The Capitals witnessed his prowess on a nightly basis, keeping their eyes glued on the rookie. Just in case. It took the rest of the hockey world a little longer to catch up.
The Goal did that for them. After that, Alex Ovechkin was viewed differently.
And the Capitals hope that results in their first Calder Memorial trophy winner, given annually to the NHL’s top rookie. Ovechkin is also a finalist for the Lester Pearson award, given to the most outstanding player.
The NHL will announce the awards tonight. Ovechkin is considered the favorite for the Calder over Pittsburgh’s Sidney Crosby, who entered the season with more acclaim.
“You’re always worried that it won’t go your way,” Capitals general manager George McPhee said. “There’s a terrific crop of [rookies]. But we believe Alex was the best. He was so much fun to watch and a very, very entertaining player.
“He didn’t get all the hype that some others got coming in, but he sure took that over as the season progressed.”
Every opposing team targeted Ovechkin. Many employed two defenders to at least shadow him. Still, Ovechkin finished third in the NHL with 106 points on 52 goals and 54 assists. He’s only the second rookie in 89 years to have more than 50 goals and 100 points.
Crosby, who also drew plenty of attention from defenders, was sixth with 102 points on 39 goals and 63 assists.
Calgary defender Dion Phaneuf is also a finalist for the Calder.
“[Ovechkin] was consistently good and was scoring goals like crazy,” McPhee said. “But the physical play separated him from most players. What got everyone’s attention was the goal he scored in Phoenix. That brought a lot of attention and he took off after that.”
If Ovechkin wins the Pearson, he would be the youngest player ever to do so — as well as the first Capital.
