Photo: Bildbyrån
For 13 years they played together in the Detroit Red Wings.
Despite communicating in broken English, Henrik Zetterberg and Pavel Datsyuk really understood each other and they needed each other.
“When you think about it, he made my career,” writes “Zäta” about his friend who was recently inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame.
He has won the Stanley Cup with the Detroit Red Wings as well as the World Cup and Olympics with Tre Kronor. Henrik Zetterberg44, is in the so-called “Triple Gold Club” and has experienced a lot during his career. There is one person he owes a little extra for his success.
Datsyuk is inducted into the Hall of Fame
For 13 seasons, the Njurunda son “Zäta” played with the Russian Pavel Datsyuk46. They played in the same chain, reached the playoffs every year and finally won the Stanley Cup in 2008. In a tribute text on NHL.com, the Swede described his friend and power play partner.
“My son Love is 9 years old now. When we watch highlights together from when I played, I find myself constantly saying “Whoa, look at that pass from ‘Pav’”. When I was in the middle of it, I didn’t think about it as much, but when I look back… he built my career,” he writes.
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The reason for all the fuss is that Datsyuk was inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame on Monday. During his speech he mentioned several Swedish Detroit stars (Henrik Zetterberg, Nicklas Lidström and Thomas Holmström) and said they had meant a lot to him during his NHL career.
– Hockey is a team sport, and I wouldn’t be standing here without each and every one of you, he says.
Zetterberg and Datsyuk’s relationship
“Zäta” and Datsyuk became close friends during their time in Michigan, even though they sometimes had a little difficulty communicating with each other.
“We enjoyed speaking English with each other. It was rarely perfect, but we found a way to communicate. It is still the same today. When we text today, it’s still the same. It takes me a while to figure out what he means… It’s some form of English, preferably with a bit of humor thrown in. He is an incredibly funny guy,” writes Zetterberg.
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The Swede is convinced that he would not have had it as easy in the NHL if he had not been allowed to play together with the Russian. Over the years, they were involved in the same goal a whopping 286 times in the regular season and 45 times in the playoffs.
“We clicked immediately. I couldn’t have asked for a better teammate and chain mate than Pav. We enjoyed playing the same way and he boosted my confidence. He strengthened me that I could actually play the way I wanted to play, that I could play my game,” writes Zetterberg.
What an incredible friendship! It’s great that you still hear each other and are in contact with each other. Always fun to hear old stories from the NHL about how it was back in the day.
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