I remember Alex Ovechkin and his family mingling and warmly welcoming all of our prospects that were drafted by us. I remember Alex eating about ten cantaloupes and working the door at our fan club event. I remember Mike Green and Chris Bourque bonding and my talking to his dad (Ray Bourque) about the importance of this draft to us as a franchise. I remember Jeff Shultz looking shy and then standing up to meet Alex Ovechkin and Alex saying, “Good. You are tall. You will put on weight and you can help me when I rush down ice.”
We have had some bad drafts in the past – as do many clubs - but this was an exceptionally good draft. To have the MVP and the league’s leading D man scorer come from one draft and for there to be so many players that have or will make it in the NHL is a great testament to our scouts and front office.
I knew something was special in the air at that draft. Kudos to Mike for reminding us all how special it was.
My stomach was in knots all day. I spent the morning nervous about how all the Caps fans in attendance would react if we didn’t select Ovechkin. Then I spent the afternoon nervous in that I had rehearsed a phrase in Russian, welcoming Ovie to the Caps family, and I was sure I’d mess it up.
I’m pretty sure I botched it but you would never know by his reaction. He was very gracious about it and said I did a great job. What a charmer!
I went to the draft and party thanks to Jay and the CapsRoadCrew. Getting to meet AO, Ray Bourque and trading hockey injury stories with Dale Hunter is something I will never forget
The 2004 draft was a success when George selected AO. Everyone knew he would be good, but no one could have seen *how* good he has become.
That so many other good players also came from that draft class shows what a great job George and the scouts did that year (and have done since then.) They’ve had a Calder winner (Ovechkin, and he beat out some other guy from Pittsburgh…), a Calder runner up (Backstrom) and another candidate for the Calder this year (Alzner).
Considering where the Caps were vs. where they are, this team is going to be very strong for a very long time.
I was at that draft day event, thanks to the Caps Road Crew and that is one of the highlites of all the years of being a Caps fan which I have been since day one. I will never forget how outgoing and friendly Mike Green was, he actually went out of his way to meet and talk to the fans. Also I remember Jeff Schultz with his family looking very shy and uncomfortable. I remember how excited I was to see Ray Bourque there but didn’t have the courage to introduce myself. Next to winning the Stanley Cup I think that event will be one of my all time favorite memories of being a Caps fan.
Nice memory. The “fan club” event was actually sponsored by the CapsRoadCrew after your front office folks reached out to the CRC specifically to set it up. In fact, it was I that convinced the front office to even include the fan club in the event (because it meant including an extra 30 or so people than they had planned). But who needs the CRC?