While the entire hockey world is watching how » As the Florida Panthers celebrate their first-ever Stanley Cup victory and honor the incredible Sergei Bobrovsky with his historic triumph, another landmark event took place in North America. The Hockey Hall of Fame has been replenished with new heroes. Among them, a place was found for another Russian legend.
Pavel Datsyuk became a member of the Hall of Fame. The official ceremony will take place in November, but this is essentially a formality. The famous Wizard was chosen, and this is a truly high-profile event.
Datsyuk is one of those hockey players who achieved the most high-profile victories and major heights, but during the course of his career, due to modesty, did not reach the maximum in the media space. Pavel Valerievich was even chosen among the last at the NHL draft in 1998. One of the scouts literally persuaded the general manager of the Detroit Red Wings to select Datsyuk in the draft. The Russian Wizard responded to the news that the Red Wings had drafted him: “Good joke.” Datsyuk did not believe it until he read the news in the newspaper the next morning. As his career progressed, Pavel Valerievich avoided the public: if he gave comments to journalists, he did so quietly and without bright statements. What can we say if he never officially announced the end of his career as a player, while you can get into the Hockey Hall of Fame in Toronto after at least three years after the end of your career.
And Datsyuk’s career turned out to be phenomenal. He wasn't called the Wizard for nothing. Pavel Valerievich did not just play. He was creative on the ice and was one of the most creative playmakers in the NHL. According to many of his rivals, Datsyuk was the most difficult to play against. Taking the puck away from him is not an easy task.
““It seemed like you were playing not against him, but against his shadow,” said defenseman Hal Gill.
The list of his achievements also speaks for itself. Datsyuk won absolutely everything: the Gagarin Cup, the Stanley Cup (twice), the World Championship and the Olympic Games. Pavel Valerievich is one of the few members of the elite and honorable “Triple Gold Club”, at the moment he is the last among Russian hockey players.
Also inducted into the Hall of Fame were David Poile and Colin Campbell (as officials), as well as players Jeremy Roenick, Shea Weber, Chrissy Wendell-Paul and Natalie Darwitz. Among the many nominees were Russians: Sergei Gonchar, Alexander Mogilny, Alexander Maltsev and Boris Mikhailov. Naturally, Mogilny stands out especially against their background. In North America, the achievements of one of the best Russian scorers in history are honored; local media from year to year actively campaign for Mogilny’s inclusion in the Hall of Fame. However, Toronto continues to ignore his candidacy. Nobody understands why.
Last year, one of the reasons was, not surprisingly, cited as politics. For example, The Athletic's Rob Rossi claimed that a source on the Hall of Fame organizing committee told him in a private conversation that he shouldn't expect Russian candidates to be inducted anytime soon, given political realities.
«»He said the bar is already high. entry for Russian hockey players is even higher, because “now it’s easier not to include Russians,” Rossi wrote.
However, today’s election of Pavel Datsyuk to the Hall of Fame literally exhausts this theory. So, there are other reasons for this. bias? Inexplicable.
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