Detroit Red Wings players like Tiger, steak, rock music and table tennis

United States Presidents Cup team player Tiger Woods tees off on the first hole of his singles match against International team player Y.E. Yang at the Presidents Cup at Harding Park Golf Course Sunday, Oct. 11, 2009, in San Francisco. (AP Photo)

Golf has long been the sport of choice for hockey players in the summer and that holds true for the Detroit Red Wings players.

In the Red Wings media notes prior to their game against the San Jose Sharks, the players provided a glimpse into what they enjoy away from the ice. Not surprisingly golf was at the top of the list with nine players naming it their favourite sport other than hockey and eight of them included Tiger Woods in their dream foursome.

Some other sports listed by the players include football (Justin Abdelkader and Brett Lebda), table tennis (Patrick Eaves), tennis (Ville Leino), volleyball (Darren Helm), soccer (Tomas Holmstrom) and kite surfing (Henrik Zetterberg).

Zetterberg's list of off-ice favorites is the most comical, listing teammates Kris Draper and Kirk Maltby as his hockey heroes growing up and included them in his dream foursome along with Woods. Draper's NHL career began when Zetterberg was 10 and Maltby became an NHL player three years later. Other Zetterberg favourites include musical artist Bob Dylan, and his favorite food is steak.

Osgood also reveals that when he retires from hockey he would like to become the bullpen catcher for the Detroit Tigers.

Three players listed Italian/pasta as their favorite food (Abdelkader, Maltby, Holmstrom) and sushi was the favorite of two players (Lebda, Jason Williams) while Eaves enjoys Five Guys cheeseburgers.

The complete list of favorites by player:

Chris Osgood: hockey hero: Grant Fuhr; musical artist: Black Eyed Peas; food: steak; sport (other than hockey): golf.

Jimmy Howard: hockey hero: Mike Richter; food: chicken; sport: golf; dream foursome: Woods, Jack Nicklaus, Gary Player.

Justin Abdelkader: hockey hero: Steve Yzerman; musical artist: Rascal Flatts; food: pasta; sport: football; dream foursome: Woods, Barry Sanders, and his dad.

Dan Cleary: hockey hero: Gary Roberts; musical artist: The Killers; food: steak; sport: golf; dream foursome: Woods, Nicklaus, Darren Clarke.

Derek Meech: hockey hero: Yzerman; musical artist: Ben Harper; food: pizza and steak; sport: golf.

Patrick Eaves: hockey hero: Pat Lafontaine; musical artist: Red Hot Chili Peppers; food: Five Guys cheeseburgers; sport: table tennis.

Kirk Maltby: hockey hero: Wayne Gretzky; musical artist: Metallica; food: Italian; sport: golf; dream foursome: Woods, Russell Peters, his grandfather.

Ville Leino: hockey hero: Pavel Bure; musical artist: David Gilmour; food: steak; sport: tennis.

Brett Lebda: hockey hero: Chris Chelios; food: sushi; sport: football and golf; dream foursome: Woods, Robin Williams, Megan Fox.

Jason Williams: hockey hero: Wendel Clark; musical artist: Kid Rock; food: sushi; sport: golf; dream foursome: Woods, Jeremy Piven, Kiefer Sutherland.

Kris Draper: hockey hero: Bryan Trottier; musical artist: U2; food: steak with mashed potatoes and broccoli; dream foursome: Woods, John F. Kennedy, Tom Brady.

Henrik Zetterberg: hockey hero: Kris Draper and Kirk Maltby; musical artist: Bob Dylan; food: steak; sport: kite surfing; dream foursome: Woods, Draper, and Maltby.

Darren Helm: hockey hero: Joe Sakic; food: steak; sport: volleyball; dream foursome: Woods, Shaquille O'Neal, Mike Myers.

Todd Bertuzzi: hockey hero: Gretzky; musical artist: James Taylor; food: steak; sport: golf.

Tomas Holmstrom: hockey hero: Igor larionov and Sergei Makarov; musical artist: Iron Maiden; food: pasta; sport: golf and soccer; dream foursome: Gretzky, Borje Salming and Larionov.

Please submit your Red Wings or hockey questions to drwexaminer@gmail.com for a new mid-week column this season, Detroit Red Wings Examiner's Mailbag coming soon

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For more info: Red Wings and NHL history gathered from team websites and the book: Total Hockey. Mike also covers the Windsor Spitfires for examiner.com and is syndicated by hockey54.com