Early Years
Mike Modano’s journey to becoming the highest scoring American-born player in the NHL began in his hometown of Livonia, Michigan. The son of Michael, Sr. and Karen & younger brother to Sandy and Linda began playing hockey at age seven. Fast forward eight years later, and Modano’s dream pointed closer toward reality as the 15 year-old moved to Prince Albert, Saskatchewan to begin his junior career with the Prince Albert Raiders.
Prince Albert was home to Modano for three seasons. He racked up 118 goals and 176 assists for 294 points in 176 games, in addition to setting records for consecutive games with an assist (19) and points in a game (8). Modano had 105 points through only 41 games in his final season with the Raiders, earning a place on the Western Hockey League’s East First All-Star Team.
In 1988, Modano graduated high school and entered the NHL Entry Draft. The Minnesota North Stars selected the speedy forward with the first overall selection in the 1988 NHL Entry Draft, making Modano, at the time, only the second American-born player taken first overall.
Middle Years
Modano made an immediate impact in the NHL with 29 goals and 46 assists in 80 games his first season to land a spot on the NHL All-Rookie Team and finish second in voting for the Calder Memorial Trophy. Three seasons later, Minnesota relocated to Dallas. Six years later, Modano hoisted the Stanley Cup in the middle of the great Southwest. Dallas’ ascent to the top of the NHL followed Modano’s path. The eight-time NHL All-Star was more than a point-per-game player for seven of his first nine seasons in Texas and helped the Stars to the playoffs in 14 of 16 seasons with the team. In 2003, he was named captain.
On March 17, 2007, Modano made history by scoring his 502nd and 503rd career regular-season goals to take the NHL record for most regular-season goals scored by an American-born player. On November 7, 2007, he made history again with another two-goal game, this time breaking the record for NHL points scored by an American-born player. He would later become the Dallas Stars franchise regular-season and playoff record holder for career points, goals assists and games played. He played 20 years with the Stars and one with the Detroit Red Wings before finishing his 21-year NHL tenure with 561 goals, 813 assists and 1,374 points in 1,499 games. He tallied 16 seasons with 20 or more goals including nine with 30 or more and reached career-high 93-point seasons in 1992-93 & 1993-94, recording a career-high 50-goal season in the latter.
Internationally, Modano played a key role in the success and growth of USA Hockey. The Livonia, Mich. native first donned the Stars & Stripes at the World Junior Championships in 1988 & 1989, then continued to represent the U.S. at the IIHF World Championships (1990, 1993 & 2005), Canada Cup (1991) World Cup of Hockey (1996 & 2004) and Olympics (1998, 2002 & 2006), taking home a silver medal in 2006. In 2002, Modano was honored with the USA Hockey Bob Johnson Award for excellence in international ice hockey competition.
While growing the sport of hockey through his play on the ice, Modano was dedicated to expanding the Stars’ footprint in the community as well. The Mike Modano Foundation served as an avenue to provide support and assistance to organizations, programs and projects helping children as well as veterans and canines in need of social, medical, educational or protective services. From 1998-2001, Modano donated $100 to United Cerebral Palsy for every point he scored, in addition to donating $10,000 to the charity each season from 1995-2001 on behalf of Dallas Stars fans. In 2002, Modano opened the Mike Modano Infant an Toddler Cottage, located inside Jonathan’s Place, a safe haven for at-risk children. Modano’s charitable contributions were recognized throughout his career, being named the recipient of the United Cerebral Palsy Tom Landry Award of Excellence in Volunteerism, the Children’s Medical Center Athlete Role Model Award and being nominated for the NHL Foundation Player Award.
Today
Modano announced his retirement in 2011 and was inducted into the U.S. Hockey Hall of Fame the following year. In 2014, he was inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame and the Dallas Stars retired his iconic number 9. Modano returned to the NHL in the front office in the summer of 2019, joining the Minnesota Wild in an advisory role on a number of initiatives, including team sales, corporate partnerships and community relations. Today, Modano resides in Phoenix, Arizona with his wife, Allison Micheletti, and four children: Jack, Kate, Reese and Luca.