- Shane O’Brien says Alex Ovechkin gave him the OK to crash the Capitals’ 2009 rookie party in Vancouver
- The night ran long in a Loden Hotel penthouse suite, two days before Washington played the Canucks
- Read below for O’Brien’s full story and the bill the Caps rookies got stuck with
Alex Ovechkin once let a member of the Vancouver Canucks walk right into the Washington Capitals’ rookie party.
Shane O’Brien told the story on the Missin’ Curfew Podcast this week, 16 years after the night in question. The retired defenseman was playing for Vancouver at the time, and he walked through exactly how he got the green light.
“I’ll always love [Alex Ovechkin] because he let me crash the rookie party in Vancouver. I went up to John Erskine first, and I’m like, ‘Hey, am I okay here?’ He’s like, ‘Go ask Ovi.’ And I’m like, ‘Ovi…’ He’s like, ‘Yeah, have fun. Don’t worry. Don’t worry. Go have fun.’”
Here’s O’Brien telling it:
By his own account, he was the last man standing.
It all went down on Wednesday, Dec. 16, 2009, in the penthouse suite of the Loden Hotel in downtown Vancouver. Nightlife entrepreneur Peter Girges put it together, and O’Brien got in through Girges’ friendship with Caps defenseman Shaone Morrisonn.
Having the next day off sealed it.
Two nights later, Washington lost 3-2 to the Canucks. Ovechkin put three shots on net in 24:23. RMNB dug up a 2009 Vancouver Sun item that tied that quiet night to the penthouse, right down to a line about Ovechkin seeing his first West Coast sunrise.
Rookies pay for these things, and this one stung. Semyon Varlamov, Karl Alzner, Michal Neuvirth and Quintin Laing were on the hook for the bill, and Alzner called his credit card company beforehand to warn them what was coming.
Varlamov was asked about the tab afterward by Championat, in comments translated by RMNB.
“It’s a downside for rookies, that we pay for it all. I also had big bill. It was not very nice, but I had to pay. But the party was really very fun. A rookies party happens once in a career.”
Ovechkin wasn’t even captain yet when he waved O’Brien in.
Chris Clark still wore the C in Washington and wasn’t traded to Columbus until Dec. 28, 2009. The letter went to Ovechkin on Jan. 5, 2010.
Catch the full episode here:
Ovi turns 41 next month and is heading into another season as one of the NHL’s oldest players. O’Brien still leads with the party story.
