Alex Ovechkin’s Journey and the Washington Capitals Future

Alex oetkin the man the myth the [Music] legend your lock on capitals your daily podcast on the Washington Capitals part of the locked on podcast Network your team every day well hello and welcome into this edition of lton capitals I’m so glad you decided to join me today as always this podcast is free and available on all the major platforms my name is Dan homie I’ve covered the capitals for the last three seasons for locked on and various other platforms before that I’m also the host of the weekly show called the capitals minute cast available wherever you find your podcasts you can find me on Twitter it’s at danc caps 28 you can find the show on Twitter it’s lockon caps and the best way that you can help grow the show is to subscribe to lockon capitals on YouTube and comment anything down below today’s episode is brought to you by FanDuel make every moment more right now new customers get $150 in bonus Bets with any winning $5 bet that’s 150 bucks with any winning $5 bet visit fanduel.com loton to get started so in this edition of lockon capitals we do a profile of Alex ovich and his history in the National Hockey League how he currently sits number two all time in goals scored in just his great history in the NHL a little bit later we will talk about the 2324 season in review the UPS the Downs about how Alex oetkin got off to his slowest start in his career but turned on the Jets in the second half of the season we’ll talk about that a little bit later we’ll talk about how stick issues may have factored into Alex oetkin slow start and his subsequent uh great second half of the season and then in the final segment we will talk about the diet yes the diet of Alex oetkin it’s not often that you see a professional athlete eat a steady diet of Subway sandwiches and flaming hot Cheetos but just to get it going here talking about the man the myth the leg leg of Alex oetkin Obie is considered one of the greatest goal scorers of the 21st century we know that currently sits number two all time in goal scored quite an accomplishment he has set numerous records and achieved remarkable milestones in the NHL Obie holds the record for the most 30 goal seasons and he became the third player in NHL history to score 800 goals and you know the cool thing about Obie and and seeing him do this on a night in and Night Out basis during the hockey season is that we’re getting to see it in our lifetime it’s not some archival footage uh if we take a look at Wayne Gretzky already you take a look back on it it looks like it was shot from 50 years ago we’re getting to see a truly Dynamic player that will one day be the greatest goal scorer of all time and we get to see it in our lifetime in real time he also holds the record for the most 40 goal seasons in the NHL and has the most empty net goals in NHL history and uh often times I think that we Overlook some of that or we forget about what kind of player he is I think that it’s easy to you know kind of grasp on to some of the negative things that has happened with Obie like his slow start to the 23 24 season just the accolades and the accomplishments of oie uh is quite stunning oetkin career highlights include becoming the eighth member of the NHL’s 700 goal Club he has consistently showcased his exceptional skills scoring ability and physical presence on the ice the physical presence isn’t quite as noticeable I guess as it was in his younger day uh he was quite the bull in the china shop he was a guy that was willing to drop the gloves at any given moment but he has matured uh he is you know a guy in his late 30s in the NHL and ultimately that’s what he has Tom Wilson for for uh kind of an interesting thing is though that when Tom Wilson missed some time this last season how oie kind of realized that you know the big physical presence isn’t on the ice he needs to step up and be that so that’s the great thing about oie his scoring ability his exceptional skills and his presence on the ice uh he is still not afraid of laying out the body and finishing checks into the corner and doing ultimately whatever it takes to make the capitals competitive notably Obie’s career minated in a historic moment when he led the capitals to their first Stanley Cup win in 2018 something that I think was held over him for quite some time that you know Alex oetkin the capitals they’re a good team but they’re not good enough to win a Stanley Cup he heard that for the longest time he heard it from Penguins fans as they held that over the capitals and Alex ofkin but they finally got over the hump in 2018 as they did the improbable and won a Stanley Cup was also honored with the km trophy as the playoff MVP after leading all players with 15 postseason goals throughout his career oie has continued to impress with his remarkable performance and has cemented his legacy as one of the greatest players in NHL history and I guess if you are a capitals fan that’s not news to you but I think that sometimes when you listen to the individual accomplishments that is uh what is is quite quite stunning about the history of Alex oetkin and but let’s take a look here next at the 2324 season quite an up and down season for the great eight um and we’ll talk a little bit later about why that might be how actually equipment or sticks more specifically may have factored into his slow start in the 23 24 season Obie experienced a decline in his performance marked by career lows and goals and points during the regular season at 38 years old and with over 1,400 games played this dip was unexpected oetkin known for his consistent performance throughout the season faced a significant scoring Lull in the first half of the Season we remember that if you are an every dayer of the show you know I documented that well I spoke at nauseum about the slow start what was it was it Spencer Carberry systems what was behind his slow start recording a career low of eight goals in the first 43 games however he rebounded in the later half of the Season demonstrating a return to form with 23 goals in the final 36 games that is what is part of the legend of Alex oetkin is is to turn it on when you only scored eight goals to start the season uh and ended up with 31 to end the season that is the man the myth the legend personified the reasons behind the initial decline in performance are unclear speculations about injury recovery or adapting to a coaching changes have been made notably oetkin ability to score goals independently of specific teammates has been highlighted and I think that one of the things that uh you know Obie struggled with was it was the new systems of Spencer carar which I spoke about but also I think it was about the lack of chemistry with the center that he played with for years it was Nick Backstrom and after that Afghani KET off that we saw the lines get jumbled it was stro it was McMichael it was a laier it was Dow it was this guy it was that guy I think that that is one of the things capitals need to address next season is to find that center that is going to play with Alex oetkin and compliment what kind of truly great hockey player he is despite the mid-season setback ob’s overall performance aligned more Clos Ley with his career average by the end of the season he led the capitals and goals and ranked second in points emphasizing his enduring value to the team with two years remaining on his contract and requiring only 42 goals can we believe it it’s come to that only 42 it seems like it was you know to start the season is he going to get it done is he GNA get it done under this contract only 42 it seems like something that is doable under his current contract something that seemed totally out of the question to start last season quite something uh so taking a look at it only 42 goals to break Wayne Gretzky’s all-time goal record the prospect of oie achieving this Milestone seems inevitable however the potential for similar performance lulls in the future and their impact on both egin’s Legacy and the team’s competitiveness is a point of consideration and those are all things to consider is that Alex oetkin has gotten injured more than he has historically he is the Russian machine that never breaks but now that he is closing out on his 30s uh that things you know can can kind of go off the rails a little bit you can get injured sometimes it takes a little bit longer to recover from those kind of injuries so you know it’s going to be interesting and I think the biggest thing is the competitivness of the capitals can can they rebound from kind of um you know a a lackluster season I know they made it to the playoffs but but not historically uh of what the capitals ilk and what they’re made of I think that again if uh Brian mlen can prioritize finding that right center and I understand these guys don’t grow on trees but if he can really dig deep and do his due diligence and find that center that is going to complement Alex oetkin then I think he will be in a good position and I ultimately think it is doable but I I think as capitals fans it’s important not to concentrate on the Gretzky goal I think that if the Capitals play great hockey that will go right along with it if the capitals are winning games we know that Obie is going to be scoring goals and I think the rest of it will just fall into line after that all right so coming up here Straight Ahead we will talk about stick issues with Alex oetkin I I must admit as a guy that doesn’t take to the ice too often and play I don’t you you know fully know or understand or grasp the importance of the perfect stick but that seems to be drawn more into Focus that maybe stick issues were behind Alex oetkin slow start is that possible or was it an excuse I’ll discuss Straight Ahead passion drive and patience the formula for winning championships is also what keeps your rid or die alive eBay Motors has everything you need to maintain your vehicle and level it up to Peak 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YouTube or the free Amazon Fire TV channels app part of the locked on podcast Network your team every day all right welcome back into this edition of locked on capitals part of the locked on podcast Network your team every day talking some Alex oetkin talking some capitals hockey in June I wouldn’t have it any other way and I’m glad so glad you guys are joining me today talking about the stick issues that Alex oetkin faced this last summer and I must admit when I first heard the excuse that you know Alex zetkin is struggling because he can’t find the right stick I said My Oh My did the dog eat my homework I mean I think I’ve heard it all here uh why don’t we take a little bit more responsibility uh I’ve referenced this before as I was a drummer in my younger day played at quite a few shows and anytime I started you know blaming equipment or I heard bandmates uh complain about you know my amp or you know my in ears or the monitors weren’t quite right I’m like you didn’t do your homework or you were to this or to that when you start blaming equipment maybe you should put in the extra effort and initially that is what I thought about Alex oetkin is that you know maybe he was a little out of shape I heard about that steady diet of pasta that he likes to eat that his wife talks about I I know that he likes to have Coca-Cola in his water bottle and that he eats a steady diet uh of of junk food in a lot of ways and I’ll talk about that in the closing segment that to to to uh blame his hockey stick well I think this is a guy that maybe didn’t put in the work last summer but I think that there’s actually a little bit of smoke to this fire uh because we saw an an about face by Alex oetkin in the second half of the Season Alex oetkin faced a unique challenge this past year scoring only eight goals in the first 43 gam of the Season his struggle was compounded by issues with his hockey sticks uh we know that he has a long time been uh affiliated with CCM as they endorsed him and then he also switched over to Bower uh for a while there he was trying to find the right twig that was going to get him the production that we’re used to as capitals fans and um so again like in the first segment I thought it was you know something wrong with the coaching I thought you know it could be this and then I started to hear rumors out there Rumblings that it was his hockey stick uh again initially I thought that it was an excuse in a recent interview with sports. Ru for fwn Bay oetkin expressed his frustration with the changes in hockey stick tech technology he emphasized the importance of finding a stick with the right flex and S which significantly impacts a player’s performance despite being a free agent oetkin sometimes still does use his CCM gear but he’s also playing with a new stick from an independent company with the iconic 8 logo that we heard him mention shortly after the season was over I think that you know maybe that this is going to be the flagship of this new independent company I also do know that even miren has seen great success with this oi stick I guess I’m going to call right now the one that has the eight logo on it and what I’ve read about it and learned about it is that it there was a bit of a a misunderstanding that Obie and his people went to CCM and they said you know I stick that I’ve always had but CCM uh you know and a lot of the other companies are trying to always be on The Cutting Edge of hockey stick technology and they want to go with a stick that’s even lighter than the the one that Obie’s accustomed to using and you know Obie’s like hey if it’s not broke don’t fix it I want my stick do not know who I am I am the great eight I sit number two all time in goals and surprise surprise I scored a lot of those goals with your stick the classic stick uh that takes quite a bit of nerve for a lack of better word from CCM to say yeah I know you’re Alex oetkin I know you’re great eight but we’re we’re not going to make your stick anymore so then there was a struggle there with Obie as he experimented with different CCM sticks uh with a couple different bow sticks trying to find the perfect stick that was going to get him that production and then he found that independent is right now uh hockey stick company with the iconic 8 logo and he saw a tremendous return using that stick so apparently despite my thoughts on the whole thing about his equipment it did seem to factor in quite significantly and you also look at Ivan mirish nenko and the great return he’s got by using that stick amidst his difficulties oetkin briefly switch to Bow hyper lights before transitioning to a custom with that independent company despite the challenges he experienced a Resurgence in the latter part of the Season contributing to an impressive gold scoring record to go from 8 to 31 from the All-Star break to the end of the season is quite stunning the proof is in the pudding to use a really old saying so I think that that there is a whole lot of truth that the stick that that he was using uh and you know the one that the comfortable pair of shoes that he wore for so many years um were no longer made maybe you’ve ever been in that position where you’ve bought the same pair of shoes for years and they’re like yeah sorry buddy those are discontinued you’re like what those are my comfortable shoes same thing goes forkin I think that he’s in a good spot now I think he’s going to be able to hit the ground running in the fall as he has that stick the independent one with the eight logo on it that there’s not going to be those struggles that he faced uh in the beginning part of La the last season and uh you know I think that we’re going to see a whole lot more of Alex oet and what we saw in the second part of last season that is something to be exciting about reflecting on his experience Obie highlighted the impact of the All-Star break and the adjustments to his equipment he expressed expressed optimism about the new sticks and their role in his performance hinting at forthcoming details and updates I am quite excited about what that is uh Obie emphasized the importance of finding a comfortable and reliable stick a sentiment shared by many players across the league and this is what these guys do for a living they’re professional hockey players in case you didn’t know they’re professional hockey players and especially Alex oetkin uh CCM I don’t know what you’re thinking uh ultimately if Alex oetkin says that’s the kind of stick that I want to guess what find a way to get it done get him the stick that he needs needs so he can perform at Peak Performance and guess what when he’s scoring all of those goals and breaks a record how great would that have been to be with a CCM stick as it turns out that’s probably not going to be the case as he when he scores his record-breaking goal it will most likely be with from an independent company maybe something you know that’s uh you know owned exclusively by Alex oetkin I guess I don’t know where all of this is leading but quite exciting for me as an Obie fan as a capitals F to see what direction this is going in the one thing I’m truly happy about is that we can put aside uh the the issues that he had with his equipment that he’s going to be able to hit the ground running in the fall there’ll be no worry about H I got to find this right stick that will all be in the rear view all right so coming up here Straight Ahead we will talk about the diet of Alex oetkin it’s not often that I talk about food in this show but it seems to be quite important to the grade eight let’s delve into that straight ahead it’s winter take call in the NBA and NHL and fanduels giving you a shot to bring home a big win of your own right now new customers get $150 in bonus Bets with any winning $5 bet that’s 150 bucks to bet on spreads money lines player props and more and I got to be honest with you guys the team that I wanted to win it all in the NBA well they just got eliminated I’m a fan of the Timberwolves and the Mavericks took care of them so you know things weren’t going the way I wanted to but to make the game more interesting to me and maybe say you’re watching a Nationals game at home whatever the case might be open up the FanDuel app put a little bit of money on the game all of a sudden this game that you don’t care too much about is quite exciting so do that go to FanDuel visit fanduel.com Lockton and make every playoff shot count FanDuel America’s number one sports book all right welcome back into this edition of lockon capitals part of the lockon podcast Network your team every day talking Alex oetkin in this episode of Locked on capitals and the diet of Alex oetkin I think that Alex oetkin is at the point of his career that he is not too worried about his diet he knows that he burns a tremendous amount of calories uh when he’s on the ice in his special on ESPN I think it was last summer he talked about that he doesn’t worry about his diet he eats pasta he eats fast food during the season we saw him eat quite frequently a Subway sandwich and flaming hot Cheetos quite often almost every time I saw him get on the plane he had his Subway bag with his flaming hot Cheetos and that work works for him but does it really and he also talked about how he hates training he loathes training you know he says think about it all season I’m I’m playing hockey and I’m struggling and finally this is my time to rest and guess who comes ringing on my phone the trainer saying come on Obie let’s hit the gym uh we remember the videos of old where he has a tire chained around his waist and he’s running up a hill somewhere in Russia uh tremendous amount of workout and Peak uh condition to get you know to to to do those kind of things you know you don’t get to in that kind of condition by just doing situps uh in the living room you don’t get that kind of production by doing uh push-ups I mean you need quite uh a trainer and that’s ultimately what Alex oetkin has and it’s interesting that a guy that’s in you know Peak condition I’ve seen the guy I saw him up close uh at it was called Kettler at the time a huge dude I wouldn’t want to run into him in a dark Aly if you know what I mean uh that this is a guy that’s in Peak condition and what we found out lately is it’s not just you know like a lot of the younger players in the league I’m eating you know um chicken I’m eating a boiled chicken and rice and cauliflower or broccoli and that’s my meal every day um I always wondered how those guys did that it sounds very Bland but you take a look at Alex achkin he kind of pushes all that aside he says I’m not too worried about my diet I’m not too worried about training to be honest with you I hate training uh and that was spoke about in a recent article here as well Alex oetkin has a nontraditional approach to his travel meals favoring a Subway sub accompanied by those Cheetos in a recent interview with sports.ru Alex achkin revealed that he does not adhere to a strict diet during the 82 Game season we know that Coca colola in your water bottle when most of these guys are drinking biofuel or water he shuns all that and says I hear all that give me my cocacola opting for more calories and uh dietary restrictions while some players May avoid certain foods oetkin maintains that he eats whatever he desires and you know the the haters out there might say well maybe if he didn’t eat all that fast food he would have been in better shape to start the I don’t know how much truth there is to that but it’s something to ponder regarding the unconventional choice of a Subway sandwich and its impact on its performance Olie confidently stated that it does not affect him negatively and even if he you know we thought it did he’s not going to stop at this point of his career he he doesn’t need to prove anything to anyone if he likes his Subway sandwich let him eat it you got to think is there an uh some sort of endorsement there at the end of the day furthermore he expressed his reluctance towards preparing for the upcoming season and training during the summer emphasizing his aversion to training regimen before the season commences current currently back in Moscow oetkin collaborates with pavl B burlachenko during the offseason for training and has indicated a willingness to make adjustments as he approaches his 20th NHL season and and do you think that’s true or do you think he was just telling the media what they wanted to hear hit me up on Twitter at Dan caps2 and8 lockon Caps or on YouTube or do you think he was serious about it do you think he is going to you know realize that he didn’t have his best season last season at least the first half of the season and maybe he think needs to change things or do you think he will adhere to his pasta cocaa Subway and flaming hot Cheetos um I think that you know if you could stick to the Tom Brady diet at this point of your career I think you would be better served doing that um and you know save the pasta for after you hang up the skates I mean Obie the the goal record is on the horizon why weigh yourself down with a heavy carb diet uh with high calorie soda uh and flaming hot Che Cheetos save that for guys that host podcasts anyway so I think that would be the best thing for Obie at this point is to just concentrate on training do what he’s done historically you know take a look at the you know how he started his season I we all remember the footage like I spoke about with him running up the hill with his trainer in one of them with like this you know heavy tire that he’s dragging up the hill we want to see oie in Peak condition so there’s not that leg to start the season again we talked about that he took care of the stick issue we talked about that he worked on his di let’s just let’s get this all you know dialed in so he can hit the ground running in the fall uh and there’s no slow start next season like there was this past season all right I want to thank you for joining me on this edition of lockdown capitals your only daily yearr podcast covering the Washington Capitals and I want to thank all of you that listen on the audio and watch this on YouTube you are ultimately what makes this show successful when you’re done here head on over to locked On’s 247 streaming channel available on the free Amazon Fire TV channels app and on YouTube all right once again I want to thank you for joining me on this edition of Lockton capitals part of the Lockton podcast Network your team every day my name is Dan homy and I’ll talk to you again next time

Alex Ovechkin, a prominent NHL player, has had an illustrious career, setting numerous records and achieving remarkable milestones. Despite a decline in performance during the 2023-24 season, he rebounded in the latter half, showcasing his enduring value to the Washington Capitals. With two years left on his contract and the pursuit of Wayne Gretzky’s all-time goal record, Ovechkin’s potential for future achievements and impact on the team’s competitiveness remains a point of consideration.

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