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SPRINGFIELD, Va. (AP) -Alex Ovechkin is hardly the first professional athlete to emphasize winning percentage above personal statistics, to maintain he's all about team, to insist he won't rest until he's earned a championship.
"I want to win the Stanley Cup; that's why we play hockey in the NHL," he said during an interview at the Washington Capitals' charity golf event this week. "I'm always that way. I want to do everything for the victory."
Standard stuff, right?
Here, then, is what separates Ovechkin: He isn't just talk.
This is an MVP who skates with the rookies, a $124 million man who thinks nothing of a two-hour drive on his night off to catch a little exhibition hockey, a league-leading scorer who keeps close tabs on what the club is up to during free agency.
All with a singular aim.
"Ultimately," teammate Brooks Laich said, "I don't think Alex will go to sleep at night until he's won a Stanley Cup."
Ovechkin took it upon himself to lace up his skates and get out on the ice at the Capitals' rookie camp in September, a week before the defending Southeast Division champions opened training camp for veterans.
"I just want to support all the guys on my team," Ovechkin said. "It doesn't matter if they play in the NHL or the minors."
Coach Bruce Boudreau appreciated the effort.
"When I blew the whistle, he was the first one to get over to me, the first one in line," Boudreau said. "And I'm sure - because he's this smart - he knew players would see that and they would say, 'Well, if that's how Alex Ovechkin operates, that's how I want to operate.' He never wanted any applause or anything. He just knew this was a good thing to do for the kids."
Ovechkin, who just turned 23, is basically a kid himself, one whose energy, enthusiasm and will to win are infectious.
That's the case whether he's slamming his body into the boards to celebrate one of his goals or tackling a teammate to celebrate one of theirs. Or trying to beat linemate Nicklas Backstrom at pingpong. Or showing off during a pickup basketball game at a team dinner last weekend (Ovechkin's mother won two Olympic gold medals in that sport; his hockey jersey bears her No. 8). Or playing poker ("When he bluffs," goalie Jose Theodore said, "he's going to show you his cards - just to let you know.").
