In his recent, and excellent, article (translated here), Slava Malamud over at Sport-Express asks:

"So the question now, it seems, is whether the 2009/2010 season was a turning point for Ovechkin-has the Ovechkin we all know and love come to an end and is it time for him to reinvent himself?"

Which got me thinking: is Ovie REALLY that predicable? Does he always make the same move? Thanks to Ovechkinfans.com and NHL.com, I was able to look back at all of Alex's goals on the season. What I saw was quite interesting.

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As everyone probably already knows, Mike Milbury was the General Manager of the New York Islanders from 1995 to 2006. He famously traded Roberto Luongo and Oli Jokinen to Florida for Skittles Mark Parrish and Oleg Kvasha and traded for Alexei Yashin, giving up Zdeno Chara and the pick that became Jason Spezza to Ottawa.

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In May of 2009, Boston Red Sox Superfan and writer Bill Simmons wrote a column about the possibility that many players on his beloved 2004 Sox World Series Champion team had been on steroids. The article was written as a dialogue between him and his son 5 years in the future, at the boy’s first game at Fenway Park.

Ever since Boston won the World Series 10 years ago, I always imagined pointing to that 2004 banner and telling my little boy, "That's the team that changed everything."

So that's what I do. I point at the banner and tell him, "That's the team that changed everything."

"Isn't that the team that cheated?" he asks.

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For my money, Alex Semin possesses the hardest, most deceptive wrist shot in the NHL today. Most of the time he shoots off the wrong foot in such a way that the release point completely fools opposing goalies (and shot blocking defenders). He can release the shot in traffic, circling out of either corner, or while simply standing still. He’s even managed to score with the shot while on his knees!

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When the cycling drills are done, when the coach is finished screaming about defensive positioning and playing ‘the system’, when the ‘Herbies’ are over, when someone is crowned ‘Juice Boy’ and practice officially ends is where you learn it. It’s born of the teenage spirit of ‘doing some cool around your friends.’ You see it tried all the time in AAA and Junior hockey. But for most NHL players, it tends to vanish from their repertoire during games. The size, speed and skill of NHL defenders makes it hard to pull off and if it fails, it almost always ends in a turnover.

We’re talking about the ‘Toe-Drag.’

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In the summer of 2006, just after the Washington Capitals selected Nicklas Backstrom with the 4th overall pick in the NHL Draft, I remember reading an ESPN The Magazine story that was written as a ‘fly on the wall’ piece from inside the Columbus Blue Jackets’ Draft War Room.  Going through their prospect list, the Jackets’ Player Personnel Director had this to say about Backstrom:

 “I was watching tape of him playing with Henrik Zetterberg at the worlds, and sometimes I couldn't tell which was which.”

I remember how much that line stuck with me and how I dreamt that the Caps would someday have a Zetterberg-like player to compliment Alex Ovechkin and make us an offensive threat. Now, two and a half seasons into Backstrom’s career, I think it’s time to see if that initial comparison had panned out.

First, let’s look at Backstrom’s numbers from his first 3 seasons. Since his 3rd season is ongoing, I’ve included a ‘production per-82 games’ line for comparisons sake:

Backstrom

And now for Henrik Zetterberg:

Zetterberg

Like Zetterberg, Backstrom’s numbers have improved each season and their solid +/- numbers speak to their defensive ability. Unlike Zetterberg, Backstrom was able to put up better offensive numbers as a 20 year old, with Zetterberg being 22 during his rookie season. He has also been more durable in his first three season, as the discrepancy in games played shows. In Zetterberg’s corner is the fact that he was selected in the 7th round and worked his way into the payer he is today. 

What about other great Swedish players? It took longer for fellow Swedes Daniel Anfredsson, Henrik and Daniel Sedin and Markus Naslund to gain star form, so comparing their first 3 seasons would result in a blow-out in Backstrom's favor. One could also draw comparisons between Backstrom and Kent Nilsson, who put up huge numbers in the offensive ‘80s. For now, we’ll stick to talent Backstrom has actually played against.

One of these comparable players, numbers-wise, is the #1 overall pick in the 1989 NHL Draft, Mats Sundin.

Sundin

Sundin was 19 during his rookie season and played on some defensively terrible Nordiques teams early in his career, which explains the massive +/- hole he dug for himself. But in his 3rd year, he broke out for big numbers. Like Backstrom, Sundin also played with elite talent (Joe Sakic, Peter Forsberg) and also played center. But if you compare adjusted statistics, Sundin’s numbers drop based on the era in which he played. Meanwhile, Backstrom’s adjusted numbers actually increase a bit, pulling him away from his Swedish peer.

The best comparison is with a fellow centerman selected in the first round in his draft year, Peter Forsberg. Right off the bat, the two appear very similar: Forsberg was selected with the 6th overall pick, and was 21 during his rookie season (which occurred during the Players’ strike season, explaining the 47 games played).

Forsberg

Clearly, Forsberg entered the league as an elite offensive talent, put up stellar numbers, and would eventually win an MVP and scoring title to go along with his 2 Stanley Cups. But his durability began to slip after his second season and he would only play more than 70 games 4 more times in his career. However, throughout his abbreviated career, many considered him to be the best all-around player in the league.

So, after three seasons, that initial comparison to Henrik Zetterberg seems fully warranted, if not a bit of an underassessment of Backstrom’s talent. Statistically, Backstrom falls behind only Peter Forsberg among Swedish players in their first three seasons. While he likely won’t surpass ‘Peter the Great’ as the best Swedish player (not named Lidstrom) in NHL history, he most certainly can reach ‘Nicklas the Really, Really, Really Good’ status.

For the briefest of moments in early 1992, televisions in the US were tuned in to the Winter Olympics in Alberville, France. Bonnie Blair and Kristi Yamaguchi were on their way to winning gold medals for Team USA. And a little known, journeyman minor league goaltender named Ray LeBlanc was backstopping US Olympic hockey team to a 4th place finish. To quote his Wikipedia page: "At the 1992 Winter Olympics, LeBlanc appeared in all eight games for the United States, compiling a record of 5–2–1 with two shutouts. The Americans finished out of the medals, however, as they lost 6–1 to Czechoslovakia in the bronze medal game." This US team wasn't supposed to make the medal round. They were bad. Ray stole 4th place for them. As a reward, the Chicago Blackhawks put him in for one game later that season.

Later that spring, at a community card show, I happened across a booth selling hockey cards. Sitting there, for a whopping $3 was a 1990-91 Fort Wayne Komets IHL team set. The sticker on the box cover said "With 1992 US Olympic Hero Ray LeBlanc!" I stupidly bought the box. I was 13 years old, without a clue. LeBlanc played 1 NHL game and his 15 minutes of fame only lasted 8. The set quickly went into a box with all my other cards. It sat there.

For 17 years.

Then, something strange happened. A few years ago, another journeyman minor leaguer-turned coach made the jump to the NHL. In his first season as an NHL coach, he led his team to the playoffs and won the Jack Adams award as coach of the year. Fans of his team became rabid and his stature continued to grow. He's now an icon in the area; a regular guy who made it and who everyone loves. People he's never met call him by his nickname, Gabby. Coincidentally, when he wrote a book about his life, he chose his nickname as the title.

That man is Bruce Boudreau.

About a week ago, I was deep into reading that autobiography when I came across the chapter in which Bruce describes his final few minor league playing seasons. He talked about playing with his best friend, John Anderson, who is now the head coach of the Atlanta Thrashers. He talked about his last seasons in Fort Wayne, playing for the Komets.

Wait.

Where do I know that team from?

...!!!!!!

I raced downstairs to the garage where my box old box of hockey cards sits, gathering dust. I rifled through the older cards and found that old Fort Wayne team set. Ray LeBlanc's card sat at the front of the stack. I quickly shuffled through the cards until I stopped at the two cards I was looking for. John Anderson...

and our own, Bruce 'Gabby' Boudreau.

I no longer collect cards. Sure, I'll buy the odd pack every now and then but I miss the days of bubblegum and cardboard-colored cards. I love my old cards: Bobby Orr, Cam Neely, Ken Dryden. But every so often, I'll find a reason to go digging into the big old box of cards and find a treasure.

Bruce never mentions poor Ray LeBlanc in his memoirs. I wonder if he even remembers him. He retired in 2000 with a career NHL record of 1-0-0, 1.00 GAA, .955 Save%. But if it wasn't for Ray LeBlanc, I wouldn't have these awesome Bruce Boudreau and John Anderson cards.

Thanks Ray!