Alexander Ovechkin

Early Life   NHL Draft   Professional Career   Accolades Image description

Overview

Alexander Ovechkin is currently the captain of the Washington Capitals, a hockey team in the NHL. He has aquired numerous awards for his outstanding play and is the only player to ever aquire the Art Ross Trophy, Maurice Richard Trophy, Lester B. Pearson Award, and Hart Memorial Trophy in a single season. He also holds numerous records such as the most NHL goal scoring titles with 8 in total. He is one of the most prolific goal scorers of all time.

Early Life

Ovechkin was born on September 17 1985, in Moscow Russia. He is the son of two soviet athletes, his mother being an Olympic gold medalist in basketball and his father a soccer player. From as young as two years old Ovechkin was obsessed with hockey dropping everything to watch the games on TV. When Ovechkin was 10 years old his brother died following a car accident. Ovechkin thanks his brother for introducing him to the sport and encouraging him to persue his dreams. When Ovechkin was 10 he played for Dynamo Moscow making a name for himself when he surpassed Pavel Bure's goal scoring record of 53 with his own 56. For Ovechkin the record was not enough so he set his sights on the NHL.

NHL Draft

Ovechkin began playing in the Russian Super League (RSL) in Dynamo Moscow at the age of 16. Making his professional debut in the 2001–02 season, he scored four points in 21 games. He would spend three seasons there prior to being drafted by the NHL, and he would rack up 36 goals and 32 assists in 152 career games. Ovechkin was selected first overall in the 2004 NHL entry draft by the Washington Capitals. He was highly sought after, being projected as the number 1 pick as soon as 2 years earlier. The Florda panthers attempted to draft him the year earlier despite him being too young.
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Professional Career

Ovechkin played his first game with the Washington Capitals on October 5th 2005 and scored two goals in their victory against the Colombus Blue Jackets. On 13 January 2006, in Anaheim, Ovechkin scored his first career hat trick against the Anaheim Ducks. Ovechkin was named NHL rookie of the month in January 2006 as well as offensive player of the month being the 3rd NHL player in history to achieve these honors simultaneously. Ovechkin finished his first season leading all rookies in points and having the third most points in the NHL with 106, the 4th highest total for a rookie of all time. On January 5th 2010, Ovechkin was named captain of the Washington Capitals. He became the first European, second-youngest and 14th overall captain in team history. On 5 February, at a game against the New York Rangers, Ovechkin, with his second goal and third point of the game, reached the 500-point milestone of his NHL career. He is the fifth player to achieve the milestone in only five seasons, reaching it in 373 career games. On June 7th 2018 Ovechkin won his first Stanley Cup, leading his team to victory over the Vegas Golden Knights 4–3 in game 5 of the finals. The Stanley Cup victory was the first in the Capitals 44-year franchise history. He scored the first Stanley Cup Finals goal of his 13-year, 1,121-game NHL career on 30 May 2018, in game 2 against the Vegas Golden Knights at T-Mobile Arena. He went on to become the first Russian player to captain a team to the Stanley Cup.
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Accolades

  • Stanley Cup
  • Conn Smythe Trophy
  • Prince of Wales Trophy
  • Hart Memorial Trophy
  • Art Ross Trophy
  • Lester B. Pearson Award/Ted Lindsay Award
  • Maurice "Rocket" Richard Trophy
  • Calder Memorial Trophy
  • Presidents' Trophy

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