Washington Capitals forward Alexander Ovechkin broke the longstanding NHL record for goals scored Sunday, eclipsing the mark set by legend Wayne Gretzky more than 25 years ago.
Ovechkin scored the record-setter, his 895th, against the New York Islanders in the second period.
The No. 1 overall pick in the 2004 NHL Entry Draft, Ovechkin has been one of the NHL’s most feared offensive players since his rookie season, in which he scored 52 goals. Since then, he has scored at least 30 goals every year, excluding only the Covid-shortened 2020-21 season.
Ovechkin’s professional career began in Russia in 2001 with Dynamo Moscow. He was such a highly touted NHL prospect, the Florida Panthers even concocted a scheme to draft him in 2003, one year before he was officially eligible to be selected. (At the time, the Panthers argued Ovechkin was old enough to meet the league’s cutoff if his age were to include leap years.)
A tall, bruising forward with an incredibly strong shot, Ovechkin has since gone on to set several scoring records, including most power play goals, most overtime goals and most goals with a single team. He is also tied with Gretzky and Mike Bossy for most 50-goal seasons. More here