When the big thing happened this weekend, i.e., Alex Ovechkin scoring his 895th career goal, breaking Wayne Gretzky’s 26-year record, the game between the Washington Capitals and New York Islanders stopped short to commemorate the moment. First there was the roaring applause, then the video tributes where Ovechkin’s family shared emotional messages for him, and then the speeches. Giving credit to the boys, his coach, Islanders goaltender Ilya Sorokin for ‘letting’ him score, all of the fans, the whole world, Russia, his mother, family, beautiful wife, father-in-law, and beautiful kids, he did leave out a few names.

The contributions of John Buccigross of ESPN and Dave Amber from the NHL Network—who saw this moment coming long before most others—were not mentioned. These two were some of the earliest voices to predict Alex Ovechkin’s success, and their support was integral to the trajectory that led him to this incredible achievement. Elliotte Friedman and Kyle Bukauskas of the 32 Thoughts podcast examine the roles these commentators played in predicting Ovi’s record.

First, it’s hard to overstate the role of John Buccigross, ESPN analyst, who, almost 14 years ago, in 2010, predicted that Ovechkin would surpass Gretzky by scoring consistently into his late 30s. He even laid out specific numbers, suggesting that Ovechkin would reach 914 goals by age 38—a projection that seemed bold at the time but now stands as a testament to his foresight, considering how close Ovechkin has gotten just a year later at 39.

As Elliotte Friedman of 32 Thoughts recalled on the podcast, “The person who mentioned it first was John Buccigross of ESPN… He was the first to say that this record was possible, believing in it before Ovechkin even believed in it himself.”

This kind of long-term vision is what sets Buccigross apart, and yet, in Ovechkin’s moment of glory, the analyst’s name was noticeably absent from his list of thank-yous. However, to give Ovechkin some credit, he’d said it before. Friedman didn’t fail to add, “As Ovechkin has even said (Buccigross) was the first person ever to ask him about it, and John has retweeted the blog he wrote about it from back in February of 2010,” drawing attention to Buccigross’ blog post that analyzed the stats and led to that bold prediction.

Dave Amber was another figure who predicted Ovechkin’s success and also didn’t receive recognition in the aftermath. Amber, who works for the NHL Network, shared a surprising stat two games before the goal, noting that both Ovechkin and Gretzky could tie the record in nearly the exact same number of games, as Ovechkin, who was at 1,485, was just 2 games behind Gretzky when he made the record. Amber had flagged this alignment of numbers before it became reality.

However, had Ovi not passed up on all those empty nets to break the records, maybe another one of Buccigross’ predictions would’ve been right! While Buccigross and Amber kept the faith, it was Ovechkin’s Caps family that helped him get there on the ice.

The journey to 895 goals was not a lonely one for Alex Ovechkin

In addition to Buccigross and Amber, other figures like Nicklas Bäckström—Ovechkin’s longtime teammate and crucial playmaker—were absent from the thank-yous. Bäckström’s connection with Ovechkin has been pivotal throughout their careers, and his role in helping Ovechkin achieve this milestone is huge. He provided the assist on 279 of Ovechkin’s goals. That’s more than any other player!

Similarly, Barry Trotz, who coached the Capitals to their first Stanley Cup victory in 2018, helped shape Alex Ovechkin into the leader he is today, but his name also went unmentioned in Ovechkin’s address. Before the 2018 victory, Trotz told Ovechkin, “‘If you stick with it, the [players] will follow you. If you do this, this, this, and this, I guarantee you they’ll follow you and everything will be washed away.'” 

Dylan Strome, a newer addition to the Capitals, however, did manage to get a nod for his secondary assist on the goal, and it was clear how proud he was to be part of the historic moment. As Friedman pointed out, “You could just see how gleeful and giddy Dylan Strome was after the puck went in. Through all the postgame aftermath and celebrations, obviously, everyone’s happiest for Ovechkin. But when you look at who assisted on the goal, Strome’s name will forever be part of Ovechkin’s 895th goal.”

It’s Strome who’s taken up the mantle vacated by the injured Backstrom this season. In his absence, Strome has assisted on 21 of Ovechkin’s 42 goals this season.

Success, especially one as monumental as this, doesn’t happen in a vacuum. While the appreciation for Ovechkin’s team, family, and fans is clear, the contributions of figures like Buccigross, Amber, Bäckström, and Trotz should not be forgotten. Their faith, their predictions, and their constant support for Ovechkin have been heartening, and belief is worth commemorating at a time like this.

However, to cut Ovechkin some slack, the ceremony had already been 15 minutes long, and he had a game to get back to! Furthermore, he did thank ‘the whole world,’ thereby technically covering all of the above.