- Cole Hutson picked Alex Ovechkin’s reaction to his first NHL goal as his favorite rookie memory
- Hutson scored in his NHL debut on March 18 and Ovechkin got to him first along the boards
- Read below for Hutson’s full quotes and video of the goal
Cole Hutson scored his first NHL goal back in March. The part he keeps coming back to is Alex Ovechkin celebrating it harder than he did.
ESPN’s Emily Kaplan asked a group of young players at the NHLPA Rookie Showcase in Chicago to name their most memorable rookie moment. Hutson went with that goal, and specifically with the captain who got to him first.
“He was just like, ‘Let’s go.’ He’s pretty fired up,” Hutson said in the questionnaire. “He might’ve been happier than I was, which is pretty crazy.”
The goal came on March 18 against Ottawa at Capital One Arena, in the first NHL game Hutson ever played. He buried a power-play empty-netter with 26 seconds left to close out a 4-1 win, and Ovechkin was the first Capital to wrap him up along the end boards.
Watch the goal that started all of it:
Hutson had no idea the captain was even behind him on the play. Connor McMichael was pointing at the empty net and yelling at him to shoot, and that was all the 20-year-old defenseman could process.
“Everyone was saying you had him open and I just didn’t see him at all,” Hutson said of Ovechkin. “I was just too focused on that. I’ve rewatched it a few times. Everyone watches their first goal. He was definitely open, but just glad I got it out of the way.”
That is the part worth sitting with. Ovechkin had 922 regular-season goals on his resume by then, including one earlier in that same game, and he still lost his mind over a rookie’s empty-netter.
Cole’s parents were in the building, and the broadcast found them a second after the puck crossed the line. Mom had her hands over her face, dad was already out of his seat, and the whole row went with them.
McMichael explained his own role after the game. He had the two-on-one and could have shot it himself.
“I went up on the two-on-one, and then once I realized it was him, I kind of bailed,” McMichael said. “You only get one chance to score in your first NHL game, so it’s definitely a moment that he’ll remember a lot more than me, and so I’m really happy for him.”
Washington made him give a speech in the room afterward, puck in hand. Take a look:
The 43rd pick in 2024 has spent the summer telling stories about his new teammates, including the time Tom Wilson chewed him out over a turnover. Ovechkin’s reaction to that first goal is the story he leads with.
