Datsyuk eyeing elusive Olympic gold to cap brilliant career

During a career that saw him play 953 NHL games with the Detroit Red Wings, Pavel Datsyuk accomplished almost everything professional hockey has to offer.

His resume includes two Stanley Cup rings, three Frank J. Selke trophies, and a World Championship gold medal from 2012. But the 39-year-old is still chasing an ever-elusive accomplishment - an Olympic gold medal. Being that the dynamic forward now plies his trade in the KHL in Russia, the opportunity to join the Olympic Athletes from Russia in PyeongChang 2018 could help him end his career in style.

Datsyuk is looking to redeem his international career and is likely trying to chase away a bitter feeling following Sochi 2014. Facing stratospheric pressure while his country hosted the Olympics, Datsyuk was named captain of Russia's 2014 squad. And though many were confident the country's hockey team would emerge victorious, Russia crumpled to an embarrassing fifth-place finish. It was a harrowing, nightmarish outcome with some fans defining the performance as "a catastrophe and shame for Russia" while others were too shell-shocked to vocalize their criticism. With NHL players barred from PyeongChang 2018, the Olympic Athletes from Russia are the odds-on favorite and there's no excuse for Datsyuk and Co. to walk away with anything less than gold this time around.

Quite simply, Datsyuk is the definitive two-way forward of his era while also boasting some of the best puckhandling skills hockey has ever seen. In fact, his style of play became a template that coaches look to when teaching young players how to play in the NHL.

And perhaps Datsyuk can put those skills to good use one last time. Over 20 years after he first broke onto the scene, an Olympic gold medal around his neck would put a bow on his decorated career.

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