Alex Ovechkin has played against some of the greatest players in NHL history, and is one of the greatest players in NHL history himself, so he knows greatness when he sees it.
In a recent interview for Fonbet, Ovechkin was asked by former NHL player Nikita Filatov and retired pro soccer player Andrey Arshavin to share the three forwards and three defensemen he admires most in today’s NHL.
While most of the players could be guessed, there are a few that may surprise you.
Alex Ovechkin‘s three most impressive forwards in today’s NHL
“Alright, forwards, (Nathan) MacKinnon, (Connor) McDavid, and (Kirill) Kaprizov,” Ovechkin said on an episode of Fonbet’s FONtour NHL show, as translated by Google Translate. “They’re the best right now. They dominate.”
Nathan MacKinnon is having another ultra-productive season for the league-best Colorado Avalanche, posting 117 points (48g, 69a) through 71 games. He currently ranks third in the league in scoring and is two goals ahead of Cole Caufield in the race for the 2026 Rocket Richard Trophy as this season’s top goal scorer.
Since debuting during the 2013-14 campaign, MacKinnon is one of just five players to record over 1,000 points. He won his first Hart Trophy as NHL MVP in 2024 and should be in the running for the award again this year.
Connor McDavid is one of just two players ahead of MacKinnon in overall scoring this season, notching a league-leading 124 points (42g, 82a) in 74 games for the Edmonton Oilers. He hasn’t won the Art Ross Trophy as the league’s top scorer since the 2023 season, but has already won it five times in his career.
McDavid has led the Oilers to back-to-back appearances in the Stanley Cup Final. He has the Oilers positioned to make another playoff run as they currently occupy second in the NHL’s Pacific Division.
Kirill Kaprizov is the only Russian player that Ovechkin named, spurning another potential pick like Nikita Kucherov. The 28-year-old winger ranks 13th in scoring with 81 points (39g, 42a) in 72 games for the Minnesota Wild.
Since his Calder Trophy-winning 2020-21 rookie season, Kaprizov is third among all Russian players in scoring with 467 points (224g, 243a) in 391 games. Ovechkin and Kaprizov are good friends off the ice, and Kaprizov famously wore an Ovechkin jersey during the 2022 NHL All-Star Breakaway Challenge.
Earlier in the interview, Ovechkin also mentioned Kaprizov as the potential next face of Russian hockey after he retires. After remarking that the only question mark for the Wild winger is staying healthy, Ovechkin said, “I think Kaprizov is the most promising. He’s an enormous talent.”
Alex Ovechkin‘s three most impressive defensemen in today’s NHL
“(Cale) Makar, (Lane) Hutson, and (Quinn) Hughes,” Ovechkin said. “Offensive defensemen, for sure. Guys who can dish and take the puck, deke around a few people, they’re not afraid to make any move.”
Cale Makar is producing at a point-per-game rate again this season with 72 points (20g, 52a) in 72 games for the Colorado Avalanche. He ranks fourth among all defenders in scoring and is one of just six blueliners to score at least 20 goals this year.
The 27-year-old won the Norris Trophy last season as the NHL’s top defender, the second time he has taken home the award. Makar recently recorded his 500th career point and is the only defenseman to record 500 points since his regular-season debut during the 2019-20 campaign.
Lane Hutson makes his way onto Ovechkin’s list in only his second full NHL season. The 22-year-old brother of current Capitals defenseman Cole Hutson has followed up his Calder Trophy-winning 2024-25 season with another high-scoring 2025-26 campaign, notching 73 points (11g, 62a) in 73 games for the Montreal Canadiens.
Hutson and the Habs are holding strong in the Eastern Conference as the third-place team in the Atlantic Division, looking to one-up their first-round series loss to the Capitals last year. Hutson had five assists in the five-game defeat to the Caps.
Quinn Hughes recently won a gold medal as Team USA’s top defender at the 2026 Winter Olympics and is having another starring NHL season with 72 points (6g, 66a) in 68 games. Hughes was traded by the Vancouver Canucks to the Minnesota Wild in December and has racked up 45 assists in 42 games since then.
Hughes, the 2024 Norris Trophy winner, only participated in the playoffs twice with the Canucks in seven seasons. The Wild are third in the Central Division, destined for a matchup with the Dallas Stars in the first round.
The Capitals have no remaining games this season against any of the players Ovechkin named. So, if Ovechkin were to move on from the NHL after this year, he will have already wrapped up his career against those six stars.
