(via
Wikipedia)
Alexander Mikhailovich "Alex" Ovechkin (
Russian: Александр Михайлович Овечкин;
IPA: [ɐlʲɪˈksandr ɐˈvʲetɕkʲɪn]; born September 17, 1985) is a Russian professional
ice hockey winger and
captain of the
Washington Capitals of the
National Hockey League (NHL). Prior to playing in the NHL, Ovechkin played for
HC Dynamo Moscow of the
Russian Superleague for four seasons from 2001 until 2005, and he played for Dynamo again (this time in the
Kontinental Hockey League) during the
2012–13 NHL lockout. Ovechkin was the first overall selection in the
2004 NHL Entry Draft, drafted from Dynamo after three seasons with the club. Since the 2004–05 NHL season was lost because of a
lockout, Ovechkin remained with Dynamo for one more season before transferring to the NHL for the
2005–06 season, in which he won the
Calder Memorial Trophy as rookie of the year, scoring 52 goals and 54 assists to lead all rookies with 106 points.
During the
2007–08 season, he led the NHL with 65 goals and 112 points to capture the
Rocket Richard and
Art Ross Trophies. That season he also won the
Lester B. Pearson Award as the top player voted by the
NHL Players' Association and the
Hart Memorial Trophy as the league's MVP. He is the only player to win all four awards since the Rocket Richard Trophy's inception in
1999. He would lead
Team Russia to a gold medal at the World Championships the same year. In
2009, he again won the Hart Memorial Trophy as league MVP, the Lester B. Pearson Award, and the Rocket Richard Trophy. Ovechkin also led the Capitals to their second consecutive division title. He won the
Ted Lindsay Award, the new name of the Pearson Award, for a third straight year in
2010, as well as being named to the First All-Star Team for a fifth consecutive season. Ovechkin remained among league leaders in scoring in the
2010–11 season (85 points, seventh in the NHL) and among the league leaders in goals scored in the
2011–12 season (38 goals, fifth in the NHL). In the 2013 NHL shortened lockout season, Ovechkin led the league in goals with 32, winning him his third Rocket Richard and Hart trophies.
