Shutout during 2009-10 NHL Season, NHL Playoffs,2010 Winter Olympics, and IIHF World Championships it was obviously a frustrating campaign for Washington Capitals left winger Alexander Ovechkin.
Ovechkin, fresh off two consecutive Hart Trophies as the NHL's most valuable player, was expected to take the next step in his development as a player, and leader this season.
Instead, his teams during both the Olympics and Stanley Cup playoffs crashed and burned, failing to come close to meeting expectations both as a team and as an individual. Though he did help Russia to the silver at the World Championships.
It seems obvious that if the player that Washingtonians affectionately refer to as "Ovie" is to reach the heights of super stardom he attained during his first four seasons, he needs to progress. Ovechkin needs to become a more team-oriented player, one that uses his teammates more. Though he has improved in this area over the past 18 months.
The emergence of Nick Backstrom as an elite NHL centerman has helped take some of the offensive burden off of Ovechkin's shoulders. But at the end of the day, the Caps li ...
Read Full Article at Bleacher Report - NHL
Article written by Ryan Davenport
Long Road to Redemption For Alexander Ovechkin
June 14th, 2010 by Ryan Davenport Leave a reply »
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