This is a great time to be a hockey fan. This is one of the best crops of young players in a very long while. And not since Gretzky and Lemieux were in their primes have you had two players this exciting to watch at the same time.
Sidney Crosby has become the face of the NHL at all of 20 years old (he'll be 21 in a few days). Sid the Kid is a great choice to try to build the league's future around. He's a good-looking kid, smart on and off the ice, has great respect for the history of the game, and just seems like a genuine guy. He was the first-overall pick in the 2005 draft, and the youngest player ever chosen to be a captain.
He not only plays for, but lives with one of the all-time greats. Crosby's play is reminiscent of Mario Lemieux—he's a great scorer as well as a great play-maker.
Crosby skates longside guys like Evegni Malkin (22), Jordan Staal (19), Maxine Talbot (24), Marc-Andre Fleury (23), and Ryan Whitney (25)—giving the Pens six players 25 or under, and only six players over 30 years old.
The Pens have positioned themselves as the team to beat in the East at least for the next several years, if they can keep this core of players together.
But the Washington Capitals are going to challenge the Pens for that mantle.
In Alex Ovechkin (22), they have the reigning Hart and Pearson Trophy winner (MVP and Most Outstanding Player, respectively). Ovechkin also won the Rocket Richard (65 goals) and Ross (112 points)—becoming the first player ever to win all four trophies in the same season.
Crosby seems to get more press, but Ovechkin (the first overall pick in the 2004 draft) is every bit as good as Sid the Kid. Maybe, even a bit more complete?
I'm not taking anything away from Crosby, who is one of my favorite players. But Ovechkin, can score, make great plays, and lay down some monster hits.
The Caps have 11 players 25 or younger—Nicklas Backstrom (20), Eric Fehr (22), Tomas Fleischmann (24), Boyd Gordon (24), Brooks Laich (25), Alex Semin (24), Mike Green (22), Milan Jurcina (25), Shaone Morrisonn (25), Jeff Schultz (22), and nine players over 30.
Ovechkin has been locked up for 13 years, which proves the Caps are trying to build around him. If they can keep the rest of their corps mostly intact, they will definitely be keeping up with the Pens for the next several years.
I don't really need to talk much about Ovechkin. The guy is sick, and we've all seen his highlight reels on YouTube. He willed the Caps into the playoffs and after being shut down in the first couple of games, brought them back into the series against the Flyers. Whenever the Caps' back was to the wall, Ovechkin showed up with a game winner.
Nicklas Backstrom—another first-round pick, fourth overall in the 2006 draft—finished second for ROY this season.
Alex Semin is becoming a more reliable scorer. He still has a tendency to pout if he feels like he's not on the ice enough, but that is changing as well.
The Caps have a solid defensive unit, including Green, Jurcina, and Morrisonn.
The mix of young guys and proven veterans is a good one. I think Federov made an impact on the young Russian players. He is a guy that I'm sure they all look up to. He has won titles, and knows what it takes to get there. I can't wait to see what he does when he's with them for a full season.
13 comments Last one added 11 months ago — Leave a Comment
Nelson Santos 11 months ago
Nice article Chad.
The Caps are surely looking like they will be an elite team. The only issue is in this day and age of salary capped leagues and selfish pro athletes the question is "How long will team "X" be elite?"
Having effective players under the age of 27 surely helps, and the Caps have that.
In my opinion however only one team has realized the true way to say "elite" in the NHL. The Detroit Red Wings have found a way around age. They have discovered a way to treat their players so well that even when the player is "free" to leave he decides to stay and usually for a very reasonable price. (see the contracts of Zetterberg, Datsyuk, Lidstrom and most recently Filppula).
So until the other owners and GMs realize how DRW is pulling this off, they can only hope to win while their core is under the age of 27.
Nelson
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Alan Bass 11 months ago
i agree with you, but they need to get a bit more defense besides mike green. green may be a one year wonder, we don't know yet. but they will indeed be a great team very soon.
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Charbel Hassoun 11 months ago
Sorry but Ovechkin wasnt the first player to win all four awards and he won't be the last.
Mario accomplished it twice, but Lemieux also led the league in assists as well as goals.
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chad lamasa 11 months ago
According to this article on the Caps website dated 6/13/08. Ovechkin is the first player to win all four of those trophies in the same season. Which is what I said in article. I'm sure other players have won all four at some point but not in the same season.
Ovechkin Steals the Show Caps left wing has landmark night, wins Pearson and takes Hart in landslide Mike Vogel | WashingtonCaps.com Senior Writer Jun 13, 2008
Ovechkin completed a clean sweep of major NHL Awards on Thursday in Toronto when he was named the recipient of the Lester B. Pearson Award and the Hart Trophy. Having already won the Art Ross Trophy and the Maurice “Rocket” Richard Trophy, Ovechkin becomes the first player in NHL history to claim all four of those trophies in the same season.
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SMcK 11 months ago
Charbel, the author clearly said "...first player ever to win all four trophies in the same season.", key words in that sentence are "same season". The author is 100% correct.
And furthermore, while Lemieux certainly did lead the league in goals scored more than once in his illustrious career, he did not in fact _ever_ win the Maurice "Rocket" Richard trophy. As someone else pointed out, the Rocket Richard trophy for most goals in a season, was first awarded for the 1999 season. Lemieux couldn't win an award that didn't yet exist. So, in fact, Lemieux did not ever win all four of the awards Ovechkin won this year, at any point in his career. I'm certainly not Mario bashing here though! Lemieux was a great player, one of the best ever.
But we're talking about awards won, and the feat of winning a specific 4 awards in the _same season_. And that's a feat that _only_ Ovechkin has accomplished, in regards to those specific four awards.
Nice article Chad, enjoyed reading it.
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Pete Iype 11 months ago
The Maurice Richard Trophy is an annual award given to the National Hockey League's top goal scorer by the NHL Board of Governors. Winners are selected based on regular-season play.
The Maurice Richard Trophy, officially unveiled on Jan. 24, 1999, was a gift to the NHL from the Canadiens to honor the first player in League history to score 50 goals in 50 games, 50 goals in a season and 500 in a career.
-From The NHL Web site-It was first awarded in 1999, so Mario did not win this award!
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Eli Resnick 11 months ago
Great articles, Chad!
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chad lamasa 11 months ago
Thanks.
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L.J. Burgess 11 months ago
The Caps will be a fascinating team to watch these next five seasons...the only reason I started watching again is the big 'O'.
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L.J. Burgess 11 months ago
I came back and read this again...you're a really, really good writer.
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chad lamasa 11 months ago
Thanks. Um some did some edits to it though so you maybe giving me more credit than I deserve.
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Shaun Copsey 11 months ago
Nice, when does the open puck-off happen this season !!!
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chad lamasa 11 months ago
Looks 10/4 but the Caps first game is 10/10.
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