Born	June 7, 1970 (1970-06-07) (age 39), Livonia, MI, U.S.
Height Weight	6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) 210 lb (95 kg; 14 st 0 lb)
Position	Center
Shoots	Left
NHL team	Dallas Stars/ Minnesota North Stars
Ntl. team	United States
NHL Draft	1st overall, 1988 Minnesota North Stars
Pro career	1989 – present
Website	mikemodano.com

Michael Thomas Modano, Jr. (born June 7, 1970 in Livonia, Michigan) is an American professional ice hockey player and alternate captain for the Dallas Stars of the National Hockey League (NHL). He is the all-time goal-scoring and points leader amongst American-born players in the NHL, and the only player left on the Stars roster that played for the franchise's previous incarnation, the Minnesota North Stars. He is generally regarded as one of the best American-born NHL players to ever play.

[edit] Playing career

The North Stars selected Modano as the first overall draft pick in the 1988 NHL Entry Draft at the age of 18, an honor shared by only five other Americans: Brian Lawton (1983), Bryan Berard (1995), Rick DiPietro (2000), Erik Johnson (2006), and Patrick Kane (2007). Modano scored his first career NHL goal against Glenn Healy of the New York Islanders.

Modano won the Stanley Cup in 1999 with the Stars, putting together consecutive seasons of over twenty playoff points in 1999 and 2000. He has also played in the 1991 and 2000 Stanley Cup Finals. Modano has also been a finalist for the Calder Memorial Trophy (1990), the Frank J. Selke Trophy (2001), and the Lady Byng Trophy (2003). He controversially lost the Calder Memorial Trophy, awarded to the year's best rookie, to 31-year-old Sergei Makarov, who had already played professionally for the Russian Super League for over 12 years; because of this, the NHL imposed an age barrier for Calder candidates the following year. Modano's best statistical seasons were in 1992–93 and 1993–94, as he scored 93 points in each of those seasons. During the latter campaign, the franchise's first in Dallas, Modano recorded a personal-best 50 goals. His career high for points in a game is six (2–4–6) against the Anaheim Ducks. Modano has seven career hat tricks. Modano's only career fight was against Rod Brind'Amour. The long-time face of the Dallas franchise, he has recorded over 1,000 NHL points and became the captain of the Stars in 2003. During the 2005 offseason, Modano contemplated signing with the Boston Bruins, but decided to stay with the Stars after owner Tom Hicks got involved.

On August 5, 2005, Modano signed a five-year contract extension with Dallas. On September 29, 2006, Brenden Morrow replaced him as the Stares' captain; Modano is now an alternate captain, a role in which he had previously served from 1995 to 2004.

On January 21, 2007, the NHL announced Modano as the Special Ambassador to the 2007 NHL All-Star Celebration, thanks to his numerous contributions towards bringing the 55th National Hockey League All-Star Game to Dallas and also for his contributions to Dallas hockey as a whole. Modano, the Stars' all-time leader in several statistical categories and a member of the franchise for the entirety of his 17-year career, appeared at selected All-Star events and dropped the puck in a ceremonial face-off prior the game on January 24, 2007.

Modano scored his 500th career regular-season goal on March 13, 2007 with 10:24 left in the 3rd period in a regulation win against Antero Niittymäki of the Philadelphia Flyers with assists by Antti Miettinen and Jon Klemm. He is only the 14th goal scorer to score 500 goals with a single team and the 39th player to reach 500 goals overall.

Modano's shorthanded, record breaking goal, 2007-11-07.

On March 17, 2007, in an away game versus the Nashville Predators, Modano scored his 502nd and 503rd career regular-season goals in a 3–2 loss, thus passing Joe Mullen's NHL record (502) for most goals scored by an American-born player. The Predators organization drew criticism from around the league after failing to mention the breaking of this record.

Modano also holds the NHL all-time record for most points scored by a U.S. born player. He broke the record, which previously belonged to Phil Housley, on November 7, 2007 by scoring two goals in the first five minutes, with the record-breaker being a short-handed goal on a breakaway, against the San Jose Sharks. That night, amongst his congratulatory phone calls was one from Air Force One, U.S. President George W. Bush spoke to him for a few minutes about the record.

November 21, 2007 was "Mike Modano Tribute Night" at American Airlines Center, where Modano was honored by the franchise for his achievements in U.S. hockey. Those who spoke in the pre-game ceremony included Brett Hull, Joe Mullen, Phil Housley, and Stars owner Tom Hicks. Capping off an emotional night, Modano later went on to score the game-tying goal in a 2–1 victory against the Anaheim Ducks.

Modano has indicated in interviews that he intends to play out the duration of his current contract, which expires after the 2009–2010 season. After doing so, he will take his career on a year-to-year basis, move into a front office position with the Stars similar to Brett Hull, or move on without hockey altogether.^[audio]

[edit] Personal life

On November 30, 2006, Willa Ford announced that long-time boyfriend Modano had proposed to her during the weekend of Thanksgiving, 2006.^[1] Modano and Ford were married in a small ceremony in Athens, Texas on August 25, 2007, where Brett Hull and Darryl Sydor attended as Modano's co-best men.^[2][3]. Ford was asked by the NHL to blog the Stars' 2007 playoff series; her posts were well-received, and her support of her husband quite vocal.^[4]

Mr. Mike Modano is the founder and current Vice President of the Mike Modano Foundation, Inc., which raises awareness and funding for organizations offering education and assistance to children and families affected by child abuse. Moreover, since the start of his NHL career, Modano has affiliated many times with both charitable organizations and the Texas community in general. He has also had his own clothing line during the 1990s.

Modano made a brief cameo appearance alongside then-teammate Basil McRae in the 1992 film The Mighty Ducks. He only had two lines in the movie, in which he said to Emilio Estevez, "I thought you were a farmer" and "take it easy." Nonetheless, Modano still received a membership voucher to the Screen Actors Guild for the role.

Modano once babysat current Stars teammate Toby Petersen after meeting him at a youth hockey camp.

Stars captain Brenden Morrow has stated in an interview that Modano likes to walk around hotel rooms naked.

Modano is an avid golfer. On Mike Modano Tribute Night, both the Dallas Stars and Anaheim Ducks organizations presented him with golf packages, one of which was for the course at The Royal and Ancient Golf Club of St Andrews in Scotland. His golf partner is often ex-Stars teammate Brett Hull.

In 2008, Brett Hull and Modano founded Hully & Mo Restaurant and Tap Room in Dallas.

[edit] Awards and achievements

• East First All-Star Team (WHL) - 1989
• NHL All-Rookie Team - 1990
• NHL Second All-Star Team - 2000
• NHL All-Star Games - 1993, 1998, 1999, 2000, 2003 (as the Western Conference team captain), 2004, 2007 (as the Special Ambassador), 2009
• Stanley Cup champion - 1999 (Dallas)

[edit] Records

• Minnesota North Stars/Dallas Stars franchise record for career games played (1400)
• Minnesota North Stars/Dallas Stars franchise record for career goals (543)
• Minnesota North Stars/Dallas Stars franchise record for career assists (786)
• Minnesota North Stars/Dallas Stars franchise record for career points (1329)
• Minnesota North Stars/Dallas Stars franchise record for career playoff games (174)
• Minnesota North Stars/Dallas Stars franchise record for career playoff goals (58)
• Minnesota North Stars/Dallas Stars franchise record for career playoff assists (87)
• Minnesota North Stars/Dallas Stars franchise record for career playoff points (145)
• National Hockey League record for most goals scored by an American-born player (543)
• National Hockey League record for most points by an American-born player (1329)
• National Hockey League record for most points by an American-born player in the playoffs (145)

[edit] Career statistics

[edit] International play

Played for the United States in:

• 1988 World Junior Championships
• 1989 World Junior Championships
• 1990 IIHF World Championships
• 1991 World Cup of Hockey (Silver medal)
• 1993 World Championships
• 1996 World Cup of Hockey (Gold medal)
• 1998 Winter Olympics
• 2002 Winter Olympics (Silver medal)
• 2004 World Cup of Hockey
• 2005 World Championships
• 2006 Winter Olympics

International statistics

[edit] See also

• List of NHL statistical leaders
• List of NHL players with 1000 points
• List of NHL players with 500 goals
• List of NHL first overall draft choices

[edit] References

[edit] External links

• Mike Modano's biography at Legends of Hockey
• Mike Modano's career stats at The Internet Hockey Database
• Mike Modano at ESPN.com

• Mike Modano's NHL player profile
• Mike Modano's U.S. Olympic Team bio
• Mike Modano's Official Website
• The Mike Modano Foundation
• Mike Modano Ice Arena
• Hully & Mo Restauarnt and Tap Room
• New NHL order: Stars, Wings struggling