The Capitals changed when they drafted Alex Ovechkin first overall in 2004.
This article originally appeared in The Hockey News magazine Oct 4, 2005/vol. 59, issue 4
BY DAVE FAY
The night of the 2004 entry draft, the Washington Capitals hosted a party in Raleigh, N.C., to celebrate the selection of Alexander Ovechkin with the first pick overall. The Russian left winger, whose English was limited, paraded around with the confidence of a Donald Trump, greeting guests at the door, making sure everyone had a beverage, introducing himself to one and all – and consuming all the cantaloupe the hotel could round up.
The grin frozen on the young man’s face is hard to forget. It’s the expression a giddy little boy wears on Christmas morning when he spots the one gift he longed for. It was, in fact, a knowing and thankful smile, Ovechkin realizing he had just taken a huge step in his lifelong dream of playing in the NHL. Maybe he didn’t know the words in English, but his thoughts were written all over his face.
In Ovechkin, Washington has landed a player who can change forever the face of hockey in a city which has tried very hard at times to ignore it. Ovechkin is a truly magical player on the ice, a creative, thoughtful individual who cannot wait to share his triumphs with teammates, a player who seems destined to lead his club to lofty heights with his passion for the game and devotion to it.
But there is more to it than his performance on the ice. He is a marketing dream, a young man who realizes his standing within the community and – so far, anyhow – has bent over backwards to help grow the sport in whatever way he is asked.
Now it is time for the team to plan for Ovechkin’s and its own future. This is a player around whom this team must be built. Washington should use Ovechkin’s rookie season to carefully diagnose his strengths and weaknesses and plan to acquire the proper support staff that will benefit him, the team and, in the end, boost the bottom line.
The Caps would be wise to carefully study what Pittsburgh did after it drafted Mario Lemieux, how management analyzed what it had and then set out to make the most of it. As great as he was in his youth, Lemieux did not win two Stanley Cups by himself. A case study on how the task was accomplished, what mistakes were made along the way and how to avoid them, should be started now.
Ovechkin has the potential to be the best offensive player and perhaps best all-around performer in the Caps’ somewhat sorry history. It would be a sad state of affairs, virtually a criminal act, to allow this opportunity to slip past in order to save a dollar here or there. In the long term, if Washington opts to cut corners in assembling Ovechkin’s supporting cast…well, that would be a crying shame. This phenomenal player could lead the club to a Stanley Cup championship when he reaches his full potential. He just needs time…and teammates.
This is a unique individual and a unique opportunity. Ovechkin gives the Capitals hope for the next decade, and then some.
The Caps will have a relatively young team this season; soon it will be Ovechkin’s team. Goaltender Olie Kolzig and defenseman Brendan Witt are the only two players remaining from the Washington club that reached the Stanley Cup final in 1998 (and Witt wants to be traded).
Left winger Alexander Semin, who enjoyed his best world championship ever for Russia in May, and right winger Boyd Gordon will have to elevate their play, along with blueliners Shaone Morrisonn, Josef Boumedienne and Steve Eminger.