Alex Ovechkin “Gr8tness” ESPN documentary tells the story of historic chase
Alex Ovechkin has been front and center all weekend for the NHL All Star Game. Prior to the puck drop ESPN aired a documentary on ABC that chronicled Ovechkin’s continued chase into the NHL record books.
In a one on one interview with Kevin Weekes of ESPN, Ovechkin talked about a variety of things including his first goal, his rise to the top, his desire to win a Stanley Cup, and the thrill of playing the game he loves.
One thing I thought was interesting was we all know Ovechkin’s stick collection. It was revealed in the documentary that it took a while for the great eight to get a stick from Wayne Gretzky. He said he needed to win the Stanley Cup and score 700 goals.
In 2018 he accomplished the first task and ESPN took us behind the scenes of the night they ended their second round drought to the Pittsburgh Penguins. Two years later before COVID took over the world, Ovechkin reached the 700 goal mark.
Low and behold he got a signed stick from the great one. It only motivated him to score more once hockey returned.
I was in middle school when Ovechkin made his NHL debut. I was a senior in college when he scored his 500th goal. Now I’m trying to do this adulting thing while watching Ovechkin chase towards greatness.
I’m sure you feel the same way no matter what age you are reading this. Ovechkin is a generational talent that has inspired fans from the older generation to the younger.
Whether this is your first season seeing Ovechkin play, or perhaps you started following during the 2018 Cup run or just started watching this season, what Ovechkin has done inspired us all and chances are we may never see something like this in the game of hockey again.
One interesting thing mentioned in the documentary is that it would take a player at least 20 seasons of 45 goals or more to try to catch Gretzky or dare I say it, Ovechkin.
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Overall Gr8tness is a good documentary and if you missed the premiere this afternoon you can stream it on ESPN plus.