Washington Capitals News: Alex Ovechkin's training is going well, team earns high offseason grade on USA Today
Capitals captain Alex Ovechkin is well prepared as he enters season number 20
Washington Capitals captain Alex Ovechkin is well prepared for what is about to be his 20th NHL season. His agent Gleb Christyakov told Metaratings.ru that Ovechkin's training is on schedule and going good ahead of the year per Sammi Silber of The Hockey News:
"I believe that Alexander is in good shape. He is ready for the season, he knows his schedule. So far, everything's good, everything's going according to plan."
Ovechkin is set to reurn to the U.S. from Russia in early September and has been busy training both on and off the ice for the year. His agent would add "his health is fine, he trains every day."
Ovechkin spent his time training alongside Russian athletes set to compete in the 2024 Paralympic Games in Paris and said he was impressed by their passion and dedication.
Ovechkin told Match.TV per a DeepL translation:
"I trained in Novorgorsk with the guys from the Russian Paralympic team, we trained at the same facility. I saw how they were training before their trip to Paris and you know what I noticed right away? Their eyes lit up."
As he enters age 39 he faces a tall task as he's in hot pursuit of Wayne Gretzky's goal scoring record and he hopes his offseason training will only help turn his team into a legitimate contender after the Caps had a busy offseason. At 853 goals he sits 42 away from breaking the Great One's record.
In other news the Caps received a B+ from USA Today's Mike Brehm:
"By trading for Dubois (assuming he finds his game), Mangiapane and Chychrun, the Capitals will improve on their 28th ranked offense. The Capitals acquired a good goaltending partner for Charlie Lindgren in (Logan) Thompson and signed defenseman Matt Roy, who kills penalties and blocks shots. Washington should be able to improve on its -37 goal differential and Alex Ovechkin will have more chances as he continues his chase of Wayne Gretzky's goal record."
The NHL will soon start to ramp up again with rookie camps, then training camps. Preseason games start on September 21 and the 2024-25 regular season opens on Oct. 4 in Europe.
The Caps open their 50th season eight days later against the New Jersey Devils on Oct. 12 at Capital One Arena in what is sure to be a lit atmosphere as the kiddos would say.
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