Friday, April 21, 2006
Alexander the Great
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The start of the 2005-06 season certainly had no shortage of news. The finalized Collective Bargaining Agreement was an obvious topic, as well as the new rules that would take effect. Hockey enthusiasts everywhere were doing their best to memorize the long list of players that had switched teams. And then there was talk about a rookie sensation named Sidney Crosby who had signed with the Pittsburgh Penguins.
Alexander Ovechkin's name always came up second to Crosby's. Now, seven months later, the story is very different. His name is, from now on, one that hockey fans will not forget.
Ovechkin made history on April 13 when he scored his 50th goal and reached 100 points in his rookie season. He joins Teemu Selanne as the only other first-year player to achieve both marks.
Looking back at Ovechkin's pre-NHL life, it's easy to see how the stage was set for the success he is achieving. His parents were both natural-born athletes, his mother a two-time basketball Olympian and his father a professional soccer player. His interest in hockey started when two-year-old Alex fell in love with a stick and helmet in a Moscow toy store and refused to leave without them. He became an avid hockey watcher and played by age seven.
His coaches quickly recognized his talent, and by age 14, he was already being predicted as the first overall pick in the 2004 draft.
Success came quickly and early in Ovechkin's career. At 16, he scored 14 goals and 4 assists in the World Under-18 Junior Championships — a record that has not been surpassed. A year later, Ovechkin became the youngest player to ever join the Russian National Team. His three years on the Junior National Team earned Russia first in 2003, fifth in 2004, and third in 2005. He was named captain of the team in both his second and third year, and in 2005, Ovechkin was named the best forward of the tournament. He was also selected for the all-star team.
This started a trend in Ovechkin's career. In 2004, Ovechkin was named to Russia's World Cup team. At 19, he was the youngest player there, squaring off against some of the NHL's finest. Not much later, Ovechkin himself was in the NHL — the Washington Capitals drafted him in 2004 as the first overall pick, just as predicted five years earlier. And now, "Alexander the Great" is the youngest active member on the Caps' roster, and he's already making a name for himself in the NHL record books.
Despite so much success at such a young age, Ovechkin is neither cocky, nor overwhelmed. He has taken everything in stride, and humbly. Olie Kolzig, Washington's goaltender, said in an interview with the Washington Post, "He's just another one of the guys." Added LW Matt Pettinger on the night before Ovechkin scored his 50th goal, "He could come in here [and] say, 'Hey, I'm Alex Ovechkin, I've played in the Olympics, I've scored 49 goals, I've done all this at 20-years-old.' But he doesn't."
He has not only won over his teammates with his positive, laid-back attitude, but journalists and fans, as well. When asked by the Russian Hockey Digest about the very favorable response he has received, Ovechkin responded, "I am just trying to be myself. I do not need to play any roles."
"He's a normal guy with superstar status," center Dainius Zubrus said of Ovechkin in the Washington Post interview. "He's a very likable guy and that's why everyone [in] here is so happy for him."
Adding to his appeal is the work ethic that has brought Ovechkin to where he is today. "What would I reach without hard work?" he told the Russian Hockey Digest after scoring his 50th goal. He is, hands-down, the real deal.
The best thing is, barring severe injury, he will not be leaving the NHL any time soon — he is, lest we forget, only 20-years-old. Fans, players, and journalists will all have the pleasure of Alex Ovechkin's company for many years to come. And if his performance this season is any preview of what's ahead, then Ovechkin will offer plenty of things to look forward to ... and he will be cheered all along the way.