Er ist grau geworden und sieht eher aus wie 49 statt 39. Doch Alexander Ovechkin ist immer noch einer der besten Eishockeyspieler der Welt und seit dem vergangenen Wochenende Rekordtorschütze in der NHL. Bei den New York Islanders erzielte der russische Stürmer der Washington Capitals den 895. Treffer seiner Karriere (reguläre Saison) und überholte den legendären Wayne Gretzky (64). Für den historischen Moment war der Kanadier extra nach New York gekommen. Dort sah er, wie Ovechkin nach seinem Rekordtor auf dem Bauch über das Eis rutschte, bevor sich seine Mitspieler auf ihn stürzten.
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„Endlich kommen andere Fragen“, sagte Ovechkin nach dem Spiel mit einem Lächeln. Über Wochen war seine Rekordjagd das große Thema in Nordamerika. Nun kann Ovechkin seine Bestmarke weiter ausbauen. Denn sein Vertrag (9,5 Millionen Dollar pro Jahr) läuft noch eine weitere Saison.
„Was er leistet, ist phänomenal“, sagt Edmonton-Star Leon Draisaitl (29), der aktuell mit 52 Treffern überlegen die NHL-Torschützenliste anführt. „Er hat in seiner ersten NHL-Saison schon über 50 Tore geschossen, da habe ich als Zehnjähriger bei den Kölner Haien in der Jugend gespielt. Und jetzt, 19 Jahre später, spielen wir gegeneinander, und er schießt immer noch seine Tore mit einer herausragenden Frequenz. Konstant über so viele Jahre auf so hohem Niveau abzuliefern, das ist für mich das Beeindruckende an seiner Karriereleistung.“
Auch in dieser Saison erzielte der Russe schon 42 Tore und liegt auf Platz vier der Torschützenliste. Seit 2005 spielt Ovechkin in der NHL und ist seitdem den Washington Capitals treu geblieben. „Ovi“ wird er von den Fans liebevoll genannt oder auch „The Great Eight“ in Anlehnung an seine Trikotnummer.
[–>Seine Spielweise ist untypisch für einen Russen. Der 1,91 Meter große und 107 Kilo schwere Ovechkin ist mehr eine Dampfwalze als ein filigraner Kufenvirtuose wie früher die legendären Vladimir Krutov, Igor Larionov und Sergei Makarov. Er kann sich mit knallharten Checks im Zweikampf behaupten und scheut sich auch nicht vor Faustkämpfen auf dem Eis. Zu seinem Markenzeichen ist die Zahnlücke oben links geworden.
Seine größte Stärke: der Abschluss. Ovechkin ist Spezialist für Direktschüsse, die sogenannten „One-timer“. Am liebsten positioniert er sich links vor dem gegnerischen Tor, lauert auf den Pass und hämmert den Puck mit bis zu 150 km/h ins Netz. Genau so erzielte er auch sein 894. Tor, durch das er mit Gretzky gleichzog. Vor seinem 895. Tor nahm er den Puck immerhin kurz an.
Neunmal wurde Ovechkin Torschützenkönig in der NHL – viermal häufiger als Gretzky, der allerdings ein besserer Passgeber war. Für seine 895 Tore brauchte Ovetchkin 1487 Spiele – genauso viele wie Gretzky für seine 894 Tore. Bei den Stanley-Cup-Siegen wiederum liegt Ovechkin mit dem einen Titel von 2018 hinter Gretzky, der viermal NHL-Meister wurde.
Sportlich ist Ovechkin über jeden Zweifel erhaben, doch es gibt auch Kritik. Das liegt an seiner Nähe zum russischen Präsidenten Wladimir Putin. 2017 gründete er sogar das „Team Putin“ und rief zur Wiederwahl des Präsidenten auf. Auch drei Jahre nach Russlands Angriff auf die Ukraine hat der Eishockey-Star auf Instagram ein Bild zusammen mit Putin als Profilfoto. Intern soll er das mit der Sorge um seine Familie, die in Moskau lebt, begründet haben. Auf Fragen nach dem Krieg antwortete er anfangs mit der Aussage, er wünsche sich Frieden, inzwischen äußert er sich nicht mehr zu dem Thema.
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