The milestones just keep coming for Alex Ovechkin, who at 32 years old, skates in his 1,000th NHL game April 1 – and shows no signs of slowing down as he looks to capture his seventh Rocket Richard Trophy for most goals in a season.
Drafted first overall by the Washington Capitals in the 2004 NHL Entry Draft, the Russian-born winger made his debut with the club October 5, 2005. He made his presence known around the league immediately by scoring a pair of goals – and tacked on 50 more to close out his rookie season by winning the Calder Trophy with 106 points.
Now in the 13th season of his NHL career, ‘Ovi’ has filled out his trophy case quite nicely. In fact, it spills over with individual accomplishments. On top of his Rocket Richard trophies, he has one Art Ross Trophy for top scorer, three Hart trophies for league MVP, and of course his name can be found three times on the Ted Lindsay Award for being voted most outstanding by his NHLPA peers.
Along the way, the seven-time First Team NHL All-Star has also been a staple on his national team, having frequently represented his country at various international tournaments from Olympics to World Cups, and World Championships – the tournament where he’s won gold with Russia three times.
Named captain of the Capitals on January 5, 2010, Ovechkin also bears the distinction of earning the first $100-million deal in NHL history – after he signed a 13-year contract extension in 2008 to the tune of $124 million.
The power forward has proved to be worth every penny to the Washington Capitals, as he leads the franchise in almost every offensive statistical category – including goals, points, game-winning goals, overtime goals, power-play goals and games played.
Last season, ‘The Great Eight’ eclipsed 1,000 points, and on March 12th of this season he reached the 600-goal mark to join the likes of Wayne Gretzky, Mario Lemieux, and Brett Hull as the only players to do so in less than 1,000 NHL games.
Ovechkin becomes the 319th player to reach the millennial games-played milestone at hockey’s highest level, and he’ll do it as one of the greatest to ever play the game.
