.

“We’ve made it very clear to Stevie that he’s welcome to come into our management group,” Devellano said. “For the last four or five years, we’ve been talking to Steve like he’s part of management. He’s played a major role in trades, contracts and such.

“He’s been more involved with what we do here than what most people and media know.”

Scotty Bowman: It was easy to realize how special he was

Scotty Bowman was a legend long before he arrived in town.

It didn’t take him long to recognize another.

“You never had to do much with Steve because no matter what condition he was in, the guy was always ready to play,” said Bowman, who coached the team from 1993-2002. “I came 10 years into his career so it was already given that he was the leader.

“The way he played hurt was like no other,” Bowman said. “Everyone has pain in hockey but he had a lot of it, more so than most. But that never stopped him.”

Dave Lewis: Always trying to ‘do the right thing’

Dave Lewis first got to know Yzerman as a teammate.

The veteran was immediately impressed by the youngster.

“When he was younger he was a sponge,” Lewis said. “He asked the older guys everything, like how do captains on other teams motivate players to how should I ask some of the guys out for a beer or how should I go about asking people over for Thanksgiving dinner. Steve always looked for guidance and wanted to do the right thing.”

Teammates: Never any question who was captain

Yzerman’s actions and concise speeches worked wonders for team morale. He didn’t have to yell or stomp around to make a point.

But he also never held back, said Larry Murphy, a former teammate.

“Steve never had to prove anything to anyone because he clearly was the leader and hardest worker on the team,” Murphy said. “He never rambled or lectured players to the point of boredom, either.

“Everyone knew when they came to Detroit that he was the captain and it was his team. That’s just the way it always was because he earned the title.”

Igor Larionov said players listened to Yzerman because he had such unwavering passion.

“Stevie never lived in the past or made excuses,” Larionov said. “He always tried to prove — no matter what kind of condition he was in — that he was the best on ice. Stevie was the captain and that’s what he will always be.”

NHL.com column
December 2, 2003
by Larry Wigge

There’s an almost undetectable quiver of Steve Yzerman’s lower lip when he talks about the decision he contemplated after his surgically repaired right knee wouldn’t cooperate in training camp.

“I struggled through training camp, didn’t feel very good,” he admits outside the Detroit Red Wings’ locker room in St. Louis last week following a 2-1 victory against the Blues. “I found it difficult to play. I just couldn’t get much confidence going. … I thought long and hard … then decided to see how it goes. I knew if I couldn’t contribute … then I probably would have had a decision to make. …

“I was clearly going in the wrong direction. … I thought, uh, whether to play or not …”

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IGN.com interview
December 1, 2003

Back in 1986, Steve Yzerman became the youngest captain in Red Wings history by sewing the C on his jersey when he hit the legal age of 21. Now, 13 years later, not to mention three Stanley Cups, an Olympic Gold Medal, and over 1,500 points, Yzerman is skating to the forefront again, only this time the C is for coverboy as he mugs it up for Microsoft’s new game, NHL Rivals 2004.

IGN Sports caught up with the fast moving Stevie-Y and asked him about the Red Wings, mullets, and turning some of those octopi into calamari. Here’s what Detroit’s favorite son, by way of Canada, of course, had to say.

IGN Sports: What’s the one thing about the NHL that’s the most difficult for a video game to capture?

Steve Yzerman: I think the hardest thing to capture is what the puck handler sees when he’s taking a shot. From the games that I’ve played, and you’re coming in on the goaltender, you have an idea of where you’re going because you’re looking at the angle through the eyes of the audience or the television and not through the eyes of the player. It’s almost like you see too much, because when it happens for real, everything flies at you so fast, you never get a sense of the ice and where everyone is at that one moment. On replays, they capture it really well, but it’s the one area I’d want to see them work on for future games, trying to capture what the player sees as he skates down the ice.

IGN Sports: What types of things do you see down on the ice that the audience doesn’t pick up on because we’re so far away?

Steve Yzerman: Being out last year with an injury, I sat up high and watched a lot of games, and you see so much more and it just seems so much slower from up top. When you’re on the ice, you have very little time, you see very little, and everything happens really quick. The one thing that I notice from watching a game as opposed to being out on the ice is that you’re able to see a man open, you’re able to say that the puck should be passed here or there, but on the ice you just see it so much differently. Everything’s at eye level, and if you look the wrong way, you might miss out on the perfect pass that everyone up high is screaming about.

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Detroit Free Press column
February 25, 2003
by Mitch Albom

What they did to Steve Yzerman last summer, you wouldn’t wish on a prisoner. They cut his leg bone with a saw, then chiseled it until a path was opened. They wedged that path wider with a fork-like device, then inserted a steel plate, then tightened that plate with screws, then packed it with spare bone material. Then they woke him up.

They call this medicine.

“Osteotomy” is its official name, and if you’re lucky and you fully recover, you have less pain as you walk your grandkids to school. You are not supposed to resume an NHL career.

“We didn’t do it so Steve could return to playing hockey,” his surgeon, Dr. Peter Fowler, told the Free Press. “We did it so Steve could return to walking without pain.”

But what the good doctor may not understand — and what Red Wings fans know all too well — is this: If Yzerman walks, he walks to the rink. If he steps, he steps onto the ice.

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Associated Press article

Steve Yzerman is one small step closer to wearing a jersey and skates on game days rather than a sport coat and loafers.

The future Hall of Famer is on the road with the Detroit Red Wings for the first time since the defending Stanley Cup champions traveled to Carolina in June. He’s not healthy enough to play Wednesday in Chicago or Thursday in Colorado, but he wants to practice in and away from Hockeytown.

After having an osteotomy — a realignment procedure — on his right knee Aug. 2, Yzerman is eager to push himself in practice.

“The doctors said that generally people that go through an osteotomy feel better after six months, and February will be six months,” Yzerman said.

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ESPN Magazine article
June 14, 2002
by Eric Adelson

Three months ago, his trainer wondered if he was fit to skate. Two months ago, he was instructed not to jump. And by this month, the man had trouble walking.

Yet there was Steve Yzerman on Thursday night, assisting on the goal that cemented his third Stanley Cup, and then leaping into the arms of Brendan Shanahan like a catcher tackling a pitcher after a no-hitter.

Twenty-three games. Twenty-three shots of painkillers. Twenty-three points. The pinnacle of Steve Yzerman’s performance has come with the peak of his pain.

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