It has been an incredibly eventful summer for 32-year-old Alexander Ovechkin, the Captain of the Washington Capitals. Not only was he able to hoist his first ever Stanley Cup this past June, but he and his wife welcomed their son Sergei into the world. He is their first child. The name also has some significance for Alexander as Sergei was the name of his late Uncle who passed away when Alex was only 10 years old.

While Ovechkin winning his first Cup won't put the debate on who's better between Sidney Crosby or the Capitals superstar to bed, it will at least cement him as what he should be recognized as, a generational player who defines the game as it stands right now — fast-paced and end-to-end scoring opportunities with very little time spent in the neutral zone. That should be evident in the fact he was drafted first overall in the 2004 NHL Entry Draft, a year where fellow star Russian forward Evgeni Malkin went second overall.

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Not only has Ovechkin won the Cup and had a son in the same year, he has also won the Conn Smythe as the MVP of this year's playoffs as well. Thus adding to his plethora of NHL hardware which includes the Calder Memorial Trophy (awarded to the Rookie Of The Year) along with multiple wins of the Maurice "Rocket" Richard Trophy which is awarded to the top goal scorer each year.

Congratulations to Alexander and his wife Anastasia on having their son. It will be interesting to see how being a father changes Ovechkin as a player if at all. One thing is for certain though, he will remain a dominant force for a while longer in the NHL even if he is starting to leave his prime years behind him as he will be 33 come September. That should be no problem for Ovechkin, however, as he is a pacesetter when it comes to the game. He can speed things up or slow them down. As exemplified by his 1122 points in 1003 NHL contests. Overall an impressive feat.

NEXT: ALEX OVECHKIN'S LEGACY WOULD BE TARNISHED IF HE NEVER WON A CUP