Alexander Ovechkin put together a legendary season as a rookie to win the Calder Trophy ahead of Sidney Crosby, who tallied 102 points for the Penguins. Ovechkin scored 52 goals, including 21 on the power play, and chipped in 54 assists to lead all rookies in scoring with 106 points. That was good for 3rd overall in the league that season. He is also the last rookie to score 50 or more goals.
Coming into the league Ovechkin was viewed by many as the most talented player to enter the NHL since Mario Lemieux two decades earlier, Ovechkin, the Capitals’ first overall pick in 2004, wasted no time proving the hype surrounding him was well deserved.
The 20-year-old Moscow native scored two goals on opening night. Four months later, he captured the sporting world’s attention by whacking the puck into the net while sliding on his back — a play that has come to be known simply as “The Goal.” By season’s end, Ovechkin had solidified his place in league history by joining Teemu Selanne as the only rookies to record 50 goals and 100 points.