Alexander Ovechkin (born September 17, 1985 in Moscow) is a Russian hockey forward drafted first overall by the National Hockey League's Washington Capitals in the 2004 NHL Entry Draft, the second Russian to be drafted first overall in NHL history (Ilya Kovalchuk was the first). He previously played for Dynamo Moscow.
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Due to the NHL lockout, Alexander Ovechkin is currently playing his third season for Dynamo Moscow. He has on numerous occaisions expressed his desire to play in the NHL, but there is still some doubt about his contract status with Dynamo Moscow.
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Alexander Ovechkin for the National Team
At the age of 16, Alexander Ovechkin surpassed the scoring record set by countryman in the World Under-18 Junior Championships.
At the age of 17, Ovechkin helped lead the Junior National Team to the Gold medal with two hattricks, one against Switzerland and one against USA.
At the age of 17, Alexander Ovechkin became the youngest skater ever to play for the Russian National Team. The only other player to play for the National Team at that age was legendary goaltender Vladislav Tretiak.
At the age of 18, Ovechkin was named Captain of the Junior Russian National Team although he was a year younger than many of the other players on the team.
At the age of 19, Ovechkin was named to the Russian National Team for the 2004 World Cup of Hockey. He was the youngest player in the tournament.
Ovechkin is expected to lead the Junior National Team this December-January in the 2005 World Junior Championships. This will be his last World Juniors performance.
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Alexander Ovechkin for Dynamo Moscow
Ovechkin began playing in the Dynamo Moscow system from the very start. In Russia, unlike in North America, hockey teams build players in their systems from childhood. Of course, the players have the option of which team they play for, but teams encourage players to stay in the system and hopefully come of those player will finally reach Russian Superleague, the best hockey league in Russia and, according to some, the second best league in the world after the NHL.