Fedorov wins his first – Uncovering the Past – magazine names Sergei Fedorov Player of the Year – Brief Article
Alex Gordon
SERGEI FEDOROV, OUR 2002-03 pick for Player of the Year, now joins Mark Messier, Mario Lemieux, and Wayne Gretzky–a select group if there ever was one–as the only players to Win our award multiple times
Fedorov has the distinction, though, of having to wait the longest between honors, having first graced our cover as the Player of the Year back in 1994.
In revisiting the circumstances of Fedorov’s wonderful 1993-94 campaign–one in which he would take home both the Hart Trophy as the league’s MVP and the Selke as the top defensive forward–there are several parallels to 2002-03.
Back in 1994, we lauded the Russian center’s ability to step into the leadership void left in the Detroit lineup after an injury to Steve Yzerman sidelined the Red Wings captain for 26 games. In awarding Fedorov our honor this season, we likewise praised him for taking on the leader role in light of the nearly season-long absence of Yzerman.
And in 1994, while acknowledging Fedorov’s offensive skills–54 goals and 120 points are hard to ignore–what impressed us most was how complete his game had become. We praised Fedorov’s defense, conditioning, concentration, skating skills, and speed. Again this year, it wasn’t his offense but his overall play that impressed us so much.
In our 1994 profile, Fedorov acknowledged that while personal recognition is nice, there was only one trophy he wanted his name on–the Stanley Cup. Alas, it wasn’t to be that year for the Wings, who despite finishing atop the West, bowed out in the first round against the upstart San Jose Sharks.
The Cups would come, of course, in 1997, ’98, and 2002. And even though Detroit flopped in this year’s playoffs, getting swept by the Mighty Ducks, Fedorov, who turns 34 in December, will likely hoist the Cup above his head several more times before he hangs up his skates.
COPYRIGHT 2003 Century Publishing
COPYRIGHT 2003 Gale Group
