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Detroit Red Wings great Steve Yzerman will be in Estevan on Friday, March 12 for Estevan’s New Arena Fundraising Dinner.
Yzerman is currently the executive director for Team Canada’s men’s hockey team that will be playing at the 2010 Winter Olympics in Vancouver.
“It’s just awful timely that less than a month after the Olympics, or less than that, we have an opportunity to get an update on how the Olympics went,” said new arena fundraising dinner chair Ron Areshenkoff. “I think it’s pretty special to have someone of his stature at the dinner.”
He is also a vice-president with the Red Wings.
On the ice, Yzerman captained the Detroit Red Wings to the Stanley Cup in 1997, 1998 and 2002. He won the Conn Smythe Trophy at the Stanley Cup playoffs MVP in 1998. And he won gold with Team Canada at the 2002 Winter Olympics in Salt Lake City, Utah.
He was presented with the Lester B. Pearson Award as the league’s top player in 1989.
Yzerman played 22 seasons in the NHL, all with Detroit, finishing with 692 goals, 1,063 assists and 1,755 points. He rates in the top 10 in all-time career goals, assists and points.
He was inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame last November.
Yzerman will be joined at the banquet by Detroit Red Wings GM Ken Holland, and Saskatchewan Roughriders Darian Durant and Chris Getzlaf. Red Wings’ assistant GM Jim Nill and former Red Wing Jiri Fischer, who is now the club’s director of player development, could also be at the banquet.
This is great news. Yzerman is one of the greatest and most respected players of all-time. You just never hear a bad thing said about him. We're going to get him to Estevan four months after his Hockey Hall of Fame induction, and a couple of weeks after the Olympics. (Hopefully he'll be able to bring a gold medal when he comes to Estevan).
For those who haven't met Kenny Holland, he's a great guy. And an excellent speaker. As Ron Areshenkoff said, we wouldn't be able to get Yzerman here without Holland.
Getzlaf's also a fine individual. Heard him speak in Lampman during Hockey Day in Saskatchewan celebrations last year. The people in Lampman couldn't say enough good things about him.
Haven't met Darian Durant before, but hopefully he'll have a good speech.
Posted on February 19, 2010 @ 11:00 am PST | Report post to Editor | 3306810