Alexander Ovechkin

Alexander Mikhaylovich Ovechkin (Russian Александр Михайлович Овечкин; born September 17, 1985 in Moscow, Russian SFSR ) is a Russian ice hockey player. He currently plays for the Washington Capitals in the National Hockey League on the position of the left winger. Ovechkin is one of the best currently active hockey player.

2.1 International

3.1 International

Career

At age 16, Ovechkin played already appointed for the second team of the professional division of HK Dynamo Moscow and was still in the same season in the first team of the Super League in the 2001/ 02 season. Due to its good performance, he took part with the Russian U18 national team at the World Cup this age group and won the silver medal. With 14 goals and four assists in eight tournament games, he was the best scorer and the top scorer of the tournament.

From the season 2002/ 03 Ovechkin was an integral part of the first team of HK Dynamo Moscow and played a solid year with 15 points scorer. In January 2003, he also ran for the first time on the Russian U-20 selection at the Junior World Championships. Russia defended the title won in the previous year and Ovechkin was with Patrik Baertschi, Igor Grigorenko and Jussi Jokinen, who scored all six goals, top scorer in the World Cup. Three months later, Ovechkin also won the bronze medal at the U18 World Cup.

In the game year 2003/ 04 was Ovechkin 's third- best scorer of HK Dynamo Moscow, but he could not place a team success with them until then. And also at the international level was the 2004 success. After a fifth place finish at the U20 World Cup, Russia failed in May 2004 at Ovechkin first participation in the World Championships for seniors already in the second round.

Due to its good performance in international tournaments Ovechkin had made the franchises of the National Hockey League attention and was even before the NHL Entry Draft in 2004 as the greatest talent of his year, so finally chose him the Washington Capitals as a whole first. However, he could not make his NHL debut in the 2004/05 season, as the season was canceled because of the lockout. Instead, Ovechkin played for another year for HK Dynamo Moscow at the side of his NHL - experienced compatriots Pavel Datsyuk, Maxim Afinogenov, Alexander Frolov and Andrei Markov, who had returned to their homes because of the game stops in North America and together won the Russian Championship.

Also in 2005, Ovechkin celebrated his last success at the U20 World Junior Championship by winning the silver medal and third place in the standings behind scorer Patrice Bergeron and Ryan Getzlaf. Four months later, he won with the professionals also the bronze medal at the World Championships in Austria and was the best scorer of the Russian national team.

In autumn 2005, Ovechkin finally went for the Washington Capitals in his first NHL season and has already achieved in his second game two goals. During the season, he was awarded in December 2005 and January 2006 the award for the best rookie of the month and posted on 13 January 2006 the first hat trick of his NHL career. In February 2006, Ovechkin was in the Russian national squad for the Olympic Winter Games in Turin, which they finished in fourth place, with Ovechkin had scored five goals during the tournament and was voted into the All -Star team. After the Olympic Winter Games, the NHL season has continued but ended for the Washington Capitals without a playoff participation. Ovechkin was at the end on the third place in the standings with 106 points scorer and was the third top scorer in the league with 52 goals. For his excellent performance, he was elected team in the NHL First All -Star and won the Calder Memorial Trophy as the best rookie of the season, which he succeeded against Sidney Crosby. In addition, he was nominated for the Lester B. Pearson Award as the best player in the NHL.

In May 2006, he again played for the Russian national team at the World Championships, but failed in the quarter- finals.

The 2006/07 season promised for the Washington Capitals little improvement. After a good start to the season, for which he was rewarded with his first participation in NHL All-Star Game, Ovechkin was missing in the second half of the season, the constancy and the Capitals missed the playoffs again. Ovechkin finished the season with 92 points and 46 goals, which he finished fourth in the scoring charts and was also re-elected to the NHL First All -Star Team. Following the NHL season he won in Russia at the World Championships bronze medal.

In the 2007 /08 season, Ovechkin was invited for the second time NHL All-Star Game after he already got half the season to 30 goals and 29 December 2007 in a 8-6 victory over the Ottawa Senators for the first time four goals and five points scored in a game. Despite good performances Owetschkins the Washington Capitals were in the race for playoff places again significantly, which fueled rumors that he might go in the summer of 2008 to a more competitive team when his contract expires. But on 11 January 2008 gave the Capitals announced that they had reached an agreement with Ovechkin to a contract for 13 years and the record sum of 124 million U.S. dollars. In the rest of the season he delivered himself with his fellow countryman Evgeni Malkin a duel for first place in the scorer standings. On March 18th, he reached through an assist for the second time in his career mark of 100 points scorer and only three days later, on March 21, he succeeded with a goal against the Atlanta Thrashers as the first player since Mario Lemieux and Jaromir Jagr 60 goals to achieve in 1995/96 season within a season. On 3 April, he again went into the history books. After he scored two goals against Tampa Bay, he is regarded as the left winger with the most goals in a season gates, breaking the record of Luc Robitaille.

On January 5, 2010 Ovechkin was named captain of the Washington Capitals. The 2009/10 season, he finished with 109 points. In the play-offs Ovechkin again failed prematurely with the Capitals, this time in the first round against the Montreal Canadiens. This enabled him to attend the World Cup in Germany and had to give was beaten with his team until the final of the Czech Republic. He also won for the third time in the Lester B. Pearson Award, which is awarded since the 2010 season under the name Ted Lindsay Award.

Family and community involvement

In the 1970s Alexander Ovechkin mother, Tatiana Owetschkina was a successful basketball player. 1976 and 1980 she won the Russian national team the gold medal at the Summer Olympics and took between 1970-1980 also once the world champion and five- time European champion. Like his mother wears Alexander Ovechkin jersey number 8 His father Mikhail Ovechkin, a former professional football player. Owetschkins older brother Sergei died in 1995 in a traffic accident. Ovechkin 's athlete ambassador of development organization Right to Play.

Awards and achievements

2005 Champion of Russia with the HK Dynamo Moscow
2005 NHL Rookie of the Month December
2006 NHL Offensive Player of the Month January
2006 NHL Rookie of the Month January
2006 Calder Memorial Trophy
2006 NHL First All -Star Team
2006 NHL All- Rookie Team
2006 Kharlamov Trofi
2007 NHL All-Star Game
2007 NHL First All -Star Team
2007 Kharlamov Trofi
2008 NHL All-Star Game
2008 NHL Player of the Month January
2008 NHL Player of the Month March
2008 Art Ross Trophy
2008 Maurice Rocket ' Richard Trophy
2008 Lester B. Pearson Award
2008 Hart Memorial Trophy

2008 NHL First All -Star Team
2008 Kharlamov Trofi
2008 NHL Player of the Month for November
2009 NHL All-Star Game
2009 Maurice Rocket ' Richard Trophy
2009 NHL First All -Star Team
2009 Hart Memorial Trophy
2009 Lester B. Pearson Award
2009 Kharlamov Trofi
2010 NHL Player of the Month January
2010 Kharlamov Trofi
2010 Ted Lindsay Award
2010 NHL First All -Star Team
2011 NHL All-Star Game
2011 NHL Second All-Star Team
2012 NHL All-Star Game ( personal waiver because of suspension )
2013 Champion of Russia with the HK Dynamo Moscow
2013 NHL Player of the Month April
2013 Maurice Rocket ' Richard Trophy
2013 Hart Memorial Trophy
2013 NHL First All -Star Team
2013 NHL Second All-Star Team

Internationally

2002 Silver medal at the U18 World Youth Championship
2002 top scorer of the U18 World Youth Championship
2002 Best scorer of the U18 World Youth Championship
2002 All- Star team the U18 World Youth Championship
2003 Gold medal at the U20 World Junior Championships
2003 Best scorer of the U20 World Junior Championships
2003 bronze medal at the U18 World Youth Championship
2003 Best scorer of the U18 World Youth Championship
2003 All- Star team the U18 World Youth Championship
2005 Silver medal at the U20 World Junior Championships

2005 Top scorer of the U20 World Junior Championships
2005 Best striker in the U20 World Junior Championships
2005 bronze medal at the World Championships
2006 All- Star team of the Olympic hockey tournament
2006 All- Star Team of the World Cup
2007 bronze medal at the World Championships
2008 Gold medal at the World Championships
2008 All- Star Team of the World Cup
2010 Silver medal at the World Championships
2012 Gold Medal at the World Championships

Career Stats

Internationally

Represented Russia at:

U18 Junior World Cup 2002
U20 Junior World Championship 2003
U18 Junior World Championship 2003
U20 Junior World Championship 2004
World Cup 2004
U20 World Junior Championships 2005
World Cup of Hockey 2004
World Championship 2005

2006 Winter Olympics
World Cup 2006
World Cup 2007
World Championship 2008
2010 Winter Olympics
World Cup 2010
World Cup 2011
World Cup 2012

( Key to Career statistics: Sp or GP = Games Played, T or G = goals scored, V or A = achieved assists; Pts or Pts = scored points scorer, SM or PIM = received penalty minutes, / - = Plus / Minus balance sheet; PP = scored majority gates; SH = scored shorthanded goals, GW = achieved victory gates; Play-downs/Relegation 1 )

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