27 quotes found
"You can't just stand and say to yourself, 'OK, right now I'm the best. That's it. No more working.' If you're a good player you have to be working harder and harder. This is not just my goal, it's my team goal. We can improve more and we can probably be even better than last year. My dream is to be the best."
"We never give up, we believe in each other, we believe in the coach, we believe in everybody. Only when you believe do you win the Stanley Cup."
"I want to win, I want to win everything. If I have a chance to win, why not?"
"It was a good year. When I win the Stanley Cup, I'll say it's my best year."
"All friends and relatives supported me. I do not know what to say. This is the victory for all Russians, for the whole country. We won the gold medal we were dreaming about. We deserved it."
"I'm ready. They hit me hard. I hit them hard. Doesn't matter who hits. What matters is results."
"I don't want to play for a no-good team. I want to win. I want to be on a good team like we see right now. We have great young guys. We have great experienced guys. Everything goes up."
"We're young and we just have fun and right now we're here in the all-star game and it's unbelievable."
"I don't care what people say about me and what they think about me. I care about my team and I care about myself. Lots of people watch hockey, and I think everybody has different thinking."
"I always look forward to playing in Toronto because it's such a historic city when it comes to hockey."
"I don't think about (being) the face of the NHL - I just enjoy my time right now. Playing in the NHL was my dream come true and I'm playing with great players. I feel trust and I'm happy because I'm having the time of my life."
"My dream has come true. I play with the great players and on a great team. I'm smiling and happy and enjoying the time of my life."
"My goal is the same, work like last year, play hard all the time. Try and score goals."
"Sometimes I want to joke but my English isn't perfect. Sometimes people are wondering what I'm talking about."
"My coaches and teammates really trusted me and gave me a chance to improve. They would come to me after a game I didn't score and say, 'Hey, don't worry about it. Next game you'll score.' The guys were great. It's an unbelievable team. It feels like home for me."
"Alex, you just enjoy watching because he's like a bull in a china shop. And he does everything. He's got all the great skills, and he can run over you as well."
"I don't think pressure, that word, is on his mind. He loves to play hockey and enjoys the way he's playing. He's kind of made me re-establish my thinking."
"You can have the best skill in the world, but he has lots of will and that’s why he’s great. You look at the great young players around the league, including our players that we have here, and it’s their will. That’s what separates great players from medium players."
"He's getting wrapped up before the game and iced down after it. And you see that and you might have an injury, but you are like, 'Well, if Ovie can go out there and skate as hard as he does, I can go out there.' That rubs off on guys a lot, too."
"He's got Mike Bossy's hands, Jari Kurri's on-ice awareness, and Mark Messier's physicality."
"He's a fantastic player. I don't know what else you guys can write about him, but he's the best I've ever played with."
"He's a great player. Everybody knows that. He's a very dangerous player, but if you limit his speed and time to make plays it's tough for anybody. It wasn't just me, it was the whole team playing well defensively against that line."
"Everybody looks comfortable playing on the same line as Ovechkin because that guy is unbelievable. Everybody has said that Alex and Pavel Bure are kind of the same caliber of player, and I think I agree with them. They both scored 50 goals and both are unbelievable. Playing with Alex, you know he's a great player. So you just give him the puck and stay away from him and give him room to operate. It's that easy."
"We're lucky we have personalities on this team. Outgoing guys. (Alexander) Ovechkin is our top player and he's a free spirit. We let them have fun. Maybe there comes a time we need to do something to get to the next step. We'll see. Nothing is forever."
"I have a lot of respect for Ovechkin as a player. I like his enthusiasm. I know the kid has a zest for life and a joy for the game."
"He's one of the worst practice players I've played with. He rests and when the game comes, he flips the switch on. He plays a dominant physical style, so I think he just relaxes in practice and as a veteran player, I admire that."
"He's obviously a dynamic player that you have to pay attention to when he's out there."