Brett Hull played against some of hockey’s greatest—but he also played with more than 30(!) Hall of Famers. And one stood out from the rest. Hull still says he was the “sickest player he saw in his life.”
There will never be anyone like Brett Hull again. He’s one of the greatest goal-scorers in NHL history, but there was so much more to his game—and to his character. Everyone loved Hull, even though he often wanted things his own way. But more often than not, that was a pretty good way to go anyway…
Hull scored 741 goals during his career, ranking him fifth all time. He also won the Stanley Cup with both the Dallas Stars and Detroit Red Wings.
Brett Hull on the ”sickest player ever”
Over his 19 years in the NHL, he faced off against some of the greatest players in history—but he also shared the ice with some of the sport’s biggest legends. When Pavel Datsyuk was inducted into the Hall of Fame last year, he became the 30th former teammate of Hull’s to join the HHoF. But according to Hull, one of those players still stands above the rest.
A few years ago, Hull shared the story of the first time he met Pavel Datsyuk—and how the young Russian absolutely blew his mind.
“Going out to dinner, it’s Yzerman, Shanahan, Fedorov, Larionov… this is a Hall of Fame table,” Hull said.
“And lo and behold, this kid shows up at training camp. Pavel Datsyuk. They put me with him.
“He doesn’t speak English, but he is the sickest player I’ve ever seen in my life.”
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