Sport
20 April, 2025
Oscar's deep dive - National Hockey League (NHL)
Oscar writes about the National Hockey League and Alex Ovechkin's record breaking goals.
National Hockey League (NHL)
I just watched history happen in the National Hockey League (NHL), that’s ice hockey, not what we play on the synthetic grass here in Australia.
Alex Ovechkin, a Russian-born player who plays for the Washington Capitals, scored his 895th goal and broke the all-time scoring record held by Wayne Gretzky.
It happened on April 6 in a game against the New York Islanders. Even though the Capitals lost 4–1, everyone was cheering because Ovechkin did something no one else has ever done!
Wayne Gretzky is a total legend in hockey.
People call him “The Great One” because he’s probably the best player ever.
He played from in the NHL from 1979 to 1999 and scored 894 goals.
Before Gretzky, the goal-scoring record was held by Gordie Howe, who had 801 goals.
When Gretzky passed him in 1994, it was a huge deal, just like Ovechkin passing Gretzky now.
Gordie Howe was known as “Mr. Hockey” and played more than 30 seasons (25 with the Detroit Red Wings). He even played his last game at 52 years old!
So for Gretzky to pass Howe, and now Ovechkin to pass Gretzky, it’s like the passing of the title between the greatest players in hockey history. Howe was there when Gretzky passed his record, and Gretzky was at the game when Ovechkin passed his.
Some people call ice hockey the fastest sport in the world, with the puck travelling at 160 km per hour regularly and once recorded at 178 km/h! The rink is about 60m by 25m, just a bit bigger than an Olympic sized swimming pool.
The players skate at speeds between 30 and 40 km/h! That’s a lot of people moving quickly with a puck flying around in the middle of it all.
Fun facts:
There have been two Australians who have played in the NHL, Nathan Walker and Jordan Spence. Nathan Walker was the first Australian to play in the NHL.
He was born in Wales but moved to Australia when he was a kid. He played for the St. Louis Blues. Jordan Spence is the first Australian born player to play in the NHL.
He currently plays for the Los Angeles Kings.
It’s amazing to make it to the top level of a sport when there are hardly any ice skating rinks in the whole of Australia.
