Washington Capitals captain Alex Ovechkin Scored one of the biggest goals in hockey history on December 23rd. The Great Eight put up the 802nd empty-net goal against the Winnipeg Jets and He passed the legendary Gordie Howe for the second-leading scorer in the NHL.
We have all seen that the most prominent event was broadcast by television networks. However, the best angle of aim on the iPhone 13 Max may have been captured by a Capitals fan sitting on the glass.
capital Cities Posting this goal angle on their Instagram account Four days after the puck crossed the goal line. It features a view through the glass of Ovechkin flipping over Jets defender Josh Morrissey and blindly shooting the puck into an empty net.
The video also captures the ensuing celebration on the ice as the Capitals off the bench to celebrate with Ovechkin.
capital Cities He added the caption, “This corner with >>>”, The Instagram post went beyond praising the amateur camera work.
The person who took the video is Tyler Casagrande – A native of Leesburg, Virginia and an Arizona Wildcats baseball player. Casagrande attended Paul VI Catholic High School in Fairfax and Riverside High School in Leesburg before heading to Arizona.
“My dad’s had a season ticket since 2004,” Casagrande said. “He started taking me to games when I was five years old. Nearly 20 years later, we still have the same two seats in the M and Add-on rows.” [the] Two seats on the glass about 10 years ago.”
Casagrande saw a lot of great things from those benches, incl Third games And the Four cup finalistsAnd the Game Seven winner for Sergey Fedorov in 2009And the Mike Ribeiro’s goal in game five in 2013.
“The list goes on and on,” Casagrande said.
He was also inside the T-Mobile Arena when the Capitals won the Stanley Cup on June 7, 2018.
To start the game against the Jets, Tyler was actually across the rink in the original Row M seats. It turns out that the story behind Ovi’s big hit in the movie all comes from a well-calculated crossover arena seat transition mid-game to his family’s “newer” seats on the glass.
“To be completely honest with you, that was definitely considered,” Casagrande said. “My family of five was in on the game. I was sitting in row M across from the ice with my parents while my sisters watched on the glass. Dad and I said we needed to sit on the trophy in the third period because we knew he was going to get an 802. I said to my dad’s face That he’d score right in front of Alibaba’s painting in his office. When I put my Laviolette Ovi there, I pulled out my camera for the last minute and a half. It’s unreal to get a video of that caliber.”
So how did he end up awarding a baseball player named first-team all-conference, first-team all-district, first-team all-district, and first-team all-state as a junior and senior in high school. Big hockey fan?
“Father,” said Casagrande. He was born in 1977 shortly after the arrival of the caps. My grandfather was taking him to games in the old capital city center that day. The tradition continued when my father started taking me to games when I was very young. Ovechkin’s arrival definitely piqued my interest. He captivated the whole damn town and turned Our franchise to strength. It was impossible not to become a Caps fan.”
Casagrande, who made 25 professional starts for the University of Arizona on the Diamonds last season, also played two seasons of hockey at Northern Virginia High School Hockey.
“Hockey in high school was a blast,” said Casagrande. “I played hockey because of my love for hats. Going to games from a young age made me want to play. I was always a baseball player first, but I played hockey for the pure fun of it and to give me something else to do other than baseball. I think it definitely made me a better baseball player in terms of the form I get She put me in it, speed, leg strength, and hand-eye coordination. Obviously, I’m still a baseball player, but I miss it.”
Casagrande has also done some really cool things off the baseball field and outside of Capital One Arena. This side of the story begins when the NCAA passed a Name, Image, and Likeness bill in July of 2021 that allows college athletes to benefit from the use of their name, image, and likeness in any deals they may receive from sponsors.
“Once NIL became an official thing in July, I tried to work on it quickly and get the most out of it,” Casagrande Tell Daily Wildcat Back in September.
The first thing he did was pair with a relationship he had at BreakingT, the Washington, D.C.-based real-time sporting goods company founded by Jimmy Mottram, to strike up a T-shirt deal. Casagrande immediately linked that to Children’s Cancer Foundation of Diamond Children’s Medical Center It is located in Tucson, Arizona, and is operated by Banner Health.
Through Proceeds from T-shirt sales with BreakingTCasagrande was able to provide Diamond Children’s Medical Center with $10,000 to fight pediatric cancer. his shirts Still available for purchase.
“The cooler aspect of the process wasn’t the NIL deal, but actually the pairing with Banner Health,” he continued. “I had to go to the hospital before I donated and meet the kids and parents just so I could see where my money was going.”
What a great story and great footage to boot. Well done all around, Tyler.
Full coverage of Alex Ovechkin’s connection and Gordie Howe pass