THE YOUNGEST PLAYER TO COMPETE FOR RUSSIA ON THE ICE HAS CONTINUED TO SET RECORDS IN THE NHL. EOGHAN MORRISSEY LOOKS AT THE CAREER OF THE WASHINGTON CAPITALS’ ALEXANDER OVECHKIN, SCORER OF ‘THE GREATEST GOAL EVER’
It was a shot that stunned ice hockey fans around the world. Almost one year ago on January 16, Alexander Ovechkin was playing for the Washington Capitals against the Phoenix Coyotes. One-on-one with defender Paul Mara, the Phoenix player managed to tangle up the young Russian as he drove to the net.
Falling to the left of the goal mouth, he hit the ice on his back. Rolling on to his front and sliding on the ice away from goal, he managed to hook the puck one-handed into the net from the tightest of angles for what has being hailed as the greatest ice hockey goal ever scored (you can see it for yourself on YouTube if you don’t believe the hype).
Some saw it as a fluke, but Alexander Ovechkin’s record since he started playing hockey shows he has that mark of greatness which indicates he knew exactly what he was doing.
The youngest ever player to play international hockey for Russia at just 17 years of age, he finished last season with the Calder Trophy awarded for NHL rookie of the year. His 52 goals and 106 points was the third highest tally ever for an NHL rookie. He finished third overall in the NHL in scoring and tied for third in goals, and his 425 shots not only led the league and set an NHL rookie record, but was also the fourthhighest total in NHL history.
Moreover, his point total was the second best in the Washington Capitals’ records, while his goal total was tied for third in the history of the team. He also made the All-Star team and, in perhaps the greatest honour of them all, was selected as the cover star of the bestselling video game NHL 07.
It was a fairytale beginning to an NHL career for the leftwingman. Ovechkin’s parents were both athletes: his mother, Tatiana, won two Olympic gold medals with the Soviet basketball team in 1976 and 1980, while his father Mikhail was a professional soccer player. He made his debut in the Russian Superleague in 2002 aged just 16, and in 2004 was the number one draft pick in the NHL – becoming only the second Russian to do so after Ilya Kovalchuk in 2001.
Due to the players’ lockout that season he did not make his NHL debut until October 2005, when he scored two goals against the Columbus Blue Jackets. From then on there was no stopping him as he roared on to set the NHL alight. Internationally Ovechkin has set records too. The youngest player to compete on the ice for Russia, he was also the youngest player at the 2004 World Cup of Hockey. He played in three World Junior Ice Hockey Championships, making the All-Star team each time, and in 2005 Ovechkin played in his first IIHF Men’s World Championships, finishing third place in scoring with five goals.
Last year saw him in his first Winter Olympic Games in Turin. In a disappointing tournament for Russia – they finished outside the medals – Ovechkin scored 5 goals, including the one that eliminated Canada from the tournament. Yet again he was named as a part of the all-tournament team at the 2006 Men’s World Ice Hockey Championships, where he notched 6 goals and three assists in seven games before losing 4–3 to the Czech Republic in the quarterfinals. There is no doubt that Ovechkin has talent in spades, but it remains to be seen whether he can be surrounded by team-mates who can support it.
Although the Washington Capitals have only ever reached one Stanley Cup finals series, with Ovechkin they have a chance of making it back and maybe finally getting the local crowd fired up for some heat on the ice.
