In this ten part series, I will be dissecting ten different careers thus far. The series is fully called “Players Ages 28 and Younger who will end up in the Hall of Fame.”  Feel free to argue a selection or the rankings at the end of the series.

One of the biggest problems today with European NHLers, according to many, is that their desire to win the Stanley Cup is much lower than the Americans or the Canadians in the league.

This was very true with Ilya Kovalchuk.

He was one of the best young players in Russia in the mid-nineties, but had no true desire to come to America to play for the Cup.

That is, until Pavel Bure came along.

Once Kovy saw Bure lead the Canucks to the finals in 1994 with so much passion, Kovalchuk decided to make it his dream to follow in Bure’s footsteps, and lead a team to the Stanley Cup Finals.

Thus, Ilya Kovalchuk the NHLer was born.

In 2001, when Ilya Kovalchuk was eligible for the draft, the Atlanta Thrashers, owners of the number one pick, had a huge debate; whether to pick Kovalchuk with the top pick, or Jason Spezza, who had done much more in recent memory.  Kovalchuk was not as good defensively, and also reportedly had temper problems.

However, the Thrashers decided to overlook that, and they took Ilya Kovalchuk with the first overall pick in the 2001 NHL Entry Draft.

Kovalchuk chose to wear number 17 in order to honor his idol, Valeri Kharlomov.  He immediately started in the NHL, scoring 51 points in 65 games with the Thrashers.  Over the next few years, Kovy never scored less than 38 goals in the NHL.  He not only dominated the ice, he did it with class, often never losing his temper, and being a great team leader, along with fellow linemate Dany Heatley.

This clip from Youtube shows just how good Kovalchuk is, as it is a compilation of clips from his entire career, both in the NHL and in International play.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CZcaU1Bruik

In 466 NHL games, Kovy has 254 goals, 212 assists, and 466 points, which averages exactly one point per game.  He has won the Maurice Richard Trophy in 2004, he was the Youngstars’ game MVP in 2002, was named to the All-Rookie team in 2002, and played in the NHL All-Star game in 2004 and 2008.  He is the Thrashers’ franchise leader in points, goals, and goals in a season.

He also had great success Internationally, playing in the 2002 and 2006 Winter Olympics, winning a bronze in 2002 in Salt Lake City.  He played for the World Championship team in 2003, 2005, 2007, and 2008, winning two bronzes in 2005 and 2007 and a gold in 2008.  He also played in the 2004 World Cup of Hockey.

Kovalchuk has had a fantastic NHL career thus far in only a few seasons, and he looks to have over 1,000 points and 500 goals in his career.  Kovy is an unbelievable player, which is why he is number five on my list of players 28 and under who will be in the Hall of Fame.

 

www.wikipedia.org

10. Jason Spezza

9. Henrik Lundqvist

8. Rick Nash

7. Dion Phaneuf

6. Henrik Zetterberg