What Alex Ovechkin is like in the dressing room, according to Bruce Boudreau originally appeared on NBC Sports Washington
The “Young Guns” days of the Washington Capitals gave the league perhaps its most fun and electric team night in and night out. And the most fun and electric player of the bunch was also the team’s best player.
Alex Ovechkin made waves early in his career not just for what he did on the ice, but how he did it with a mix of eccentric celebrations and a fun personality off the ice. His former coach, Bruce Boudreau, was the man tasked with
“I don’t know what he’s like now, now that he’s getting to be a little bit older of a senior citizen,” Boudreau joked on Capitals Postgame Live. “When he was younger, he was always laughing and talking. He took the game so serious, but he wanted to have fun too. He was the epitome of fun when he was younger.”
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Ovechkin won the Art Ross in 2008, the Maurice “Rocket” Richard Trophy in 2008 and 2009 and the Hart in 2008 and 2009 under Boudreau and led the Capitals to the playoffs in each season. He was named captain in 2010 In early 2011, Boudreau was replaced by Dale Hunter.
The era of the Capitals with Boudreau behind the bench leading Ovechkin, Alex Semin, Nicklas Backstrom and Mike Green were one of the most fun teams in recent memory in the NHL, and Ovechkin’s style, on and off the ice, was a big reason why.
“In the dressing room, it showed,” Boudreau continued. “It was pretty funny, you could sit in there and from the coach’s office where I was, you could hear him yelling or at practice at Kettler (IcePlex), I was like doors away from him but you could still hear him screaming and having fun with the guys. (He’s a) tremendous person.”
