Alex Ovechkin "Mean as a bear"

I read a post earlier this afternoon that Tarik El-Bashir posted on the Capitals Insider on washingtonpost.com. It had to do with an interview he conducted with Bruce Boudreau this past Sunday at Boudreau's 29th annual Golden Horseshoe Hockey School in St. Catharines, Ontario.

The post was about an apparent conversation Boudreau and Ovechkin had a Kettler Capitals Iceplex last month where Boudreau informed Ovechkin of his expectations of Ovie for the upcoming season. Needless to say, they are high, but not unrealistic, nor unreasonable.

Boudreau said he expects Ovechkin to come to training camp "as mean as a bear" after the worst statistical season of his NHL career. Ovechkin certainly has much to prove next season, but it isn't just on the stat sheet.

According to Boudreau, he told Ovechkin that he needs to take his role as team captain a step further and establishing a more serious tone in the dressing room the first day of training camp. Boudreau, according to the post, also told Tarik "we're not all 22-year-old guys anymore. He's the captain. I think he's a great captain on the ice because no one works as hard as him, and no one wants to win more than him."

Tarik also wrote that he felt Boudreau was trying to tell Ovechkin to also be more vocal and assertive in the locker room and less concerned about hurting feelings.

Boudreau is right in everything he said to Ovechkin and hopefully Ovie listened. I know there are those that will read this and say "it's about time" and that Ovechkin should have made this turn in his maturity sooner.

I don't totally disagree with those opinions because Sidney Crosby's maturity has been arguably his greatest virtue since coming into the league, and we've all seen how quickly the young guns for the Blackhawks matured.

But, there are plenty of 25-year old males in this world that aren't professional athletes that aren't mature. So, if it is now that Ovechkin has finally realized where he needs to grow up and improve himself it certainly hasn't come to late.

It sounds like he may have as Boudreau said Ovie plans on coming back from Russia earlier then he has in the past.

There are also some that are going to say Boudreau should've had these discussions with Ovechkin two, three years ago. For all we know, he very well may have, it may have just taken a few years and a several playoff disappointments for that message to sink in.

What I'm taking from Tarik's report is very positive. If Ovechkin has indeed turned the corner in his maturity, the sky is the limit for both he and the team. A more serious minded and mature Ovechkin is a scary thought.

Imagine what he will be able to do this season if he's in top shape at the start of camp in both his weight, stamina and no nagging injuries.

Even more so, if Ovechkin's teammates follow his lead and come into camp with a more serious attitude which I imagine they will with the additions of Troy Brouwer, Joel Ward, Jeff Halpern and Roman Hamerlik, this very well could be the year they turn the corner and win the Cup.

Of course, at the moment this is all speculation. But, if the picture Dan Steinberg posted of Ovechkin at a Russian youth hockey camp a few weeks ago are any indication of what he's going to do this season, all I can say is watch out.