Alexander Mikhaylovich Ovechkin (placeholder)

Alexander Mikhaylovich Ovechkin (Russian: Алекса́ндр Миха́йлович Ове́чкин; born September 17, 1985 in Moscow, USSR), is a professional ice hockey left winger for the Washington Capitals of the National Hockey League. He currently resides in Arlington, Virginia.

He was the number one pick in the 2004 NHL Entry Draft, but due to the 2004-05 NHL lockout only started playing in the 2005-06 NHL season.

Alexander Ovechkin is the son of Mikhail Ovechkin, a former professional football (soccer) player and Tatyana Ovechkina, who won two Olympic gold medals while competing for the Soviet basketball team in the 1976 Summer Olympics at Montreal and in 1980 at Moscow.[1]

He began playing hockey at the age of eight. Soon after he began, however, he had to postpone his hockey career because his parents were unable to take him to the rink. One of Ovechkin’s coaches saw his talent and communicated to his parents that he should continue to play hockey. Ovechkin’s older brother, Sergei, who later died in a car accident, saw that Alexander loved hockey and insisted that he be allowed to return. Ovechkin did not start playing again for almost two years.

Due to his studies at the Military Institute for Border Guards, he apparently does not have to serve in the military in Russia. Military duty is supposed to be compulsory in Russia, but it is so in name only and is enforced selectively rather than uniformly; for instance, young Russian star Ilya Kovalchuk has never served in the military, while Ukrainian-born Nikolai Zherdev was forced to go to arbitration court in Switzerland because Russian authorities claimed he had to serve in the military. It is thought that Ovechkin will not have to face these circumstances.
On January 16, 2006, Alexander Ovechkin scored a goal that veteran hockey reporter Bill Clement called “one of the greatest goals of all time.” Knocked down by Paul Mara, a defenseman for the Phoenix Coyotes, then sliding on his back and facing away from the net, Ovechkin was able to hook the puck with one hand on his stick and slide it into the net past Coyotes goalie Brian Boucher for his second goal of the night. Ovechkin simply stated, “I was lucky. I never did it before.”[5]

On February 1, 2006, Ovechkin was named NHL Rookie of the Month for January 2006 as well as being named Offensive Player of the Month, becoming only the third player in NHL history to earn both honors in a single month.

Ovechkin’s 52 goals and 106 points both ranked third all-time among NHL rookies and he led all 2005-2006 NHL rookies in goals, points, power-play goals, and shots. 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 also was the fourth-highest total in NHL history. Ovechkin’s point total was the second best in Washington Capitals history and his goal total was tied for third in franchise history.

Ovechkin received the Calder Memorial Trophy, which is awarded to the NHL’s best rookie, and was also named to the NHL First All-Star Team. He was the first rookie named to the NHL First All-Star Team in 15 years. In addition, EA Sports made Ovechkin the cover athlete for NHL 07.

On December 15, 2006, in a game against the Atlanta Thrashers, Ovechkin scored his second career hat trick, scoring the game-winner just 6 seconds into overtime and tying the NHL record for quickest overtime win. Ovechkin scored past Kari Lehtonen of the Thrashers to seal the Washington win.

Following the 2006-2007 NHL season, Ovechkin was awarded the Kharlamov Trophy, which is named after Valery Kharlamov and presented by Sovetsky Sport. The Kharlamov Trophy honors the best Russian NHL player as voted by other Russian NHL players.