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News:
11/11 Rest of Semin Interview...More…
11/9 Boudreau on OV's Slump...More…
11/9 OV Interview after Rangers Game...More…
11/5 Entire Semin Interview!...More…
11/3 The Dzagoev Dialectic...More…
10/31 Fedorov Interview...More…
10/30 Semin and Kozlov...More…
10/20 Yet Another OV Q&A...More…
10/20 Yet Another Semin Q&A...More…
10/17 Short OV Interview...More…
10/17 Feds Interview...More…
10/14 Another Semin Interview...More…
9/18 Semin Interview...More…
9/16 Simeon Varlamov in America...More…
9/5 Morozov and the KHL...More…
9/3 OV behind bars?...More…
8/17 OV on Russian Game show...More…
8/12 OV in Beijing...More…
8/4 OV is in even better shape than last year...More…
7/28 Jagr and OV talk...More…
7/27 Kapitanov--OV doesn't even take vitamins...More…
7/25 OV can't get to his seat...More…
7/22 OV parties in Moscow...More…
7/23 OV Going to Beijing...More…
6-3 OV the Superman...More…
5-27 Don Cherry loves OV...More…
5-30 OV interview in Pittsburgh..More…
5-13 Feds Interview...More…
5-12 OV Interview...More…
Odious Don Koharski killed us More…
Blog:
10 April 2008-The Playoffs are just around the corner More…
2 April 2008
D. Chesnokov
"Alexander Ovechkin's Kharlamov Hat-Trick . For the third consecutive year, the Washington Forward has won the Kharlamov Trophy as the best Russian hockey player in the league, as voted by other Russian NHL players."
For the third year in a row, Russian players in the NHL are displaying remarkable unanimity. Despite all else that happened in the league-- Malkin's meteoric rise, Kovalev's revival, Kovalchuk's 52 goals or Nabokov's 46 victories--Alexander Ovechkin has been exclusively chosen as the best NHL player. A correspondent for Soviet Sport in Washington met with Sasha to find out the secret to his universal popularity.
The meeting took place exactly one day after the furious, fascinating, fantastic, phenomenal, (what other epithets beginning with "f" can be used?) regular season final in which Washington beat Florida 3-1 and for the first time in recent history reached the playoffs. Recent history, it should be clearly understood, began the moment the Capitals chose Alexander Mikhailovich Ovechkin in the rooky draft, i.e. June 2004.
As far as"pre-history"-- that was a pleasant enough story, which even included a run in the Stanley Cup finals in 1998. What will be afterwards-- is an heroic saga on the level of The Oddysey (only concerning a different "O"), which will be recited in every corner of the globe. "Ovechkin!, Ovechkin!" will be carried across countries and continents.
The number two man in the league, Bill Daly, modestly comes into the Washington room and stops in the corner. His son and daughter, both in Capitals sweaters with "Ovechkin" on the back, tug on their father's sleeve and demand that they be immediately taken before the idol. Ovechkinmania is running across North America. It affects virtually every single NHL fan.
"The Stars Were In Alignment"
And here I come into the inner sanctum, Washington's locker room, where Alexander Ovechkin is waiting for me. I inform him of the fantastic news "You have once again won the Kharlamov Trophy. Third year in a row!"
"Uh Huh" is the only murmur from Alexander Ovechkin. But this "uh huh"-- who cares about "uh huh"-- I can see in his eyes that he is extremely pleased.
--You've only played in the NHL three years, and each of those three years you have been considered the best. Why do you think that is?
"Thank you everyone who voted for me. Generally, each season there are a lot of candidates for the Kharlamov trophy. I don't consider myself the undisputed candidate. For example, if you recall last season I just barely overtook Malkin.
--And now you've scored almost twice as many points as Zhenya!
"You know, I really like all our guys" Ovechkin says with a grin. "I have a lot of friends among those who participated in the voting, but don't think that I told each of them to vote for me. The stars were just in alignment."
--You aren't tired of receiving the Kharlamov Trophy are you?
"Are you kidding me? This award is now twice as nice, because this year is Valery Kharlamov's 60th birthday. That's a very important date.."
"Gretzky called me a Bull, but I'm a Lamb"
--You've had a fantastic season. Which accomplishment are you most proud of-- 65 goals, 112 points or a +/- rating of +28?
"I really love hammering in the goals, but I wouldn't minimize my usefulness-- not matter what, I set a personal record. I love all the statistics, but most important is that all my efforts didn't go for naught-- no matter what, we made it to the play-offs."
--Did you hear what the greatest hockey player in the history of the NHL, Wayne Gretzky, said about you? "Ovechkin is just a bull!"
"Yea, I read that in "Soviet Sport". I think he must have learned what the translation is for my last name and decided to make a play on words with it. Bull, Lamb-- they're kind of close, I guess"-- laughs Sasha.
--Do you think it is realistically possible to beat 93 goals in a season, passing Gretzky's enduring record?
"It would be difficult. But anything is possible. I'll try."
--Washington making the play-offs--is this destiny or a miracle?
"It is a miracle" says Ovechkin, and after thinking for a moment, adds "a miracle which we forged with our own hands. Nobody was guaranteed to make the Stanley Cup play offs, least of all Washington, who in November fell to last place in the league. Look, neither Vancouver, Carolina nor Toronto made it into the top 16, and these are not what I would call "dead" clubs. But we made it."
--And what do you think of your opponent in the first round?
"Philadelphia plays really well as a unit. The hockey is going to be tight, but interesting. In the regular season we met four times. The Flyers won twice and Washington won twice. The chances are pretty much equal."
--It would have been better if you were going against Ottawa... You won all four matches against them in regular season.
"It doesn't really matter. It may sound trite, but there are no weak teams in the play-offs. Plus, we don't get to choose our opponents."
--Your fans in Russia are acutely aware of the fact that if Washington continues in the play-offs, they won't see you in the World Championship.
"That's life" Sasha notes "I can't be two places at once. Recently, Vyacheslav Bykov, the head trainer for the national team, came to see me in Washington. He asked about my desire to join the team. I told him "The desire is there, Vyacheslav Arkadievich, but for me the Stanley Cup play-offs are my first priority"
"I'll Get a Tattoo in the Shape of the Stanley Cup"
--You really haven't had any competition this year. Are you bored that the journalists have stopped asking you about Sidney Crosby?
"Ooohhh, you are so wrong. They still keep asking me about him! I just keep routinely answering through sheer inertia. It's weird--everyone in North America knows what I am going to say, but they still keep asking me the same exact question."
--If you had to choose, who would you select for the 2008 Kharlamov Trophy?
"I would have a lot of candidates-- Malkin, Datsyuk, Kovalchuk, Nabokov. I would choose one of them. Most likely, I would choose Nabokov. It is much more difficult for a goalie, as compared to a forward, to receive such an award. Zhenya was the best player for San Jose, getting the team to second place in the Western conference."
--Why not Malkin?
"Malkin would be my second choice after Nabokov."
--Are you planning on getting American citizenship?
"But I am a Russian guy."
--But then it would be easier for you to travel around the world, and you wouldn't have any visa issues.
"I don't have any issues now."
--What was the most difficult time in your life?
"When we played Finland twice in the semifinals-- at the Olympics and in the World Championship in Moscow. It wasn't terrible as much as it was extremely bitter."
--And the funniest thing?
"Oh all the time! They are always pulling pranks around me. Did I tell you about how I pranked Sergei Federov? He went to get a massage, and had stripped naked. I go up to him "Sergei, the general manager wants to see you".-- "What for?"--"How would I know?" So Fedorov got up from the massage table, got dressed and went in to see George McFee. Sema (Alexander Semin) and I started laughing "April Fools". Fedorov sighed, went back to his massage, took off his clothes..."
--Do you have any bad habits?
"I bite my fingernails"
--How is it going with your studies at the University?
"Pretty good. I have one last course remaining. They send me my assignments via the internet, and I complete them in America."
--And what are you going to be when you finish your education?
"A journalist or a trainer"
--Journalist? I should have had you write this interview yourself!
"Maybe I don't want to be a specialist?"
--If a voice from heaven spoke down and said "Sasha, you will not receive a $9 million salary next year, but this summer Washington will win the Stanley Cup"--would you agree to this?
"In a heartbeat."
--Who do you see in the final play-off?
"Washington and Detroit."
--What have you got planned, Alexander, if you win the Stanley Cup?
"You shouldn't get ahead of yourself, but I am sure I will think of something" Ovechkin thinks for a moment and says "I'll get a tattoo. In the shape of the Stanley Cup!"
