Ovechkin impressed former linemate Clark from first day in NHL

Chris Clark was getting to know his new Washington Capitals teammates shortly before training camp in September 2005, and got a sneak preview of a young Alex Ovechkin.
He certainly liked what he saw during informal workouts before his first camp.

"There was some hype," said Clark, who had been traded to the Capitals from the Calgary Flames on Aug. 4, 2005, for two draft picks. "A lot of guys came in early and he came in a little early, three or four days.
"And he was good. And it wasn't hype."
Ovechkin, in his 13th NHL season, all with the Capitals, is expected to play in his 1,000th game when Washington visits the Pittsburgh Penguins on Sunday (7:30 p.m. ET; NBCSN, NHL.TV).
In a season that has seen Ovechkin score his 600th NHL goal, it is illuminating to go back to his early days.

Clark was there for the dawning of the Ovechkin Era and fortunate to get closer than most. He would become Ovechkin's linemate in January 2006 and finish the season with 39 points (20 goals, 19 assists).
Clark marveled at how Ovechkin navigated that first season and made adjustments along the way.
Ovechkin scored twice in his first NHL game, a 3-2 win against the visiting Columbus Blue Jackets on Oct. 5, 2005.
"We knew something pretty quick," Clark said. "We knew something special was going to be there as the season kept rolling, seeing the different ways he was scoring goals or the different ways he was creating scoring chances."
Ovechkin, who went on to score 52 goals in his first NHL season, had his first hat trick on Jan. 13, 2006, against the Mighty Ducks of Anaheim in a 3-2 overtime win. Clark assisted on the first two goals in that game in Anaheim. But he was blown away by what happened three days later, when Ovechkin scored while sliding on his back after being pulled down by Phoenix Coyotes defenseman Paul Mara.

The goal changed everything.
"The more and more his highlights were on TV -- people were seeing the defense scared of getting beat by him," Clark said. "They were looking foolish on TV and in front of the crowd, and everything, so they were just giving up the blue line and letting him shoot because they didn't want to get beat wide.
"After that, that's where you see how hard his shot was. How he could get pucks on net. As the season went along, he wouldn't play differently, but he'd show different ways of scoring, getting shots on net or getting scoring chances.
"It's amazing how he adapted to everybody. They would give him the blue line, so he'd cut across the middle and shoot."
Clark laughed.
"Or he'd just get mad and run right over them," he said. "At 230 pounds, there weren't many people getting in his way."
The next season, playing alongside Ovechkin and Dainius Zubrus much of the time, Clark had an NHL career-high 54 points (30 goals, 24 assists).
Clark was named captain of the Capitals before that 2006-07 season and held the position until he was traded to the Blue Jackets along with defenseman Milan Jurcina for forward Jason Chimera on Dec. 28, 2009. Ovechkin was named captain on Jan. 5, 2010.
Clark finished his NHL career playing 89 games with the Blue Jackets between 2009-11 and was named development coach for Columbus on June 5, 2012. In 607 NHL games, he had 214 points (103 goals, 111 assists) and reached the Stanley Cup Final with the Flames in 2004.

Having played with Ovechkin, Clark appreciates the long-term combination of brilliance and consistency.
"His down years are all-star years for other people," Clark said. "That team has been consistently good for the last 10 years or so. And he's one of the main reasons why -- because he's always consistent in the game and it follows him as he goes.
"That's probably the hardest thing to do in hockey, or life, or anything is to be consistently good at something."
As for what it was like to play with Ovechkin, Clark, 42, has a ready, self-effacing answer when the question comes up.
"I always say, 'Yeah. It's amazing what he could do,'" Clark said. "How well he did with me on his line -- that's how good he was.
"He scored 40 goals while playing with me."