Ovechkin is just your average superstar

By Kara Yorio - SportingNews


Alex Ovechkin suddenly was nervous. In his first informal scrimmage with his Capitals teammates in 2005, the 19-year-old rookie was on the ice, the place he felt most comfortable in his new American world, but still he hesitated.

"I wasn't shy," Ovechkin says.

Nobody who has met last season's Calder Trophy winner would call him shy. Dynamic comes up often. Fun-loving is repeated. Unique is mentioned, for sure. But definitely not shy.

Ovechkin had arrived in Washington with his characteristic smile and an open mind; he wanted to embrace every aspect of the NHL, from success on the ice to the camaraderie off of it. But now, with the puck on his stick, he was looking at goalie Olaf Kolzig, and he was worried.

"What if my shot went into his helmet, you know?" he says.

Kolzig soon allayed his fears.

"He told me, 'Don't worry about it,' and to shoot as I can," Ovechkin says.

It was an early step toward Ovechkin's getting comfortable in his new surroundings and with his new teammates.

"When you come to a new team, new world, new people, you feel a little bit uncomfortable," Ovechkin says. "But my teammates, they are tremendous guys. Our leader Olie Kolzig is a funny man. ... I feel guys trust me and like me, and I feel like (I'm) at home."

That's not easy for a kid who had spent his whole life in Russia with his family and now finds himself in America, trying to fulfill his hockey dream and find a surrogate family.

If his teammates had any reservations about welcoming the rookie sensation with open arms, his play -- and then his personality -- took care of that.

"He's a fun-loving, happy, easily excitable guy," says former teammate and Caps captain Jeff Halpern, who now plays for the Stars. "He wanted to be included."

Halpern says Ovechkin showed respect for what his teammates brought to the ice and what they had done before he arrived as the franchise player. And once Kolzig helped him cut loose at that first skate, Ovechkin showed his teammates exactly what he could do.

"Olie Kolzig said after the first informal scrimmage, 'He's the best talent I ever faced,' " Capitals general manager George McPhee says.

In 14 NHL seasons, Kolzig has played against Mario Lemieux, Jaromir Jagr, Peter Forsberg, Sergei Fedorov, Eric Lindros, Joe Sakic and some guy named Gretzky (although not in his MVP years). All have carried the label of best in the league.

It seems as though that torch gets passed every year or two, with injuries, coaching styles and new talent factoring in. But take note: With all due respect to Forsberg, Jagr and Sidney Crosby, Ovechkin will be the best player in the NHL this season and, barring injury, he will hold that title for years to come.

"If he's not going around a guy or making moves past guys, he's going through them," Halpern says. "It's something I've never seen in the NHL."

The physical part of Ovechkin's game is what shocked most people. Skill guy. European. Future superstar. These descriptions come with built-in stereotypes, and none of them involves going into the corners or dropping an opponent with a big open-ice hit. But Ovechkin does all that and more. He doesn't whine for calls. He's solid on skates. He's not intimidated and usually returns punishment with more force than he received it. That kind of attitude has earned the respect of veteran players around the league. Ovechkin is not a prima donna. He is a hard worker who can flat-out play, and he is fun to watch for others in his profession.

For Kolzig, much of the entertainment comes before an Ovechkin goal or assist. Kolzig will watch in awe as a 6-6, 220-pound defenseman steps up to lay out Ovechkin as the Caps left winger carries the puck up the ice. Ovechkin not only doesn't get knocked off the puck, much less down, but he puts an even bigger hit on the defenseman, then continues on his way.

"Unless you've played hockey ... " Kolzig says, trailing off. "It's tough enough to concentrate just skating with the puck."

Of course, there also is Ovechkin's amazing goal-scoring skill. This is a player who actually makes Kolzig take pity on the opposing goaltender.

"Every night," he says when asked whether he ever feels bad for the guy in the other net. "Every night I was like, 'Thank God I only have to face him in practice.' Last season he did some things that were just magical."

Take goal No. 32, on January 16, 2006, in Phoenix. Now that was magical. You know the goal. Ovechkin comes down the right side, then cuts across the ice. While trying to go around a defenseman, he loses his balance and falls. He does not, however, lose track of the puck. As he slides on his back through the bottom of the left faceoff circle, he gets his stick over his head and, snaring the puck in the bend between the blade and the stick, instinctively sweeps it into the net. Words just don't do it justice.

It seemed somehow appropriate that he scored his most amazing goal with Gretzky watching from the opposing bench, then looking up at the big screen to see it again. But what happened after the goal -- Ovechkin kissed his left glove and raised his arm in honor of his brother Sergei, who was killed in a car accident in 2000 -- was misinterpreted. Asked about Ovechkin later in the season, Gretzky said he liked him -- he was the only player who ever scored a goal and blew him a kiss.

Ovechkin is horrified at the idea anyone, particularly Gretzky, would think that was what happened.

"He's an idol -- I'd never do that," Ovechkin says. "Can you imagine if I score and do that? It's not good. I'm not crazy."

No, not crazy. He's respectful and definitely unique -- on and off the ice. Already in Vancouver for the NHL Awards Show last June, Ovechkin had his agent call McPhee to ask if he could meet the Caps' draftees. McPhee went one better and had Ovechkin announce Washington's first two picks before doing TV interviews with the team's top pick, Nicklas Backstrom. It was above and beyond what most professional athletes would do, but Ovechkin sees nothing special about it. McPhee says nothing surprises him when it comes to his star player.

"There are just no burdens for him," McPhee says.

Ovechkin is willing to do the photo shoots, the events that come with being on the cover of the NHL 2007 video game and the extra interviews. He headlines a group of NHL players who joined Right to Play, an international charity that uses sports to help disadvantaged children. If he's tired, he'll turn down a request, but otherwise he says, "Why not?"

Ovechkin has it all -- he even comes with built-in rivals (to the outside world more than to him) in Crosby and Crosby's new teammate Evgeni Malkin. And Ovechkin still hasn't fully evolved as a player. McPhee says Ovechkin will get even better when he adds more experience and learns to train harder and eat right. Kolzig thinks he can use his linemates better and improve on defense.

"It's scary to think he could be better," Kolzig says.

Are you listening there at NHL headquarters? This is your superstar. Don't mess it up. Take advantage of his personality and willingness to play the role.

"I want to be a superstar," he says, "but people tell you you're a superstar, and you're like 'Oh my God, people say I'm a superstar,' and you stop working and you'll never be the superstar."

There's little chance Ovechkin will fall short of superstar status. He is here, ready and extraordinarily able. He may be happy to be just one of the guys, but he is far from a mere member of the pack. He is the superstar with a smile. The best player in the league.