Ovechkin Announces Final Season: Washington's 21-Year 'Ovechkin Effect' Enters Its Farewell Lap
Washington's hockey era of one man is entering its farewell lap. Capitals captain Alex Ovechkin announced on October 5 that the 2026-27 campaign will be his final NHL season. NHL.com marked the announcement with a look at his two-decade imprint on the region: since Ovechkin arrived in 2005-06, registered youth and adult hockey players in USA Hockey's Potomac Valley region have surged 73 percent, from 12,856 in his rookie season to 22,222 last season. Before 2005, hockey sat well behind pro football and college basketball in Washington's sporting hierarchy. Twenty-one years on, the League's all-time goals leader leaves a region transformed. Source: NHL.com
Published by GSM · USA (original Chinese edition)
Photo: Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 2.0, AlexanderJonesi
