Former Red Wings forward and Hockey Hall of Famer-to-be Pavel Datsyuk took part in last week’s Summer Development Camp, but Detroit Hockey Now’s Bob Duff lets Datsyuk explain why #13 is heading back to Yekaterinburg, Russia for good:
“I miss Detroit but now I have job, I’m hockey player development back at home,” Datsyuk said. “I wanted to see how this goes, wanted more experience and more study from one of the best teams.”
He’s not at all interested in following in the footsteps of old teammates like Nicklas Lidstrom, Dan Cleary, Niklas Kronwall, Kirk Maltby, Jiri Fischer and Kris Draper and joining GM Steve Yzerman’s staff.
“Of course, I’m happy to see many people who work there when I left,” Datsyuk said. “They still work and are in good shape. I’m happy to see them. I have good memories. I hope they do, too.”
For Datsyuk, though, home is where his heart remains.
“I want to stay with my family, spend more time at home,” he explained. “I spend lots of time on the road. Now I try to be at home.”
Continued; the Red Wings already have Henrik Zetterberg working with the team in an informal capacity in Sweden. If they could convince Datsyuk to even keep an eye on prospects in Russia, that would be amazing, but it’s unlikely at this point.
