Alexander Ovechkin’s roadway to being composed by the NHL’s Washington Capitals started in a car park beyond a rink in Slovakia.
Ross Mahoney, a Regina item that was the Capitals’ supervisor of amateur looking at the time, remembers satisfying a 16-year-old Ovechkin for the very first time in between video games at the 2002 Hlinka Gretzky Cup global under-18 hockey event.
“I remember being outside in between games, and there was this kid walking around with his Russian track suit on, and I just pointed at my program to who he is. And he pointed to his name, and I just introduced myself and shook his hand,” remembered Mahoney.
As component of his looking tasks, Mahoney– that was Washington’s supervisor of amateur looking from 2000-14 prior to being advertised to assistant basic supervisor in 2014– remained in Slovakia to see several of the leading leads in advance of the 2002 NHL Draft.
While he still had his eyes on several of the gamers the Capitals could choose that year, he could not assist however observe Ovechkin, that had not been qualified to be composed up until 2004.
“Just there to watch the draft eligible kids and then this guy was jumping out,” claimedMahoney “I was like, ‘Oh boy. He’s going to be special.’
“I just saw him outside the rink, and I didn’t know it was him. I just thought it was somebody that I was watching that was draft eligible.
“But I just pointed to his name just to see who he was. I thought maybe he’d be one of the kids who was eligible, but I remember him pointing to his name and shook his hand.
“And I remember his hands being huge. It didn’t surprise me he could shoot the puck; he was so strong. And also seemed like a really nice kid; a nice young man.”
Little did Mahoney recognize as he would certainly be calling Ovechkin’s name 2 years later on with the very first total choice in the 2004 NHL Draft.
That year, the Capitals, that were coming off their worst period in 26 years, won the draft lotto regardless of having the 3rd ideal probabilities to land the leading choice behind the Pittsburgh Penguins and Chicago Blackhawks.
“What a year to win the lottery,” claimedMahoney “And I didn’t believe it at first when they phoned me from the office because it wasn’t the lottery the way it is today with all the coverage.”
Right from the minute he figured out the Capitals had theNo 1 choice, Mahoney had little uncertainty in his mind that Washington would certainly choose, although there was one more interesting Russian possibility in Evgeni Malkin, that wound up mosting likely to the Penguins atNo 2.
“We thought that Malkin was a very good player. We thought he’d be a good pick also. But Alex was our guy,” claimedMahoney “His ability to score goals, which in reality I would have never thought he would have got as many as he did, but we thought for sure he was going to be legit goal scorer.
“And also, his physical play. I had never seen anybody score goals like him that also had that physicality.”
It really did not take Mahoney a lot to persuade Capitals basic supervisor at the time, George McPhee, that Ovechkin was their man either.
“Not really,” claimedMahoney “When we had won the lottery, he asked me who we’re taking, and I said, ‘We’re taking Alex Ovechkin.’
“And I think he asked me every day for about a week who we’re taking, and I said, ‘Alex Ovechkin.’ I’d get a phone call, ‘Who are we taking?’, ‘Alex Ovechkin.’ And he’d hang up. It didn’t take a lot of convincing.
“George came over and watched him play with me. We watched him play in the men’s world championships. George was in agreement obviously and the rest is history.”
Nearly twenty years and 1,478 occupation normal period video games later on, Ovechkin is currently on the brink of making background.
Entering Thursday evening’s video game in between the Capitals and Philadelphia Flyers, the 39-year-old Ovechkin has 887 objectives and is simply 7 objectives far from linking and 8 objectives from going beyond Wayne Gretzky’s 894 objectives for many all-time– a document that some idea could never ever be damaged.
“It’s just something you don’t think is going to happen and he’s on the verge of doing it,” claimedMahoney “It’s just been so much fun to watch him.”
While Ovechkin is surrounding the all-time objective document, the Russian super star has actually currently established countless documents consisting of occupation powerplay objectives (321 ), overtime objectives (27 ), vacant web objectives (65) and many periods with 30-plus objectives (19 ). He has actually additionally racked up on 182 goalkeepers in his occupation, which is additionally an NHL document.
Along with being among the video game’s leading markers, the 6-foot-2, 238-pound Ovechkin– that places 3rd all-time in hits with 3,726 and is simply 303 hits far from Cal Clutterbuck’s document of 4,029– brings a degree of physicality that was additionally obvious when Mahoney initially looked him.
“I hadn’t seen a guy shoot a puck like that for a long time or a player that physical,” claimed Mahoney, that commemorated a Stanley Cup champion with Ovechkin in 2018. “You knew he was going to be something special.
“I’ve seen guys would score goals, and I’ve seen guys could play physical, but I hadn’t seen anybody that could play physical and score that much as much as he did.”
While Mahoney notes Ovechkin, that really did not play in the NHL up until he was 20, might has exceeded Gretzky currently had it not been for a lockout, a pandemic-shortened period and a couple of injuries, consisting of a busted leg that compelled him to miss out on 16 video games this year, there’s still a possibility he can damage Gretzky’s document prior to this period mores than.
With 34 objectives in 52 video games this period, Ovechkin requires to proceed his racking up rate in the last 14 ready the Capitals, that being in top place in the Eastern Conference with a 45-15-8 document, to surround the document.
“To see Alex now chasing something that a lot of people thought was never going to be achievable, it’s been a lot of fun to watch, and it’s been a lot of fun to watch his teammates, too,” claimedMahoney “And he still enjoys just as much you scoring a goal as him scoring a goal. He comes flying in there, usually knocks over the pile. He’s so happy for whoever scored.
“I’m just really happy for him and really happy that we had the opportunity to draft him that year.”
tshire@postmedia.com
