Not since the days of Joseph McCarthy has a genuine fear of Russian things led to a total disdain of Russian things. For the most part, the names of Russian hockey players carry a pretty negative connotation with them around the league. That negative stigma can be attributed to a number of different things, including the generic “Russian attitude” argument, as well as the constantly looming threat of the KHL trying to snatch up its native players.
No player from Russia is safe from this type of attitude, either. Many thought Valeri Nichushkin would bolt for the KHL as soon as the Dallas Stars drafted him. But he stuck around and is a rising star (pun somewhat intended) for Dallas. Not even the game’s biggest Russian star is safe.
In fact, Alex Ovechkin may be under more scrutiny than any player across the National Hockey League. Hell, few players in all of sports catch more flak than that of the Washington Capitals forward. Heading into a new season, with no-nonsense, defensive Barry Trotz now behind the bench, Ovechkin continues to garner attention from those who expect nothing but failure from him in the upcoming campaign.
Ovechkin is coming off of a 79 point season, in which he found the back of the net 51 times. Yet, by listening to mainstream media, you would get the impression that it was a complete and total failure. A primary reason for that is the continued shortcomings of the Capitals as a group, but also because of the fact that Ovechkin finished the season with a paltry minus-35 rating. Almost half of those goals came with the Capitals on the man advantage, which somehow continues to convey that Ovi performed poorly in 2013-14.
There seems to be this idea that Ovechkin could care less about his role with the Capitals and would simply prefer to carry on with just his celebrity status in tow. This type of absurdity has reigned throughout the hockey world for the last several years. We constantly hear critiques of his attitude and questions about his effort. Throughout all of this, Ovechkin has never failed to put up 32 or more goals in a season in his career. He’s gone for 50 four times and has notched 60 another. Yeah, he’s pretty good.
And yet, the mainstream hockey media, and perhaps the mainstream audience, doesn’t seem satisfied with this. They want more from Alex Ovechkin. We’ve already heard tales about how his conditioning isn’t up to snuff with what Barry Trotz has implemented. And one columnist actually went as far as to say that this wouldn’t be an issue with Sidney Crosby, just to provide some insight as to how nonsensical all of this actually is. Makes perfect sense, after all, as Crosby is a good ol’ Canadian boy, while Ovechkin is a shady Russian, anxious to leave the NHL in order to jump over to the KHL at the earliest possible moment.
When it comes down to it, Alex Ovechkin is a generational talent. He’s coming off another 50-goal season and looks primed to impress his new coach. A move back over to the left side could make him even more of a weapon than he already represents. Really it’s just time to leave the Russian element alone, in regard to Ovechin, and simply appreciate the opportunity to watch a damn fine hockey player ply his trade in our nation’s capital. But who are we kidding? The Russian factor will continue to plague Ovechkin’s game like a dark cloud, whether he scores 50 goals or 100.
