With 25 goals and 22 assists in his first 39 games in the NHL, Alexander Ovechkin has accounted for 44 percent of the Capitals' offense.

Ovechkin stands out in a crowd
By Chuck Gormley | NHL.com correspondent
January 10, 2006

There is nothing ordinary about Washington Capitals superstar in the making Alex Ovechkin.

Not his life in Russia, not his adaptation to life in America, and certainly not the way he plays the game of hockey.

The 20-year-old left wing from Moscow is also no ordinary rookie. When was the last time a player made a case for the Calder Trophy and the Hart Trophy in the same season? If his second half is anything like his first, Ovechkin will receive his share of votes for both.

With 25 goals and 22 assists in his first 39 games in the NHL, Ovechkin had played a hand in 44 percent of the Capitals' offense. Only the Rangers' Jaromir Jagr, (50 percent) had played a bigger role for his team.

"He's our threat," said Ovechkin's Lithuanian linemate Dainius Zubrus. "We have Olie (Kolzig) in the net and he gives us a chance every night. And Ovie is the same thing. He gives us almost a goal a game."

Taken first overall by the Capitals in the 2004 Entry Draft, Ovechkin was supposed to make his big splash in the NHL last year. But with the league shut down, he spent last season as the youngest player on Russia's national team and played on coach Viktor Tikhonov's top line.

Chuck Gormley covers the Philadelphia Flyers for the South Jersey Courier-Post. His Eastern Conference notebook appears each Tuesday during the season on NHL.com. Related Links: Western Conference notebook East Notes, Jan. 3, 2006 East Notes, Dec. 27, 2005 East Notes, Dec. 20, 2005 East Notes, Dec. 13, 2005 East Notes, Dec. 6, 2005 Complete East Notes Archive

"I think it helped him a lot playing in Russia a couple years against grown men," said Zubrus, now a 10-year NHL veteran. "He loves being in the NHL, he loves being in the United States."

Ovechkin's name was famous long before he entered the NHL. His father was a standout soccer player in Russia and his mother Tatiana, won a pair of Olympic gold medals (1976 and 1980) in women's basketball.

When Ovechkin left Moscow for the NHL, his parents and 22-year-old brother joined him in Washington.

"His mom and dad come and go," Zubrus said. "You can tell he was brought up right. I don't think there is one person in the organization -- never mind the players and the coaches, we love him - that doesn't like being around him. He's just a nice guy."

Off the ice, Ovechkin has become an ambassador for the Capitals and the NHL. He signs autographs before and after games and practices, outside hotels and inside restaurants, all because that's what he wanted players to do for him when he was a kid.

"When I see a little boy, I remember when I was little and I used to stand and wait for some guy I would go to after a game," Ovechkin told the Ottawa Citizen. "They are fans and they want my signature. They live in Washington, and they are fans of our team. I think if I signed 10 signatures and there were 20 more fans waiting and I didn't sign for them also, they would want to know why and I would feel bad. If you have time, why not sign them all?"

Ovechkin has been just as inviting in the Capitals locker room, where he has worked hard to forge relationships with all of his teammates, not just the ones from Europe.

Capitals coach Glen Hanlon said Ovechkin is the complete package, a player who has just as much substance as skill.

"He just loves to play," Hanlon said. "It's like he's a 12-year-old. He's always on the ice or watching games. He just loves it and he's a pleasure to coach. To me, he's like a Mark Messier. He's not like a Russian player. He's a vocal guy, he can score, and he's a physical player, too. He'll hurt you."

On the ice, Ovechkin's tools are obvious. At 6-foot-2, 216 pounds, he's incredibly strong on the puck and shields defensemen with ease. He can score from the top of the circles with his wicked right-handed slap shot or from below the hash marks with his equally deadly wrist shot. He can deke a goalie out of his pads, as he has done five times in overtime shootouts, or beat him by crashing the net.

"He's a beast, man," Zubrus said. "A freak of nature."

Ovechkin was named Rookie of the Month in December and ended the month with a club rookie record six-game goal-scoring streak. He has scored the Capitals' first goal 10 times this season and with an average of 4.8 shots a game, he's on target to break the NHL rookie record of 387 shots held by Teemu Selanne in 1992-93.

All of which lines him up as the favorite to win a Calder race that includes Penguins 18-year-old sensation Sidney Crosby and Calgary's Dion Phaneuf.

"Yes, I think about it and I want to win it, because everybody does," Ovechkin said. "Crosby, Phaneuf, everyone wants to win. If I'm playing hockey, I want to win all the (trophies) I can."

Kolzig, 35, said Ovechkin is the biggest reason he is considering staying in Washington for the remainder of his career. If the Capitals can continue to build around the star left wing, Kolzig thinks they'll have a chance to compete for the Stanley Cup.

Alex Ovechkin's name was famous long before he entered the NHL. His father was a standout soccer player in Russia, and his mother, Tatiana, won a pair of Olympic gold medals (1976 and 1980) in women's basketball.

For now, the Capitals are simply trying to compete to win hockey games. Unlike Crosby, who has Ziggy Palffy, Mark Recchi and Sergei Gonchar attracting attention from opposing defenses, Ovechkin draws opponents' top checking lines and defense pairings every night and his being physically challenged on every shift.

"If we don't have other weapons, it's easier for teams to shut him down," said Hanlon. "We don't have a second wave of attack. When it comes down to the final 12 games or so, it'll be difficult for him (to win the Calder). A lot will have to do with our hockey club and where we sit in the standings."

"Everyone knows he's our biggest threat, but he's a hard-nosed player," Zubrus said. "He takes a hit and he gives a hit. He's an unusual player for Russia, really. You don't see a lot of players like that from Eastern Europe."

Said Kolzig: "If he keeps doing what he's doing, I see no reason why he shouldn't get (the Calder Trophy). I might be biased, but he is 50 percent of our offense."

Who's hot -- Flyers goaltender Antero Niittymaki, starting in place of the injured Robert Esche, was 7-0-1 in the first eight games of the Flyers' 11-game road trip. Carolina's Cory Stillman carried a nine-game scoring streak into this week (5 goals, 12 assists), while the Penguins' Sidney Crosby was working on an eight-game streak (8 goals, 6 assists). Atlanta's Marc Savard and Toronto's Bryan McCabe each were working on six-game scoring streaks.

Shootout summary -- The Caps improved to a league-best 5-2 in shootouts when Brian Willsie beat Flyers goalie Antero Niittymaki on New Year's eve. Meanwhile, Atlanta is a league-worst 0-4 in the shootout. The other two winless teams in the shootout are Boston (0-2) and Florida (0-2).

Rumor mill -- The fans in Atlanta showed little respect for winger Dany Heatley when he and the Senators played the Thrashers last week. Heatley was booed during introductions and every time he touched the puck. "I was disappointed," said Thrashers winger Ilya Kovalchuk. "I don't think they should have booed him. I don't think it was right. He didn't do anything wrong." -- Buffalo's Ryan Miller picked up where Martin Biron left off with four-straight wins, fueling rumors he might be added to the U.S. Olympic roster if Rick DiPietro or Robert Esche is still nursing an injury this time next month. "I'm going to live with it and I'm going to be fine with it," Miller said of the decision to keep him off the team. "It's not a soap opera. We're all Americans. I'm really proud of the American goalies."

The week ahead

Tuesday: Flames at Rangers -- If the battle between Finland's Miikka Kiprusoff and Sweden's Henrik Lundqvist isn't enough for you, how about Jarome Iginla vs. Jaromir Jagr? This is a treat for Rangers fans who have had a steady diet of Eastern Conference foes.

Thursday: Flyers at Red Wings -- The Flyers have not won in Detroit since Nov. 4, 1988. That team was led by Tim Kerr and Pelle Eklund. They are 0-12-2 in their last 14 games in the Motor City.

Friday: Canucks at Devils -- Devils fans never liked Todd Bertuzzi when he played for the Islanders, and they didn't care for Ed Jovanovski when he was with Florida. Enough said.

Saturday: Avalanche at Flyers -- The long-awaited tilt between Peter Forsberg and the team that allowed him to get away after 10 remarkable seasons and two Stanley Cups. Forsberg still has what it takes to win another.