What's with this headcase ********? Wouldn't you be scared at the prospect of moving to a different country to get your career going in which you had to learn a second language, which happens to be among the most difficult languages to learn in the world?
Alex has already played in the NHL, and he caused no problems in the locker room. In fact, he was well liked despite being relatively quiet. He also has two great russian speaking mentors in Zubrus and Alex 1.
He was labeled as not living up to his potential in Russia, but he was also forced to play for some random team to which he had zero loyalty. Last year he scored 19 goals in 50 games in the RSL. In comparison, Ovechkin had 13 in 37 (granted, AO was younger, but the pace is even more impressive).
An article or two that claims he has attitude issues is far from enough to substantiate a rumor.
The chance that he will bust is very, very small. He's already succeeded relatively well in the NHL as a 19 year old where he was the best forward on the caps. 2 years later, he is about 20 pounds heavier and playing on a better, more youth oriented caps team in which he will avoid the oppositions top defenders. If he were eligible, the calder trophy wouldn't be out of the question.
Simply put, there's no way in hell Alex S is overrated. He makes up completely original moves, pulls them off and has a top notch wrister that surprised me coming from a relatively small player. The hype is there for a reason and I can't wait for him to back in up and prove his detractors wrong.
