Most of the Winter Olympic athletes we profile here are struggling to make ends meet as they train for their respective sports. That can not be said for Russian star hockey player and Washington Capitals' captian Alex Ovechkin, who is making $9.5 million a year, but he is also scoring more goals than anyone else in the NHL.
Ovechkin was born on Spet. 17, 1985, and he is the son of former pro Russian soccer player Mikhail Ovechkin and Tatyana Ovechkin who competed for the Soviet women's basketball team at the 1976 Montreal Olympics and the 1980 Moscow Olympics (Misha the Bear, those games' mascot is pictured here).
It is amazing for those of us who grew up during the Cold War (I turn 40 in 15 days) that two Russian hockey players playing for their national team in Vancouver, Ovechkin and Alexander Semin also play with the Washington Capitals, the NHL pro team in the American capital!
Apparently after he was dealing with questions about jabs at the Barck Obama administration from the ever-restless Dick Cheney, Vice President Joe Biden was asked on "Meet the Press" if it was ok to be an Ovechkin fan and still be patriotic. As A Caps fan himself, Biden said that of course it was.
Ovechkin started playing hockey in Moscow at the age of 8. According to Wikipedia, he was encouraged by his older Sergei who died in a car accident when Alex was just 10.
Ovechkin actually began his pro hockey career at age 16 with Dynamo Moscow in 2001. He won the Russian Superleague's MVP in his third season. His first game with the Caps was on Oct. 5, 2005, when he scored two goals against the Columbus Blue Jackets for a 3-2 win.
The Caps star would lead rookies in goals, points, power-plays and shots. Ovechkin was named NHL Rookie of the Year. He would appear in his first all-star game, which was held in Dallas, in 2001.
He became the first player to score more than 60 goals in a season (in 2008) since former Pittsburgh Penguins teammates Mario Lemieux and Jaromir Jagr achieved that milestone during the 1995-96 season.
Ovechkin broke the Caps' team goals in a season title in 2008 as well. He ended up socring 65 goals in a season which lead him past former Caps' record holder Dannis Morok who scored 61 in a season during his playing days.
The Russian star captured both the Art Ross and Rocket Richard trophies in 2008.
He scored his 200th career goals against the L.A. Kings on Feb. 5, 2009, and he won the Rocket Richard Trophy again last season. The Caps' season ended sooner than the team would have liked though as they fell to the Penguins in seven games.
This NHL season, Ovechkin reached the 500-point milestone during a Feb. 5 game against the New York Rangers, a month after he became the Caps' captain on Jan.5.
Internationally, Ovechkin has played in the 2006 Olympics, which were disappointing to the Russian team because they failed to medal.. But, the Caps' star scored five goals including a game winner against New Jersey Devils' goal-tender Martin Brodeur, who was playing for Team Canada.
Ovechkin lead Russia to team gold in the 2008 World Championships.
He has been given the Key to the City from Washington, DC, mayor Adrian Fentry.
Ovechkin has also been named as Russia's ambassador for the 2014 Winter Olympics in Sochi, Russia.
A fan web site (ovechkinfans.com) quotes him as saying: "My weapon isn't my shot. It's me."
SIDEBAR: Ovechkin has been relatively silent on his Twitter page lately, but the same can not be said for his Capitals and Team Russia teammate Alex Semin. He took a dig at American hockey players Andrew Orpik and Sidney Crosby who also play for the Pittsburgh Penguins:
"At my hotel room in Vancouver, and I hear crying through the wall. I had no idea Crosby and Orpik were sharing the room next to me.
And, he also talked about how 'he was fine-tuning' his hockey skills in the time for the team's first game:
"My first 2 goals were products of my God-given talent, but my 3rd was all hard work. I finally figured out the Wii Motion on my stick."
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