en.wikipedia.org
Get all the latest stats, news, videos, and more on Alex Ovechkin.
www.nhl.com
Alexander Mikhailovich Ovechkin (Russian: Алексaндр Михайлович Овечкин, IPA:
[ɐlʲɪˈksandr ɐˈvʲetɕkʲɪn];<a href="
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alexander_Ovechkin#cite_note-translit-1"><span>[</span>n 1<span>]</span></a> born 17 September 1985) is a Russian professional
ice hockey left winger and
captain of the
Washington Capitals of the
National Hockey League (NHL). Nicknamed "
The Great 8" in reference to his jersey number and "
Ovi",<a href="
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alexander_Ovechkin#cite_note-2"><span>[</span>1<span>]</span></a><a href="
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alexander_Ovechkin#cite_note-3"><span>[</span>2<span>]</span></a><a href="
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alexander_Ovechkin#cite_note-4"><span>[</span>3<span>]</span></a> he is widely regarded as one of the greatest hockey players of all time. Ovechkin holds numerous NHL career records, including the record for
most NHL goals scored in a career with 895. He also holds the records for the most
power play goals, most goals in
away games, most
empty net goals, most
overtime goals, most game-winning goals, most unique
goalies scored upon, and most goals with one team in NHL history. Ovechkin is one of three players in NHL history to score 800 career goals, along with
Wayne Gretzky and
Gordie Howe.
Ovechkin began his professional career with
Dynamo Moscow of the
Russian Superleague in 2001, playing there for four seasons. Ovechkin was selected by the Capitals
first overall in the
2004 NHL Entry Draft. In the
2005–06 season, Ovechkin captured the
Calder Memorial Trophy as rookie of the year and finished third overall in league scoring. Ovechkin has won the award for
NHL's leading goal scorer a record nine times while also being the runner-up for the award one other time (2010). He holds the NHL record for most 40-goal seasons with thirteen and co-holds, with
Mike Bossy and Gretzky, the record for most
50-goal campaigns with nine. He is also the only player to have tallied 200 or more goals in three different decades, with 245 in the 2000s, 437 in the 2010s, and 200 in the 2020s.<a href="
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alexander_Ovechkin#cite_note-:2-5"><span>[</span>4<span>]</span></a> He has won the
Hart Memorial Trophy for most valuable player three times (in 2008, 2009, and 2013) while also being a finalist two other times (2010 and 2015), and the
Award for best player as voted on by the
National Hockey League Players' Association three times (2008, 2009, 2010) while also being a finalist two other times (2013 and 2015). In
2018, the Capitals won the
Stanley Cup for the first time, and Ovechkin was awarded the
Conn Smythe Trophy for most valuable player in the
2018 playoffs. He has also been named to the
NHL first All-Star team eight times, and the second All-Star team four times. In 2017, Ovechkin was named one of the
100 Greatest NHL Players of all time.<a href="
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alexander_Ovechkin#cite_note-6"><span>[</span>5<span>]</span></a>
Internationally, Ovechkin has represented
Russia in multiple tournaments. His first
IIHF tournament was the
2002 World U18 Championship. The following
year he made his debut at the
World Junior Championship, helping Russia win the gold medal. He played two more years at the World Juniors, as well as once more at the World U18 Championships. Ovechkin's first senior tournament was the
2004 World Championship, and he also played in the
World Cup that year. Ovechkin has also played for Russia at the
Winter Olympics in
2006,
2010, and
2014. Overall, Ovechkin has represented Russia at thirteen World Championships and three Olympics in his career, winning the World Championship three times.