All About Alex Ovechkin

The son of famous Soviet era-athletes, Alex Ovechkin was born on September 17, 1985, in Moscow. Widely considered one of the world's top young hockey players by age 17, Ovechkin was selected No. 1 overall by the Washington Capitals in the 2004 NHL Draft, and went on to become one of the league's most explosive scorers.

Early Years

Alexander Mikhaylovich Ovechkin was born on September 17, 1985, in Moscow, Russia. He's the son of well-known Soviet-era athletes. His mother, Tatyana, excelled at basketball and was a two-time Olympic gold medalist. His father, Mikhail, was a serious soccer player.

Ovechkin's childhood was shaped by modesty. Not long after his birth, he moved with his family to the outskirts of Moscow, making a home in a tall high-rise building that was surrounded by a crumbling neighborhood. To escape his surroundings and strict public school, Ovechkin turned to hockey, pouring everything he had into the sport.

By the age of 16, Ovechkin had begun playing with the Moscow Dynamo, a pro Russian team. A year later, he became the youngest member of Russia's national team.

Spurred to escape a Russian life that had already claimed his older brother, who died in a car crash, and was consuming his friends—many having become addicted to drugs—Ovechkin dreamed of playing in the NHL. In his bedroom, he carefully stashed away the cards of many players, including his

Alex Ovechkin comes from a athletic family. His mom was a 2x gold medalist in olympic basketball. He has 2 brothers named Mikhail and Sergei. Sergei introduced him to hockey. But that came to an end when Segei died in a car accident. His mom's name is Tatyana and her dad's name is also Mikhail.Mikhail was a champion at basketball.

In fact Alex Ovechkin didn't go to college and instead he got drafted to the Capitals in 2004.

With one more goal this season, he is going to reach the 500-goal mark before his 31st birthday. In the history of the NHL the only five players that accomplished that were Wayne Gretzky, Mario Lemieux, Jagr, Mike Bossy and Steve Yzerman. That alone is an impressive group to be a part of.As Ovechkin gets into his 30s it's inevitable that his numbers are going to start slowing down somewhat. And they already have a little. He's currently on 49-goal pace this season, where he used to be a 55-or 60-goal scorer, he's probably going to settle into the 45-or 50-goal range for the next couple of years before taking another step down a few years down the road. The combination of age, and the increasingly defensive nature of the league are going to make it unavoidable. But it's still going to allow him to pile up some massive numbers, and when combined with what he's already done in the NHL it's going to put him in a special class in league history.

Washington Capitals winger Alex Ovechkin will lead Russia's hockey team at the Sochi Olympics, with the host country looking to avoid a repeat of its poor performance at the 2010 Vancouver Games.Pavel Datsyuk of the Detroit Red Wings, Evgeni Malkin of the Pittsburgh Penguins and Nikolai Kulemin of the Toronto Maple Leafs were among 15 NHL players who made Russia's 25-man roster on Tuesday.Sergei Bobrovsky of the Columbus Blue Jackets, Colorado Avalanche's Semyon Varlamov and Alexander Yeryomenko of the KHL's Dinamo Moscow will contend for the starting goaltender spot.Edmonton defenceman Anton Belov, Slava Voynov of the Los Angeles Kings and two Montreal Canadiens defencemen Alexei Emelin and Andrei Markov are also on the list, which has former NHL players Alexander Radulov and Ilya Kovalchuk.

Five years ago, the NHL had no matchup more dynamic than Alex Ovechkin’s Washington Capitals vs. Sidney Crosby’s Pittsburgh Penguins. The dueling superstars finished in the top three of the league’s point standings in 2008-09 and 2009-10, each recording more than 100 points both years.In May 2009, when the two teams faced off in the Eastern Conference semifinals — pitting Ovechkin against Crosby for the first and only time in the postseason — the results were memorable. They were never more simultaneously explosive than when they went toe-to-toe in Game 2 both recording hat tricks in one of the most incredible playoff games in the NHL’s modern.Since the high point of their opposition, Ovechkin’s offensive production dipped for two consecutive seasons beginning in 2010-11 as he struggled to revitalize his game after becoming a predictable puzzle for opposing defenses to solve. Over those same two years, Crosby missed 121 regular season games because of a concussion he suffered when the Capitals and Penguins met in the 2011 Winter Classic.Pittsburgh swept the three games between the two teams in last year’s lockout-shortened season, when the Capitals had yet to find their footing under Coach Adam Oates and Ovechkin had yet to grow comfortable on right wing.

The 2006–07 season found opponents zeroing in on Alex, and it showed in his numbers, which dipped slightly to 46 goals and 46 assists. Still he was clearly improving as a player. In fact, by season’s end, Washington fans could make a solid argument that Alex was the best player in the NHL. It was though to take your eyes off him during his shifts. When he got the puck with a head of steam, he had the moves to skate around people, and the power to skate over them. Every touch was a potential highlight-reel play.

Alex's lone weak spot was his defense. He was often caught out of position, leading to several easy goals for opponents. His 19 was the worst plus-minus on the club. Not that the other Washington players had much to brag about. The team finished dead last, with 28 victories and just 70 points again.Alex also fared well in comparison to other top picks, including Joe Thornton and Vincent Lecavalier. All brought awesome skills to the ice, but Alex already had a man's body, outweighing these young guns by a good 15 pounds.

In anticipation of his move to North America, Alex began watching English-language TV shows mostly sports highlight programsto learn a new language. By draft day, he was comfortable enough to stumble through interviews without an interpreter. The Capitals, who lucked past the last-place Penguins when the lottery balls were pulled, made it official and took Alex. Pittsburgh chose second and grabbed fellow Russian Evgeni Malkin.

Of course, Alex had to wait a year before displaying his skills to North American fans, as the NHL and the union locked horns and cancelled the 2004–05 season. He turned plenty of heads at the World Championships however skating rings around the competition. No one could remember a player so young who looked so good.
Another interesting wrinkle that developed concerned the amount the Capitals had to pay Moscow Dynamo for Alex’s services. Under the NHL's agreement with the International Ice Hockey Federation, the bill should have been $200,000. But that deal was due to expire during Alex's season in limbo. Moscow Dynamo was planning to ask for millions.

While waiting for the labor issues to settle, Alex had another outstanding season for the Dynamo, scoring 27 points in 37 games. He did whatever he could to stay sharp in anticipation of his inaugural NHL season.

Anyone wondering how quickly Alex would adjust to the NHL got their answer right away. He tallied at least one point in each of the first eight games of the 2005–06 campaign. No #1 selection had ever done that before. Wherever Alex played, hardcore hockey fans came to see and cheer him. Many showed up to arenas wearing his black #8 jersey a hot seller around the NHL. He also created a stir when he sported the mirrored visor he had been wearing in international play. Sidney Crosby may have been drawing more media attention, but Alex made it clear in the early going tat he was every bit the player the Penghins rookie was. And then some.

He is 6 foot 3

He weighs 225

He scored the most goals as a rookie left wing in history

Alex scored the first shootout goal in Washington history

Alex is good friends with NBA star Andrei Kirilenko

Alex buys eight great seats for each home game and donates them to soldiers or needy children as part of his Crazy 8’s charity.