Mike Modano

My report is on Michael Thomas Modano, retired NHL hockey player who decided to change the lives of abused children in Texas. I chose Mike because he has created and is the vice president of The Mike Modano Foundation, which helps children and their families recover from and reverse the devastating effects of child abuse. He is also one of the most renowned American NHL hockey players of all time.

Mike was born on June 7, 1970, in Livonia, Michigan, to Michael Sr. and Karen Modano. Mike is a native of suburban Detroit. He started playing hockey at age seven and was an extremely skilled player from the beginning. He moved to Prince Albert, Saskatchewan, when he was 15 and was drafted by the Prince Albert Raiders when he was 16. During Mike’s 1988-89 season, the NHL Central Scouting Bureau reported Mike’s amazing performance to the NHL.

Later in that year, Mike was the number one pick in the first round of the NHL Entry Draft, only the second American to be picked number one in the first round! He was drafted to the Minnesota North Stars, where he played for five years, until the franchise moved to Dallas. In Mike’s rookie year, he averaged about a point a game! That year, the Minnesota North Stars made it to the finals but lost to Mario Lemieux’s Chicago Blackhawks.

Mike then played on the Dallas Stars starting with the 1993-94 season, turning heads toward hockey in Dallas. Mike played for the United States in the World Cup of Hockey in 1996, 2004 and 2005.

Mike also played for the U.S. during the Winter Olympics in 1998 and 2002. During the 1999-2000 season, Mike and the Stars won the Stanley Cup, the most prestigious NHL hockey trophy won by a team as a whole. In 2002, Mike won the esteemed Bob Johnson Award. In 2003, Mike became the team captain. During the 2002-03 season, Mike surpassed 1,000 career games played, 600 assists and 1,000 points total! (Points are primary assists, secondary assists, and goals scored)

2007 was an eventful year for Mike. On March 17, 2007, Mike scored his 502nd and 503rd goals, surpassing the record for most goals scored by an American-born player. In October 2007, Mike broke the record for most points scored by an American-born player.

In 2010, the Stars didn’t renew Mike’s contract, making Mike a free agent. In August 2010, the Detroit Red Wings signed a one year contract with Mike for $1.5 million. Mike then decided to retire before the 2011-12 season, but the Stars signed Mike to a free‐agent one‐year contract for $999,999.99, letting him be on the roster for one day, so he could retire as a Star, leaving the NHL with the most goals scored and most points scored by an American-born player and also taking with him the title of the last player from the NHL in the 1980s to be still playing, and also the last active player who was on the Minnesota North Stars roster. Mike currently lives in Dallas with his wife, Willa Ford, who he married on August 25th, 2009, and his two golden retrievers, Scout and Bella.

Mike had so many good things happen in his life, but some things would shape his later life, like when the NHL Central Scouting Bureau came to Prince Albert, Saskatchewan, to look for recruits, which sent him to the NHL, changing his life forever. His longtime friend, Brett Hull, helped and inspired Mike. He was only ever in one fight in the NHL, which was against Rod Brind’Amour. After his game where he broke the record for most points scored by an American-born player, George W. Bush congratulated Mike by calling from Air Force 1! Mike was also a seven-time NHL All-Star, which is an inconceivable feat. On November 21, 2007, Mike was honored on Mike Modano Appreciation Night, where Brett Hull, Joe Mullen, previous record-holder Phil Housley, and Stars owner Tom Hicks spoke about him. Mike says that he had a wonderful and blessed childhood, but not everyone has that. In 2003, Mike decided to assist victims of child abuse and their families by helping them recover and have a safe place to play, the Mike Modano Cottage, part of the Mike Modano Foundation on the Jonathan’s Place child abuse recovery center’s campus. Mike also contributes to charities around Texas who fight to end child abuse in Texas.

Mike inspires me because he was an amazing hockey player and persevered, even through extreme stress, like when he was deciding whether to retire, go to the Detroit Red Wings, or go to where his original NHL team was located, now the Minnesota Wild. Mike also gave back to the community to halt child abuse and create a safe home for its victims. He also inspires me because he was never critical of other people but always pushed himself to do better, even when he was the highest-scoring American-born player. He never stopped helping with abused children and still funds Texas child abuse charities today.

Fun Facts!

• Mike’s nicknames are Mo and Mighty Mo.
• Mike likes playing golf.
• Mike lost the Calder Trophy to another rookie, but there was a profusion of controversy because the winner had played in the Soviet Hockey League for 12 years.
• Mike’s first goal scored for Detroit was scored with 5:18 left in the first period at the 2010-11 home opener.