COOLER TALK - HOCKEY'S SAVIOR

ALEXANDER OVECHKIN. The NHL's face. The NHL's star. The NHL's everything. And I mean it. Ovechkin is (to me) the NHL's savior. He is the only player in NHL history to win all 4 of hockey's major individual awards in the same season. He is the figure in hockey that fans either love or hate. Sports need those polarizing athletes, like I need a job. Football has T.O. Major League Baseball has Alex Rodriguez. And the NBA has LeBron James. These are the players people love to hate (mostly because they aren't on your favorite team), but every time they are playing you tune in to see what they might do next. That is exactly what Ovechkin is for the NHL. He is that player that people love to hate, but will tune in to watch what he is capable of next. 

Ovechkin is to me the savior of the NHL. We all know that the NHL and NBA regular season's are long and drawn out. We also know that the playoffs for both sports turn the regular superstars into super heros. Everyone wants to watch Kobe, LeBron, and D-Wade play in the playoffs, because they are playing on a different level. The stakes are raised and so is the level of play. That is what Ovechkin does for hockey. He brings in the rare hockey watcher. He grabs the attention of the channel surfer with his unique hockey style. He hits. He scores. He passes. He plays both ends of the ice, like the NHL won't be around tomorrow. Here is his goal from a few days ago. Yes the one where he avoids a hit, then puts it through the next defenders legs, kicks it with his skate, and then he falls down just before scoring the goal. He is an AND 1 Streetballer on ice.