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Captain Ovechkin
by Paul on 01/05/10 at 06:34 PM ET
Comments (8)
ARLINGTON, Va. – Washington Capitals left wing Alex Ovechkin took the ice for tonight’s game against the Montreal Canadiens wearing the captain’s ‘C’ on his sweater, introducing him to the Verizon Center fans as the 14th captain in club history. Vice president and general manager George McPhee and head coach Bruce Boudreau made the selection and Boudreau informed his team of the decision this morning.
Ovechkin, 24, is the first European-born captain in Capitals history and the second-youngest captain in team history (Ryan Walter was 21 when he captained the 1979-80 team). The Moscow native is the sixth Russian-born player to be an NHL captain and joins Atlanta’s Ilya Kovalchuk as the only active Russians to captain their teams (Pavel Bure, Alexander Mogilny, Alexei Yashin and Alexei Zhamnov are the previous ones). Ovechkin, who has been one of Washington’s alternate captains since his second season in the league, succeeds Chris Clark as Capitals’ captain following Clark’s trade to Columbus last week.
Alex Ovechkin … What Others Are Saying
“Our team has adopted Alex’s personality, and the energy, passion and drive to win that are his hallmarks have become our team’s as well. He sets the tone, on the ice as well as off. He’s respectful to everyone and a great ambassador for our team and our sport. We look forward to him leading the Washington Capitals for a long time.”
– George McPhee
“Alex is a great player and a great choice for captain. He is the best player in the NHL and I love his combination of skill and physical play. He finishes his checks and hits hard.”
– Former Capitals captain Dale Hunter
“I think he’s got all the qualities you look for in a captain, and to see that in someone so young is incredible. He’s been a leader since he’s been here, and he leads by example. If he gets upset, you can see him start to take over a game. There’s no doubt he’s deserving.”
– Former Capitals captain Yvon Labre
“He’s the best player in the world and he’s the face of the franchise. Plus he’s a great teammate. The Caps organization should feel proud to name him captain.”
– Former Capitals captain and current Tampa Bay Lightning center Jeff Halpern
Alex Ovechkin … A Leader Since His Rookie Year
“Ovechkin is a truly magical player on the ice, a creative, thoughtful individual who cannot wait to share his triumphs with teammates, a player who seems destined to lead his club to lofty heights with his passion for the game and devotion to it.”
– The late Dave Fay, The Hockey News, Oct. 4, 2005
“What makes him so special is the fact that he’s a great team player. He works hard. He makes hits. He blocks shots. He gives pep talks to his teammates. And on top of all that, he’s an awesomely skilled player. He has great speed and hands. He’s a big guy who can stand his ground. He knows how to play every aspect of the game.”
– Chicago Blackhawks scout Sakari Pietila in the Washington Times, Oct. 5, 2005
“Those are things you don’t teach. Those are the kind of things that are in the belly of a guy. That’s what makes him special. When he scores, look at his facial expressions. That comes from inside and that’s why he’s a special player. He has great skill and is really determined.”
– Then-Florida Panthers head coach Jacques Martin, Miami Herald, Dec. 1, 2005
“I think [the Caps] are approaching it the right way. You can see them coming together as a team. To start becoming successful you need to do it as a team. Even the young kid [Alex Ovechkin], some guys may think he just goes it about his own way, [but] you can see him buying into the team concept. That’s the key.”
– Then-Tampa Bay head coach John Tortorella, Oct. 28, 2005
“A great team guy. He really has a lot of passion about wanting the team to do well. He’s very hungry to score goals, but he doesn’t do it in a way where it’s just about him.”
– Former teammate Jeff Friesen, Calgary Herald, Oct. 30, 2006
“We have this world-class, once-in-a-generation player whose personality is becoming the personality of the team, which is: ‘I can try anything. I can do anything.’”
– Ted Leonsis, Associated Press, Oct. 3, 2006
“He’s certainly the kind of guy a team and league wants to stand behind because he never does anything wrong. He’s a 21-year-old kid who … always does the right thing. He respects the game, respects teammates, respects the referees.”
– George McPhee, Vancouver Sun, Oct. 27, 2006
“He dove head first into everything we were doing. He wanted to room with a North American guy so he could learn the language and the culture quicker. I think that helped in the way he played last year because he was comfortable right out of the gate. The rest of the team fed off his energy.”
– Olie Kolzig, Globe and Mail, Oct. 27, 2006
Filed in: NHL Teams, Washington Capitals | KK Hockey | Permalink
Tags: Alexander+Ovechkin,
Comments
And here come the jealous haters. Hilarious. He’s a captain in the Cal Ripken lead by example mode. Works his ass off night in and night out and still after 5 years in the league has yet to be badmouthed by any current or past teammates on or off the record. Question now is can he be a hardass in the lockeroom and admonish guys for poor effort. Bottom line is most people who don’t think he’s captain material are Canadian xenophobes like Cherry.
Posted by eric on 01/05/10 at 07:21 PM ET
We all speak about things we really have no clue about.
Also Don Cherry loves Ovechkin, he only doesn’t like his over-the-top/pre-planned celebrations, and the wrecklessness he hits guys with.
Posted by Nathan from BC on 01/05/10 at 07:32 PM ET
Eric - i think Cal Ripken worked hard on all aspects of the game, defense, offense, work ethic, literally never took a day off. If you’re going to tell me that all these apply to Ovechkin, you’ve clearly never seen him other than hilites when he scores.
If the rest of the caps did what Ov did night in and night out, they’d never win a game.
Posted by Greg on 01/05/10 at 07:43 PM ET
Wow huge suprise, way to think outside the box boys.
Posted by Down River Dan on 01/05/10 at 08:12 PM ET
And here come the jealous haters. Hilarious. He’s a captain in the Cal Ripken lead by example mode. Works his ass off night in and night out and still after 5 years in the league has yet to be badmouthed by any current or past teammates on or off the record. Question now is can he be a hardass in the lockeroom and admonish guys for poor effort. Bottom line is most people who don’t think he’s captain material are Canadian xenophobes like Cherry.
Posted by eric on 01/05/10 at 07:21 PM ET
I’m not a Canadian xenophobe at all. I think Don Cherry is a racist fool and as I’ve already stated don’t like Ovechkin. He’s just not captain material to me. Messier, Gretzky, Yzerman, Modano, Lidstrom….Ovechkin. Nah.
Posted by Scott from New York on 01/05/10 at 10:21 PM ET
What interests me, where was Mogilny captain? Cant remember seeing him with a C in Buffalo, Vancouver, New Jersey or Toronto. Am i missing something?
Posted by Peter10 from Germany on 01/06/10 at 01:38 AM ET
blah,blah,...russian players cant be captains,play just for money,not good as Bighead Messier,...
Caps made the only right decision,and it should be good for Alex and his and teams development
Posted by Edillac from jesenice,europe on 01/06/10 at 04:16 AM ET
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IMO, Ovechkin isn’t captain material, but that’s just me. I feel like they made him the captain because they felt like they had to, but anyway….
I can point out something stupid in every single quote that you posted, but that would take too long and I don’t really care all that much. But I will summarize it with this….respectful player? C’mon now…guys like Nicklas Lidstrom are respectful players, not Alex “knee on knee, hit from behind into the boards” Ovechkin. That’d be like if whatever NBA team Ron Artest was on, made him captain. It’s laughable.
Posted by Scott from New York on 01/05/10 at 06:59 PM ET