The American
B. Pearson Award for being the most outstanding player as voted on by the players themselves (2008, 2009). He’s the first player in history to win these last four awards, and the first player to win them all in the same season. The Capitals aren’t the only ones missing Alexander the Great. For the NHL, having its marquee player sidelined with an injury is a worrying business. Few players in the history of the league have captured the imagination of hockey fans the way Ovechkin does. Wayne Gretzky, arguably the best player ever to lace up skates, did it when he agreed to the biggest trade in hockey history, moving from snowy Edmonton to sunny Los Angeles, broadening hockey’s horizons like no player had ever done before, and then Mario Lemieux did it in Pittsburgh, breaking a number of scoring records despite having to battle Hodgkin’s disease. In recent history, Sidney Crosby has brought the magic of hockey to a whole new generation of fans, but in a quiet, always-proper way, which brings us to Ovechkin, who has the rare ability to charm even the opposition’s fans, with his seemingly endless repertoire of highlightreel goals, his crooked, mischievous grin, his boundless spirit both on and off the ice, and most importantly, his obvious love for the game. He isn’t just a hockey player. He’s a symbol of the game of hockey, and everything it can be. It’s an honour – and a responsibility – that has been bestowed upon only a handful of hockey’s elite. However, being the face of hockey isn’t always easy, as evidenced by the maelstrom of criticism that Ovechkin received last year following his fiftieth-goal celebration, when he laid his stick on the ice, bowed down, and pretended to bask in the stick’s radiating heat. For many hockey fans and insiders, his show of excite-
“ Some of the stuff he does is unbelievable. If he celebrates the way he does, that’s fine. If you score goals the way he does, you can do that.” – Jason Blake ment, which he admitted had been premeditated, was ill-conceived at best, and arrogant at worst, but for Ovechkin, the antic was all in good fun, like everything else he does. ‘It’s good for our league; it’s good for our fans,’ explained Ovechkin, in his ever-improving English. ‘Some players are like robots. They score goals and it’s no emotion, nothing. You have to show emotion if you’re an emotional guy. Show it. You don’t have to think about if somebody doesn’t like it.’ Ovechkin clearly didn’t think about whether or not Gretzky would mind being winked at after he scored the game-winning goal against Team Canada at the Torino Olympics. He scored the goal, leapt into the air in his trademark explosion of joy, and tossed a wink at The Great One standing behind the Canuck bench. The incident ruffled feathers, but as with his ‘hot stick dance’ in celebration of goal-fifty last season, the hubbub soon faded, and now the wink is just another nugget of hockey lore courtesy of Ovechkin. Besides, it’s hard to stay miffed at someone who’s always smiling, and it’s equally difficult to withhold respect for a player who commands it with every shot, every pass, every hit, and every stride.
‘As a player, you’re totally amazed,’ said Toronto Leafs forward Jason Blake. ‘Some of the stuff he does is unbelievable. If he celebrates the way he does, that’s fine. If you score goals the way he does, you can do that.’ Ovechkin’s passion for the game also translates into hard currency for companies flogging clothing, hats, jerseys, hockey sticks, video games – anything related to the superstar and hockey. The endorsement offers didn’t come as readily in the early days of Ovechkin’s career, owing to the fact that the number of English words in his vocabulary could be counted on one hand, but now he has more than he knows what to do with. ‘There’s a market for Alex,’ Bob Stellick, a Toronto sports marketer, stated. ‘His reputation and recognition have increased dramatically. His enthusiasm and love for the game are what separate him from other players.’ Now that he’s out, the Capitals, the NHL, and hockey fans can only cross their fingers and hope that Ovechkin won’t remain on the shelf for long. His team, in the process of effecting a renaissance in the nation’s capital, needs him to continue scoring (at the time of writing, he was tied for first in goals scored, despite having played only fourteen games, compared to the eighteen of titlesharer, Anze Kopitar, and Ovechkin was second in overall points with 23). The Capitals are surviving in his absence, winning two of their four games without their top player, but how long they can hold on remains uncertain. And the NHL can’t wait for number eight to return to the ice, because every game Ovechkin plays translates into public interest – and fiscal return – for the league. So get well soon, Alex – the game needs you! H
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