Steve Yzerman has lined up at center ice as team captain more often than any other player in NHL history. Only 21-years-old when he was made the captain of the Detroit Red Wings, Yzerman's leadership tenure is as much about quality as quantity.
When Detroit needed a goal scorer, Yzerman scored at a torrid pace, notching 50 or more goals five times and twice reaching the 60-goal plateau. When the team needed a playmaker, he turned other players into marksmen. When it came time to win the Stanley Cup, Yzerman led the way with his unparalleled work ethic and ability to come through at the most critical moments of the game.
"The whole franchise was really on his shoulders when he got here (in 1983)" says Detroit General Manager Ken Holland. "Steve entered the League as a highly productive, offensive talent and made his mark with offensive statistics. There were some tough seasons here in Detroit, but he put the whole franchise on his back and carried it. Steve was the first (player) to totally change his game and went from being the offensive guy to being the best two-way centerman in the NHL. Once your leader changes his game for the good of the team, then everybody else follows suit."
A personable, yet quiet, man off the ice, Yzerman rarely has to lay down the law to his teammates. The Red Wings have a strong leadership group including several players who were team captains prior to their arrival in "Hockeytown" - Chris Chelios, Brett Hull, Brendan Shanahan and Derian Hatcher - so Yzerman doesn't have to adjust attitudes in the dressing room.
"We don't have a lot of team meetings," says Yzerman. "The majority of our guys are very conscientious about their conditioning, their work habits, and know when to back off and when to go harder. So there is not a need for the coaching staff or myself to really push them. My approach as a captain is not complicated. I approach each day by working hard, playing hard and setting an example."
It's an example that he observed while growing up in Ottawa when he used to watch his favorite player on television.
"I wear No. 19 because Bryan Trottier was my favorite player," says Yzerman. "I followed him from the minute he came into the NHL. Then I watched the way he played. My dad liked the way he played, and the Islanders were an up-and-coming team, so as a young kid I started to follow them right away. I just admired the way he played the game and how he carried himself off the ice. I liked the fact that he was pretty quiet, didn't say a whole lot. I tried to copy a lot of things he did as far as the kind of helmet he wore, the way he celebrated a goal, and the way he taped his stick. I watched everything he did, but most of all I liked the way he played.
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"I wear No. 19 because Bryan Trottier was my favorite player. I followed him from the minute he came into the NHL." - Steve Yzerman
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"It was somebody to emulate and then model myself after. He was a physically stronger guy, but I have tried to do some of the things that he did and be responsible in all areas of the ice."
Interestingly, the qualities that the Hall of Famer describe as being critical ingredients in a great captain all apply to his former admirer.
"A great captain is the one who brings the spirit, the intensity, the control, and the poise," says Trottier, "because those are wonderful leadership qualities. The one quality that most captains have is respect. They respect their teammates and when they say something they're not saying it for themselves, but for the good of the team."
Red Wings coach Dave Lewis was a former captain with the Los Angeles Kings and recognizes that every captain has to be true to his himself.
"Everybody has to do it in their own way," says Lewis. "Personalities are different among team captains. Some are more vocal, some quieter. Some believe in getting together for meetings and others do not. Some do it on the ice and don't say much (off the ice). There are a lot of different ways to lead. Every captain is a leader but he's also the conduit between the coach and the rest of the team."
A former teammate of Trottier on Long Island, Lewis sees more similarities than differences between the two Number 19's.
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"Steve is not a guy who rants and raves. He leads by example with his play on the ice. It's something special when your captain has such a high talent level that when he elevates his game he can make a difference in the outcome." former teammate Mike Ramsey on Steve Yzerman
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"When I think of Steve and Bryan I see two very driven people," says Lewis. "Very motivated. Very demanding of themselves and very demanding of their teammates. Both of them play at such a high standard, and are known for their consistency at such a high level. Both are Stanley Cup champions on more than one occasion and they both play a complete game, not a one-dimensional game."
Never one to skip practice or take a night off, Yzerman is a quintessential quiet leader by example, a captain who will never ask a teammate to do something that he won't do himself. And Yzerman will do anything to win -- block shots, kill penalties, take critical faceoffs and win more battles in the trenches than a player his size (5-11, 180 pounds) deserves to do.
"He leads on the ice," says former teammate Mike Ramsey, now an assistant coach with the Minnesota Wild. "Steve is not a guy who rants and raves. He leads by example with his play on the ice. It's something special when your captain has such a high talent level that when he elevates his game he can make a difference in the outcome. Steve Yzerman is one of those guys.
"It's amazing that with so many marquee players (in Detroit) and he seems to be the one that shines when they really need it," Ramsey continues. "Steve Yzerman has been doing it for many years and he's still a great player. You'd think that he might have slipped because he's not 20 (years old) anymore but when push comes to shove, he is still the key on their team."
"It's his team," agrees Lewis. "The players live to his standard internally. The one thing that Steve Yzerman does is back that standard up."
