{"id":14224,"date":"2018-01-06T20:37:06","date_gmt":"2018-01-07T02:37:06","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/myboysay.com\/blog\/?p=14224"},"modified":"2018-01-06T20:37:06","modified_gmt":"2018-01-07T02:37:06","slug":"the-jordan-brand-nhl-star-alex-ovechkin-known-best-for-scoring-goals-is-on-the-cusp-of-500-career-assists","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/myboysay.com\/blog\/?p=14224","title":{"rendered":"THE JORDAN BRAND NHL STAR, “Alex Ovechkin”, Known Best For Scoring Goals, Is On The Cusp Of 500 Career Assists"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"Barry Trotz had watched Alex Ovechkin often flash across NHL highlight reels \u2014 shots from his beloved left faceoff circle, shots that came after he toe-dragged and embarrassed a defenseman, shots he somehow managed while falling down. He was always shooting, and so when Trotz became the Washington Capitals\u2019 coach four years ago, he assumed there wasn\u2019t much more to the team\u2019s captain than that.<\/strong><\/p>\n

\u201cOvi is an underrated passer,\u201d Trotz said. \u201cI just thought he was a pure shooter from afar. And then you start to see some of the plays that he can make.\u201d<\/strong><\/p>\n

By the time this season is over, Ovechkin will likely have scored a 600th goal and played in a 1,000th game, milestones that highlight the two qualities that\u00a0are most associated with Ovechkin\u2019s greatness, his lethal shot and his durability. His resurgent season \u2014 26 goals through 41 games \u2014 has him on pace for the eighth 50-goal season of his career. Hall-of-Famers Johnny Bucyk, Bobby Hull and Phil Esposito, as well as the still-active Jaromir Jagr, are the only players to score 50 goals in a season at Ovechkin\u2019s age of 32 or older.<\/strong><\/p>\n

But he\u2019s closest to a milestone that seems counter-intuitive for the NHL\u2019s greatest goal scorer of this generation. Ovechkin is poised to become the second Capitals player to tally 500 assists in his career.<\/strong><\/div>\n

\u201cEvery milestone is something special,\u201d Ovechkin said. \u201cYou know, it\u2019s something cool to get. I don\u2019t know how many assists I have right now.\u201d<\/strong><\/p>\n

\"\"\u201cYeah, so six assists,\u201d Ovechkin continued. \u201cI don\u2019t know how long it\u2019s going to take me to get there. Maybe at one point I\u2019ll get there.\u201d<\/strong><\/p>\n

\u201cHe\u2019ll get there,\u201d Nicklas Backstrom said with a chuckle.<\/strong><\/p>\n

Backstrom is the only other player in Washington franchise history who\u2019s reached that marker, doing so this time last year, and he\u2019s been Ovechkin\u2019s center for the majority of both of their careers, assisting on 225 of Ovechkin\u2019s 584 goals. So, what does the Capitals\u2019 best\u00a0setup man\u00a0think of Ovechkin\u2019s ability to pass the puck?<\/strong><\/p>\n

\u201cWhen you watch him, you don\u2019t really watch for him to pass it,\u201d Backstrom said. \u201cYou don\u2019t really care about the passing. But I feel like he\u2019s a good passer. He can really find those seam passes everywhere, I feel like. That\u2019s absolutely something you aren\u2019t really aware of, but he\u2019s a good passer, too.\u201d<\/strong><\/p>\n

Defenseman Brooks Orpik was guilty of underestimating Ovechkin\u2019s passing ability when he was often tasked with defending him as a longtime Pittsburgh Penguins player. It wasn\u2019t until Orpik regularly practiced against Ovechkin as Capitals teammates that he realized other facets of his offensive game are perhaps underappreciated. Ovechkin is most dangerous on the power play, but on Washington\u2019s loaded unit, he\u2019s able to use the considerable attention paid to him as a way to\u00a0free his teammates. The same could be said at even strength, just when an opposing team starts to crowd Ovechkin, he\u2019ll happily dish it to someone else for an open look.<\/strong><\/p>\n

\u201cWhen you play against him, obviously what you game-plan against is his shot and his one-timer, his ability to create shots,\u201d Orpik said. \u201cA lot of times goalies and defensemen, with him you think shot-first, and he\u2019s really good at selling the shot, freezing the goalie and getting you to kind of commit.\u201d<\/strong><\/p>\n

\"\"Ovechkin\u2019s assists numbers over the past two seasons have been their best since the lockout-shortened 2012-13 campaign, when Ovechkin was 27 years old and averaged a whopping 1.17 points per game through 48 games. As Ovechkin\u2019s goal production slipped last season to 33, a good year for most NHLers but a bad one by Ovechkin\u2019s lofty standards, he tallied the most assists he\u2019s had in an 82-game season since 2010-11, when he was 25 years old. That was also the season he scored the fewest goals of his career (32), so this season is somewhat an anomaly, the first time he\u2019s\u00a0expected to finish with 50-plus goals along with 30-plus assists in nine years. Ovechkin had at least 46 assists in his first six seasons.<\/strong><\/p>\n

As the talent and depth of Washington\u2019s roster took a hit because of salary-cap constraints, the organization asked Ovechkin to take his offseason conditioning seriously and consider making some changes to increase his production. The Capitals are back atop the Metropolitan Division at the season\u2019s midpoint after some early struggles, and Ovechkin has scored roughly a fifth of the team\u2019s goals this season<\/a>, a greater share than any other player for any other team.<\/strong><\/p>\n

\"\"\u201cI don\u2019t think it\u2019s a statement,\u201d he said on Thursday. \u201cI\u2019ve been in this position before. I don\u2019t need to prove to someone that I\u2019m as good as I am. It\u2019s most important thing that I know who I am and I know how I have to play to be on that level.\u201d<\/strong><\/p>\n

Ovechkin\u2019s\u00a0critics have long derided him for being a selfish superstar. But of players drafted in the 2004 class, only Pittsburgh center Evgeni Malkin has already tallied 500 assists. Of players drafted since 2000, Ovechkin will be the first winger to reach the milestone.<\/strong><\/p>\n

\u201cTo be honest with you, I don\u2019t care what people think,\u201d Ovechkin said. \u201cI care what my teammates think and if they\u2019re ready for my pass, sometimes it\u2019s not that perfect. I\u2019m kind of a different player than if you take Backy or\u00a0[center Evgeny Kuznetsov] or somebody else. I like to shoot the puck more than anybody in the league. If my partner is in a better position, I give it to them.\u201d<\/strong><\/p>\n

\"\"MORE ON THE CAPITALS MAIN MAN, “Alexander Mikhailovich “Alex” Ovechkin (\u0410\u043b\u0435\u043a\u0441\u0430\u043d\u0434\u0440 \u041c\u0438\u0445\u0430\u0439\u043b\u043e\u0432\u0438\u0447 \u041e\u0432\u0435\u0447\u043a\u0438\u043d<\/span>; IPA:\u00a0<\/small>[\u0250l\u02b2\u026a\u02c8ksandr \u0250\u02c8v\u02b2et\u0255k\u02b2\u026an]<\/a><\/span>; is a Russian professional winger<\/a> and captain<\/a> of the Washington Capitals<\/a> of the National Hockey League<\/a> (NHL). He is regarded as one of the best ice hockey players of the modern NHL. Prior to entering the NHL, Ovechkin played for HC Dynamo Moscow<\/a> of the Russian Superleague<\/a> for four seasons, from 2001 until 2005, and returned to play for them briefly during the 2012\u201313 NHL lockout<\/a>. A highly touted prospect, Ovechkin was selected by the Capitals first overall in the 2004 NHL Entry Draft<\/a>. With the 2004\u201305 NHL lockout<\/a> cancelling the season, Ovechkin remained in Russia until 2005, joining the Capitals for the 2005\u201306 season<\/a>. He won theCalder Memorial Trophy<\/a> as rookie of the year, scoring 52 goals and 54 assists to lead all rookies with 106 points and finishing third overall in league scoring.<\/strong><\/p>\n

\"\"Ovechkin has led the NHL in goal scoring, and won the Rocket Richard Trophy<\/a> six times in his career. He first did so in 2007\u201308 season<\/a>, when he recorded 65 goals and 112 points. He led the league in points, winning the Art Ross Trophy<\/a>, and also won the Hart Memorial Trophy<\/a> as the league’s most valuable player and Lester B. Pearson Award<\/a> as the best player as voted on by the NHL Players’ Association<\/a>. Ovechkin would again win the Hart Trophy and Pearson Award in 2009<\/a>, along with the Richard Trophy, and won the Ted Lindsay Award (the renamed Pearson Award) for a third consecutive year in 2010<\/a>; it also marked the fifth straight year that he was named to the First All-Star Team<\/a>. After a couple years of decreased scoring, Ovechkin again led the league in goals, earning the Richard Trophy, in 2013<\/a>, and again winning the Hart Trophy. He would repeat as the Richard Trophy winner from 2014<\/a> to 2016<\/a>, scoring at least 50 goals each season, becoming the first player to win the award six times, and the third to lead the NHL in goals that many times, as well as the third player to score 50 goals in a season seven times. He marked 500 career NHL goals in the 2015\u201316 season and also led the league in goals for four straight seasons from 2012\u201313 to 2015\u201316; as such, Ovechkin is considered by many to be one of the greatest goal scorers in the history of the NHL.\u00a0\u00a0In 2017 Ovechkin was named one of the 100 Greatest NHL Players<\/a> of all-time.<\/strong><\/p>\n

\"\"Internationally Ovechkin has represented Russia<\/a> in multiple tournaments. His first IIHF<\/a> tournament was the 2002 World U18 Championship<\/a>. The following year<\/a> he made his debut at the World Junior Championship<\/a>, 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<\/a>, and he also played in theWorld Cup<\/a> that year. Ovechkin has also played for Russia at the Winter Olympics<\/a> in 2006<\/a>, 2010<\/a>, and 2014<\/a>. Overall Ovechkin has represented Russia at eleven World Championships and three Olympics in his career, winning the World Championship three times.<\/strong><\/p>\n