WASHINGTON, April 9. /TASS/. Russian hockey star and Washington Capitals’ captain Alexander Ovechkin has been nominated by his club for the Bill Masterton Memorial Trophy, US journalist Sammi Silber wrote on her X social network account on Wednesday.
The Bill Masterton Memorial Trophy has been awarded annually since 1968 to the NHL player who best exemplifies the qualities of perseverance, sportsmanship and dedication to the sport of hockey. The trophy was named after Canadian-American player Bill Masterton, who is notably the only player in the NHL history to die from injuries sustained during game play.
Each NHL club nominates a single player from its team for the Bill Masterton award. This year, the Washington Capitals nominated Ovechkin. The Philadelphia Flyers nominated another Russian, goalie Ivan Fedotov. No Russian player has ever won the award in its 57-year history.
On April 6, Ovechkin netted his 895th career regular season goal in a game against the New York Islanders, passing legend Wayne Gretzky for most all-time (894 goals).
In 61 games this season, Ovechkin has 42 goals and 27 assists. Despite missing 16 games earlier in the year with a broken leg, he is still tied for third-most goals in the NHL this season.
Ovechkin has played his entire NHL career with the Washington Capitals, who selected him with the 1st overall pick in the 2004 draft. The Russian superstar led the Caps to a Stanley Cup title in 2018, the only one of his career, and the only one in the club's history.
In 2008, 2012 and 2014, "Ovie," as he is called by his fans, won gold medals at the International Ice Hockey Federation (IIHF) World Championships to go along with his two silver and four bronze medals at the world championships.
Ovechkin has won a slew of NHL awards in his career, including the Calder Memorial Trophy (2006), Art Ross Trophy (2008), Maurice "Rocket" Richard Trophy (2008, 2009, 2013, 2014, 2015, 2016, 2018, 2019, 2020), Hart Memorial Trophy (2008, 2009, 2013), Lester B. Pearson Award/Ted Lindsay Award (2008, 2009, 2010), Conn Smythe Trophy (2018) and others.