DETROIT — When Steve Yzerman passed Bryan Trottier for 10th place on the NHL all-time scoring list on Nov. 11, 1998, the Detroit Red Wings' captain let everyone know what he thought of the New York Islanders' captain.
"We all have role models, and he's (Trottier) mine," Yzerman told the Associated Press after picking up a goal and an assist in a 6-2 win against the St. Louis Blues at Joe Louis Arena in 1998. "As soon as he came into the league, I followed his entire career. In some ways, I tried to play like him.
"I liked the way he conducted himself on the ice. He was a quiet guy who played really hard, just a good all-around prototypical centerman who could do everything. He's the reason why I wear No. 19."
Now, 25 years later, Trottier is letting everyone know what he thinks of Stanley Cup champions like Yzerman in "All Roads Home: A Life On and Off the Ice," a book which focuses on leadership, winning hockey, and life lessons.
"Steve's compliments are a little humbling," Trottier said. "We heard about him coming into the league, this explosive, dynamic hockey player ... and he didn't disappoint. He came in and he was this little terror, the way he could stickhandle, distribute the puck and score goals. We were so impressed.
"Then toward the end of his career, he found other ways to contribute by scoring fewer points, blocking more shots and taking big faceoffs. The next thing you know he's raising the Stanley Cup over his head and he's like me. He's got the biggest smile in the world in those special moments."
Stanley Cups are synonymous with both Hall of Famers. Yzerman won three Cups as a player (1997, 1998, 2002) and one as an executive (2008) with the Red Wings. Trottier led the Islanders to four straight titles (1980, 1981, 1982, 1983), won two more Cups with the Pittsburgh Penguins (1991, 1992) and one with the Colorado Avalanche (2001) as an assistant coach.
While Yzerman played four more years than Trottier and wound up seventh overall in regular-season scoring with 1,755 points in 22 seasons (Trottier is ranked 19th with 1,425 points in 18 seasons), their playoff statistics are almost identical. Trottier had 71 playoff goals, Yzerman 70. Yzerman had 185 playoff points to rank 11th overall, Trottier had 183 points to tie with Red Wings defenseman Nicklas Lidstrom for 12th place.
"Leadership skills come to the fore during the playoffs, and I think Steve took a lot of pride in bearing down in really tough situations in key moments of the game," Trottier said. "He was a quiet leader. He wasn't a big, physical player but he was shifty, explosive offensively, and tough to hit.
"I probably shouldn't have played so physical because it took a toll over the years. If somebody bumped me, I would say, 'Oh yeah, you want to play that game. Here we go.' We both could take punishment and we both loved to set up our teammates and be the guy in the last minute of a game."
Red Wings senior vice president Jimmy Devellano drafted both players, Trottier in the second round in 1974 and Yzerman in the first round and fourth overall in 1983. Devellano, who joined the Islanders in 1972 and helped build the team that won four straight Cup championships, says Trottier and Yzerman "weren't just stars ... they were superstars and they both drove the bus."
"Bryan had a better supporting cast than I gave Steve when he came to Detroit," Devellano said. "What Steve brought back then was hope. People could see the greatness almost immediately at age 18. He made a bad team and scored 39 goals. It wasn't until the '90s after we drafted Lidstrom and (Sergei) Fedorov that he won his Cups like Bryan won his.
"If you spent any time with them, you saw a will and desire way above average. They were quiet, driven players, and I wouldn't put one above the other. As a general manager, I'm just glad to have had both of them because any Stanley Cup rings I wear, those guys had a lot to do with them."
Devellano said the Trottier-Yzerman comparison should include playoff appearances. Trottier, who had 60 points in 55 regular-season games against the Red Wings with the Islanders and Penguins, missed the playoffs only once (1988-89) in 18 seasons. Yzerman's record was just as impressive.
"I was just talking to Steve about this and I asked him, 'Do you know you only missed the playoffs twice (1985-86, 1989-90) in 22 years?' Now, when you think about what's going on today (the Wings are on the verge of tying a franchise record with seven straight years without a playoff appearance), things are a lot different."
Trottier's other Detroit connection centers on his relationship with fellow Saskatchewan native and four-time Stanley Cup champion Gordie Howe of the Red Wings. At 12 years old, Trottier attended Howe's hockey camp in Saskatoon, just north of Howe's hometown in Floral. Seven years later, Howe invited Trottier to sit with him and his wife Colleen at the NHL awards banquet after Trottier won the 1976 Calder Trophy as rookie of the year.
"He (Gordie) was bigger than life, the most gracious, kindest, soft-spoken human being you could ever meet," said Trottier, a Metis-Cree native and one of Canada's most decorated indigenous athletes who was raised in Val Marie, a town of about 500 people near the Saskatchewan-Montana border.
"He just adored his wife Colleen, always pulled the chair out for her and put her coat on her, those kind of things. I always thought he was a gentleman off the ice. Then he would get on the ice and he was like this menace. People would look over their shoulders and say, 'Watch out for Gordie.' You didn't want to get him mad."
Among Trottier's life lessons are those learned in his native community, including time spent with Sault Ste. Marie's Abby Roque, the first indigenous woman to compete in the Olympics at the 2022 Winter Games in Beijing.
"Abby is a wonderful ambassador for hockey in general but also for indigenous young hockey players," Trottier said. "We're trying to inspire and influence the next generation of what we call student-athletes. Continue your education and chase your dreams, whether it's the sport of hockey, music, art, whatever it is. We make the game accessible for everyone, not just the best of the best."
