Eddie Olczyk only scored xxx goals in his 1x-year NHL career, but he knows a thing or two about making history in New York, and he was on the call for TNT Sunday wen Alex Ovechkin scored his 895th career goal against the Islanders.
And the atmosphere at UBS Arena was unlike anything he’d ever seen – especially for a player on the road team chasing a milestone.
But what’s most impressive, obviously, is Ovi, and how he’s evolved from the physical player he tried to be early on to the more savvy player he is now…while never losing that goal-scoring touch.
“I’ve said this over the last handful of years, but it seemed to gain more traction as he got closer and people wonder how he’s done it – but unfairly, some people have talked about him being one-dimensional, just a goal scorer,” Edzo said. “He's the farthest from being a one-dimensional hockey player, and does way more than just score goals. Schematically, he opens up the ice and always has, and you got to account for him, so there's something for that, but he sees the ice, he’s a very good passer, and he forechecks extremely well. Then you add in the physical confrontation that he has the ability…he was always willing to run somebody into the third or fourth row, and he would pick his spots, but as he’s gotten older, he’s learned and understood that takes a piece out of you, and you don't have maybe as much energy to play on the offensive side. I think that what's happened here the last five years is he realizes he’s going to be much more selective – you still have to have your head up because he might think about running you into the third row, but what he’s done has kept him healthier and given him more energy within games to be able to bypass those hits and be much more selective.”
Listen to Olczyk’s entire visit with Grant & Danny above!