Ranking my top 5 favorite Detroit Red Wings of all-time

About 20 years ago, I was introduced to hockey by my parents and it was really driven home by my Grandpa. The amount of time i spent watching the Detroit Red Wings was akin to a full-time job. Whether it was at home with my Dad or up in Norther Michigan with my Grandpa, if the Red Wings were on, I wanted to watch them play.

Being one of the most storied franchises in not just NHL history, but hockey history as a whole, the Detroit Red Wings have had a plethora of incredible and intriguing players walk through the doors of Olympia Stadium, Joe Louis Arena, and now Little Caesars Arena.

As you can imagine, in my time watching the Red Wings, I have my favorite players who have played for the team much like any other hockey fan. So I figured, "Why not list them?"

This is my top 5 favorite Red Wings players of all-time!

Number 5: Henrik Zetterberg

At first, I wasn't the biggest Henrik Zetterberg guy. Looking back on it, I probably just wasn't as experienced enough in hockey to appreciate his game properly.

One of the best 2-way forwards of his generation, who was a perennial point-per-game player for most of his career and a big enough presence in the locker room that he was named the 36th captain of the Detroit Red Wings. He has cemented himself in not only Red Wings history, but also as one of my favorite Red Wings of all time.

It also probably helps that he's also my mom's favorite Red Wing of all-time too.

Number 4: Steve Yzerman

While this may be lower on the list than many may have thought he would be, it's only because I only got interested in hockey right after Steve Yzerman retired, so I was never able to watch him play live.

However, Between the highlights and interviews that I watched growing up, as well as the numerous accounts of just how great of a leader he was as the 34th captain of the Detroit Red Wings, I, like many others, gravitated toward him as not only one of their favorite players but one of the best players in history.

Number 3: Nicklas Lidström

"The Perfect Human", that's what Nicklas Lidström has been dubbed and was named the greatest Swedish hockey player of all time.

As a defenseman myself, it was inevitable that Lidström would appeal to me, as he had to many others. His ability to create the amount of offense he did without sacrificing a single shred of defense was incredible to watch.

Add all that with his seven Norris Trophies and being named successor to Steve Yzerman as the Detroit Red Wings 35th Captain. There is no doubt that Lidström deserves to be known as one of the greatest of all time, and in turn becomes one of my favorite Detroit Red Wings of all time.

Number 2: Dylan Larkin

Larks, D-Boss, The Larkness Monster, or the 37th and current captain of the Detroit Red Wings. Whatever you call him, the nameDylan Larkinhas become synonymous with all Red Wings fans, new and old.

In his first season, he broke the NHL's fastest-skater record held by Mike Gartner with a time of 13.172 seconds. Then went on to become the first Michigan-born captain of the Detroit Red Wings, their first-line center, and after the retirement of Miguel Cabrera last year, he has become the longest-tenured active Detroit sports athlete. During this, he has stuck through the lowest of lows for the Detroit Red Wings and still maintains his love for the team and the city of Detroit as a whole.

Honorable mentions: Niklas Kronwall, Moritz Seider, Chris Chelios, Pavel Datsyuk and Johan Franzen

Number 1: Darren Helm

No, this isn't a joke or a meme. This is real, Darren Helm has been my favorite Detroit Red Wings player for most of my time watching hockey and that hasn't changed.

Being a defenseman it's always struck people as odd that my favorite Detroit Red Wings player is Darren Helm. I'll admit, it is a bit unusual. I don't know exactly how it started, looking back now it probably started with my kid brain thinking "That guy's fast, I like him" and that's about it.

But as I got older I started to appreciate his game as a fast and talented middle-six grinder. As many of you may know, I have a particular soft spot in my heart for those players. In the end, I think that my love for Helm came about because he was the opposite of me as a hockey player.

He was a fast forward who could score goals and I was an average skating defenseman who didn't score many goals.