Sidney Crosby and Bryan Rust: Steve Yzerman
Bryan Rust had just turned 5 years old when he watched his hometown Red Wings lift the Stanley Cup in 1997. It was the first of three they would win with Steve Yzerman as their captain, with all of that success made even sweeter considering how far the organization once nicknamed the ‘Dead Things’ had come after he was drafted fourth overall in 1983.
“Growing up in Detroit, captain of the Wings, they had so much success over 20, 30 years almost,” Rust said. “He kind of pulled that organization out of the dumps a little bit. They obviously had a whole ton of success with his leadership.”
Leadership is something that Sidney Crosby exemplifies, as he is known for being the consummate captain – and he got a lot of inspiration from the man nicknamed The Captain.
“Detroit had great teams growing up, and I just love the way he played,” Crosby said. “He was a guy that worked hard every night, really competitive, won the Stanley Cup with Detroit. I thought he’s just a really good role model and he’s somebody I always looked up to.”
Brian Dumoulin: Joe Sakic
As a kid growing up in New England, Brian Dumoulin – who is from Biddeford, Maine – liked the Bruins. He particularly enjoyed watching fellow defenseman Ray Bourque, who was traded to Colorado after 20-plus seasons with Boston so that he could have a legitimate chance to win the Stanley Cup. So Dumoulin started following that team closely as well, which is when Avalanche captain Joe Sakic became his hockey hero.
After a regular season where he was named NHL MVP, Sakic led the Avalanche to victory in 2001 – and in a touching display of leadership, immediately handed Bourque the Stanley Cup after Gary Bettman awarded it to him.
“I just really liked Joe Sakic’s demeanor,” Dumoulin said. “I liked the way he played the game, and he was very talented, but always stepped up in big games, too. So I liked him a lot.”
Teddy Blueger: Peter Forsberg
Dumoulin’s teammate Teddy Blueger can’t remember why he started idolizing Joe Sakic’s teammate Peter Forsberg – he just did. But it certainly would be easy to admire a player who was a member of the Triple Gold Club by the age of 22 and who developed his own unique playing style that was a combination of sandpaper and finesse.
“I have no idea how it started, but for as long as I can remember, he was always my favorite player,” Blueger said. “Just kind of how he was physical, but also really skilled, great passer, could finish himself. All-around great player.”
Marcus Pettersson: Daniel Pettersson
As a kid, Marcus Pettersson had posters in his bedroom of Swedish players who had gone to North America and crafted incredible NHL careers. Like Blueger, he was a particularly big fan of Forsberg, and also liked Hall of Fame defenseman Nicklas Lidstrom.
But Pettersson’s biggest role model was a professional hockey player who was closer to home: his father. Daniel Pettersson, a forward, played his entire career for the team based out of the town where Marcus grew up, Skelleftea. He taught Marcus the importance of finding the balance between having fun but also working hard, which is what has helped the Penguins defenseman get to where he is today.
“Being around the locker room when I was a kid, I remember running around and seeing all the players and stuff like that and being able to be on the ice sometimes after practices,” Pettersson said. “It’s for sure something that sparked me to want to be a pro hockey player and really be successful, because I loved playing hockey.”
Kasperi Kapanen: Sami Kapanen
Like Pettersson, Kasperi Kapanen also idolized his dad, Sami Kapanen.
Sami played 831 NHL games over 12 seasons with Hartford/Carolina and Philadelphia. He had five 20-goal campaigns, helped the Hurricanes reach the 2002 Stanley Cup Final and played for Finland at the 1998 and 2002 Olympics. Sami also spent many years playing for the KalPa organization of Liiga, both before he was drafted by the Whalers in the fourth round (87th overall) in 1995, and after his NHL career, when he was also a part-time owner and GM of the club.
“Just watching him play and play hockey for the Flyers and Carolina and do something that he loved to do, I kind of fell in love with the sport,” Kasperi said. “Watching him play, it was pretty inspirational for me.”
Jason Zucker: Pavel Datsyuk
Jason Zucker plays a north-south game, is good in the battle areas and brings a certain edge and a level of physicality to the ice. His style is pretty much on the opposite end of the spectrum from his favorite player, Pavel Datsyuk – with Detroit’s “Magic Man” performing sheer wizardry on the ice when he had the puck on his stick.
“I just loved the way he played the game,” Zucker said. “I could never play the game the way he does, and I think that was why I loved watching him so much. It was just something special.”
Casey DeSmith: Ken Dryden
Ken Dryden wasn’t just one of the greatest goaltenders of all-time – he was also known for being one of the most cerebral minds the game has seen. He opted to postpone turning pro while attending Cornell University, and went on to craft a Hockey Hall of Fame career with the Montreal Canadiens following graduation. He won the Vezina Trophy five times and lifted the Stanley Cup six times, but his legacy is so much more than just his numerous on-ice accomplishments, as Dryden is also an author, lawyer, politician and businessman.
“I grew up really respecting and liking Ken Dryden,” DeSmith said. “My dad always preached to me scholar-athlete – scholar first, athlete second in school and stuff. So he was always kind of somebody who I looked up to in that regard.”
Brock McGinn: Alex Kovalev
Speaking of good hands – it was a treat for Penguins fans to watch Alex Kovalev work his own brand of magic on the ice when he played here from 1998-03, and then again during the 2010-11 season. But it was during Kovalev’s time north of the border that Brock McGinn became a big fan of the Russian forward.
“I was actually a Montreal Canadiens fan growing up, so I watched a lot of Alex Kovalev,” McGinn said. “He was my favorite player.”
P.O Joseph: P.K. Subban and Kris Letang
P.O Joseph was born in Laval, Quebec, which is about 20-30 minutes outside of Montreal, before the family moved to the city’s south side. And of course, P.O and his older brother Mathieu loved their hometown Canadiens. P.O has always looked up to fellow defenseman P.K. Subban, who spent the first six-plus seasons of his career with Montreal, for his style on and off the ice.
“I love watching P.K. Subban play. Just the fun that he has playing and how he is always outgoing – showing his personality and not being afraid of what people would think and just going out there and being himself – it’s unbelievable,” said Joseph, who has adopted a similar approach to hockey and life.
He also looked up to a fellow French-Canadian defenseman whose hockey journey through Montreal was similar to Joseph’s, with their paths now converging in Pittsburgh.
“Seeing Kris Letang as a French player playing in the NHL and being that good after going through our path and all of that with junior hockey was inspiring,” Joseph said. “We played in the same midget organization, Collège Antoine-Girouard. I was sitting in my locker room in Midget AAA and I could see Kris’ name tag on one of the lockers there. We have basically been through the same path. He is of course somebody I was really looking forward to playing with, and it’s amazing that I get to do that right now.”