Helene St. James

Detroit Free Press

Make plans for the 2035 NHL draft: There could be a Datsyuk in the mix.

Former Detroit Red Wings puck magician Pavel Datsyuk and his wife, Maria, welcomed a baby boy, Pavel Jr. , on Sunday. The news was confirmed to the Free Press by Dan Milstein, Datsyuk's agent.

It is the third child and first son for Datsyuk. He has a daughter, Elizabeth, from his first marriage, and he and Maria welcomed daughter Vasilisa in 2014.

Datsyuk, 38, returned to his native Russia last summer, after 15 seasons with the Wings that included winning the Stanley Cup as a rookie in 2002 and again in 2008. He was known as the "Magic Man" for his incredible puck-dangling skills. He won multiple Selke and Lady Byng trophies.

No doubt that Pavel Jr. soon will be on skates. Sometimes hockey skills do run in family bloodlines -- two of Red Wings legend Gordie and Colleen Howe’s sons, Mark and Marty, played in the NHL, and Mark followed his dad into the Hockey Hall of Fame. A more current example is former Wings forward Todd Bertuzzi (once the NHL’s premier power forward) -- his son, Tag, is expected to be a top-three pick (maybe even first overall) in this year’s OHL draft, and nephew Tyler Bertuzzi is a well-regarded prospect in the Wings organization who likely is to make the Wings next season.

Pavel Datsyuk bemoans the lack of creativity in the NHL

Contact Helene St. James: hstjames@freepress.com. Follow her on Twitter @helenestjames.