Photo credit: Jonathan Hayward

Ever since Alex Ovechkin was drafted by the Washington Capitals, the strangest thing has been happening. In arenas across the continent– even when the Caps Road Crew isn’t in attendance– there always seems to be a bunch of Ovi super fans. I guess it’s hard not to love sick unbelievable goals, big hits, worrying fashion choices, and unintelligible tweets. It’s not just a D.C. thing.

Everywhere Ovi goes, he is mobbed. Fans want autographs, photos, or just a shared moment with The Ovi. He’s a legend after all– a generational talent that everyone wants a piece of. You’d think he’d have gotten numb to all of it.

In Vancouver on Monday, Ovechkin showed us that he hasn’t turned his cheek on the adoring masses yet. After three Hart Trophies, the little people still matter. One of those super fans attended warm-ups, holding up a sign reading, “All I Want 4 My 16th Birthday Is A Puck Ovi” [sic].

(First, points off for the missing comma before the direct address. Second, how do we know it’s your birthday? Show us the birth certificate!)

Ovechkin didn’t ignore it. He grabbed a puck off the ice and tossed it over the glass. The Canadian Press’s Jonathan Hayward snapped the brilliant photo at top.

Look at the kid: Her eyes are trained on the puck with pure excitement.  She’s all, “OMG, this is really happening. My hero is tossing me a puck. I should maybe drop this stupid sign and get ready to catch it.” There are amateur photographers to the kid’s left. They smile like, “Oh, gosh. That Ovi. Wotta guy. I am witnessing a moment here. Maybe I should be taking a photo of this like Jonathan Hayward of The Canadian Press.”

There are so many layers to this photo; it’s like a delicious lasagna of pixels. It’s a tiramisu of kilobytes. It’s a layer cake of bandwidth. I hope you enjoy devouring it as much as I did.

Update: The girl who caught the puck is named Tyler. She wrote about her special night on Tumblr and calls the experience the “BEST MOMENT OF MY LIFE AND BEYOND THE GREATEST BIRTHDAY PRESENT I’VE EVER GOTTEN.” Also, there IS a comma on her sign. Boy, do I have yolk on my face.