  michael thomas modano, jr. (; born june 7, 1970) is a retired american professional ice hockey player, who played primarily for the minnesota north stars/dallas stars franchise. he is the all-time goal-scoring and points leader amongst american-born players in the nhl, as well as the last active player in the nhl who played for the north stars when the team was in minnesota. modano was drafted first overall by the north stars in 1988, and after the team moved to texas he helped the stars win the stanley cup in 1999. modano played his final nhl season with his hometown team, the detroit red wings. modano is considered one of the most influential figures in popularizing hockey in texas and the southern united states.mike modano says goodbye, grantland modano was inducted into the hockey hall of fame on november 17, 2014.hasek, modano in hall's class of 2014 ==early life== modano was born in livonia, michigan, the third child and only son of michael, sr. and karen modano. he grew up in highland township, and due to causing problems at school with his mischievous behavior, a friend of his father suggested to put modano in a team sport to get him controlled. michael, sr. was a fan of hockey, and decided to teach ice skating to seven-year old modano. he learned it well, and six months later was put in local hockey teams. at the age of nine, he was part of a detroit red wings team in a pee-wee tournament in quebec. to spend his minor hockey career with the detroit little caesar's triple aaa hockey club, the modano family moved to westland. the midget major team at the age of fourteen when his teammates were two to three years older. in the 1984-85 season, modano scored 50 goals and 50 assists on the way to win the usa hockey national championship in 1985.{{cite web|url=http://dlchc.goalline.ca/news.php?news_id=282984&lang= |title=detroit little caesars aaa hockey club powered by goalline.ca |pu
1970_births American_ice_hockey_centres Dallas_Stars_players Detroit_Red_Wings_players Hockey_Hall_of_Fame_inductees Ice_hockey_people_from_Michigan Ice_hockey_players_at_the_2002_Winter_Olympics Ice_hockey_players_at_the_2006_Winter_Olympics Living_people Medalists_at_the_2002_Winter_Olympics Minnesota_North_Stars_draft_picks Minnesota_North_Stars_players National_Hockey_League_All-Stars National_Hockey_League_first_overall_draft_picks National_Hockey_League_first_round_draft_picks National_Hockey_League_players_with_retired_numbers Olympic_ice_hockey_players_of_the_United_States Olympic_medalists_in_ice_hockey Olympic_silver_medalists_for_the_United_States People_from_Livonia,_Michigan Prince_Albert_Raiders_players Stanley_Cup_champions