Fred Bowen's "The Score" column,
Friday, January 27, 2006, Washington Post

How Great is This Alexander?

Alexander Ovechkin is hot, so hot he might melt the ice at MCI Center.

Ovechkin (pronounced O-vetch-kin) is the rookie sensation for the Washington Capitals. Going into last night's game, he had 34 goals in 48 games. That's second best in the National Hockey League. Ovechkin also had 29 assists.

Capitals rookie Alexander Ovechkin, 20, is among the NHL's top goal scorers. (By Joel Richardson -- The Washington Post)
Ovechkin is at his best as a goal scorer. He puts the puck in the net, the biscuit in the basket. Ovechkin is the guy who scored that unbelievable goal last week while sliding across the ice on his back. It was so amazing that ESPN's "SportsCenter" replayed it about a million times.

Ovechkin was angling in toward the net when he was pulled down, and the puck slid behind him. But Ovechkin did not give up on the play. He reached behind his head with his stick and, while still sliding across the ice, flipped a backhand shot past the stunned goaltender.

That's just one goal. And one goal, no matter how incredible, does not make a player a superstar. The big question is: Will Alexander Ovechkin be hockey's next great scorer? Let's take a look at the Caps' star left winger.

First, he is big: The Capitals list him as 6 feet 2 and 212 pounds. Second, he can really handle the puck and has a terrific shot. But the most impressive thing about Ovechkin is that he is only 20 years old.

Some of the NHL's all-time leading scorers were not in the NHL when they were 20. Brett Hull was playing at the University of Minnesota at Duluth. Phil Esposito and Luc Robitaille were playing junior hockey -- Esposito with the St. Catharines Teepees and Robitaille for the Hull Olympiques. (I love those team names!)

If Ovechkin keeps up his scoring pace, he will score 58 goals this season. You know how many players on the top 10 list scored that many goals when they were 20? None. That's right, not even the Great One Wayne Gretzky or Super Mario Lemieux scored like Ovechkin when they were his age.

So, will Alexander Ovechkin be hockey's next great scorer? He's certainly off to a great start.