One of the greatest goal scorers in NHL history is coming to town

Brogan Houston is an intern for the Deseret News. He covers the Utah Hockey Club and trending news.

By the end of the season, Alex Ovechkin could be the NHL’s all-time leading goal scorer. You may have heard of the guy that currently holds the record: Wayne Gretzky.

Ovechkin and his Washington Capitals play in Utah on Monday. The 39-year-old may be in the latter years of his career, but he’s on pace for 63 goals, which would be his third-best season in that category. He needs 29 more to pass Gretzky.

As the first-overall pick in the 2004 NHL Draft, Ovechkin was the source of a lot of hype. Furthermore, he was drafted to a struggling Capitals team — and it was his job to turn the franchise around. That’s a lot of pressure to put on the shoulders of an 18-year-old.

But Ovechkin thrives under pressure.

That first season, he scored 52 goals and 106 points. That’s the third-most by a rookie in NHL history in both categories.

He continued to impress, year after year, winning the Rocket Richard Trophy as the league’s leading goal scorer nine times. He has led the league in goals more times than anyone else in NHL history.

But just as important as Ovechkin’s sustained dominance is the way he has helped to market the game of hockey. He’s loud, he likes to have fun and he shines in the spotlight — all of which are atypical of hockey players. And his heavy Russian accent just makes everything 10 times better.

Ovechkin scored what Sportsnet deemed the “goal of the 21st century” against the Phoenix Coyotes in 2006. Little did he know at the time, an 8-year-old boy by the name of Auston Matthews was in attendance that night and he was inspired. Matthews, of course, would grow up to be an NHL superstar himself, winning the Rocket Richard Trophy in three of his eight seasons so far.

You know a player is an all-time great when you watch him and think, “I could do that.”

Ovechkin is one of those players. The majority of his goals have come from the same spot on essentially the same play. He stands on or near the faceoff left faceoff circle, waiting for passes. The second the puck arrives, he hammers it hard enough to give goalies nightmares.

He makes it look easy.