Ovechkin – Put Him On the Poster
January 25, 2009, by Homme De Sept-Iles
Montreal – The brash bonne bad boy from Bodlivasta* …. black shades, big stick, brave brew and balls. Gentil-Hommes et Ladies, it’s Alex Ovechkin. Tomorrow’s should-be poster boy.
Today’s poster boy, Sidney Crosby is a bad absence from the ice this evening, injured, but in Montreal on orders from up high (Pittsburgh and the NHL) …. I would not even rank him as one of my top ten players though he is saddled with Daigle expectations and the abilities of a Kariya, no more (no less). There’s nothing wrong with being a very good player with upside. A Cadillac next to a Rolls. That Rolls is Malkin.
And that Bentley is a screaming meteor ride named Ovechkin.
Ovechkin has it all. And he has some more. Of the greatest (latest) recent super-super-super stars, this guy has some qualities beyond the Jordans, the Bradys, the Lemieux’, the Gretzkys, the Jagrs.
Like the mentioned, he has the quickening abilities, the raw pulse. The ability to make moments.
Moments: Jordan’s unforgettable hand-switch basket, Lemieux’ International goal from Gretzky, Brady in the snow, in OT, Jagr’s hair at all times.
Moment: Ovechkin falling, twisting, finding, impossibly, a lane for a puck … on his back. Remember? There are others. There will be more.
They say European names can’t be pronounced by guys in Florida or in Texas. They say Europeans aren’t charismatic enough. They aren’t going to be identified with.
The perception is Europeans can’t sell this league in that country. That country being the newly christened land of Obama (and seeming border-crossing freedom).
Maybe the perception should change. Kids love this guy. Old people do, too. Fans can relate to his stubbled humour, his joie de vivre, his intense I’M HERE NOW passion.
Some images from tonight’s All-Star Skills Competition:
After a failed goal attempt against Tim Thomas, Ovechkin leans down and trades some barbs or a quip or a bright observation; Thomas laughs.
After winning his trophy and standing in the middle of the other trophy-winners (Chara was there), he raises a mock-serious salute well before the signal. It’s tongue-in-cheek, classic Ovechkin.
And the winning, first and final image, the lasting memory; Alexander the Great helped by Evgeni Malkin (evoking images of McGrady aiding Carter’s magnificent all-star dunk for the ages ) grabs sticks, shades and goofy Gilligan hat and is given a shot of Gatorade before wobbling gracefully down the ice, ditching one stick and artfully banging home a rebound …… ambidextrously.
Who else? Who more? Who NOW?
Shred the #87 for Veep posters and get this Russian Madman on the cover of all written and otherwise printable items NHL.
Is it in you?
*Bodlivasta may not exist but Alex Ovechkin exists
Post Article Exerpt (from Wikipedia): Alexander Ovechkin is the son of Mikhail Ovechkin, a former professional football (soccer) player, and Tatyana Ovechkina, who won two Olympic gold medals while competing for the Soviet women’s basketball team in the 1976 Summer Olympics at Montreal and in 1980 at Moscow.[1]
The first signs of Ovechkin’s future came when he was a child. At the age of two, in a Soviet toy store, Alexander grabbed a toy stick and helmet and refused to let go. His parents treasure the picture to this day. As a small child, whenever he saw a hockey game on TV, he “dropped all his toys” and ran to the TV. He “protested strongly” if his parents tried to change the channel. His parents say they knew he would be an athlete when Alexander chose to run up the steps to their apartment rather than take the elevator.
He began playing hockey at the age of 7. Soon after he began, however, he had to postpone his hockey career because his parents were unable to take him to the rink. But one of Ovechkin’s coaches saw Ovechkin’s talent and communicated to his parents that he should continue to play hockey. Ovechkin’s brother, Sergei, who later died in a car accident, saw that Alexander loved hockey and insisted that he be allowed to return.
Since he studied at the Military Institute for Border Guards, Ovechkin did not have to go through compulsory military service.
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