Spencer Carbery on whether any younger NHL player compares to Alex Ovechkin and Wayne Gretzky: 'They are in rare, rare company'

""There's so many great players in the league right now. I'd be hard pressed, though, that company that you're talking about, the Ovis and Waynes - I mean, you look at Connor (McDavid) and - but I mean, they are in rare, rare company, of what they've been able to do for as long (as they have)," Carbery said. "That's the key, right? Is the consistency and to be able to do it for 17, 18, 19 years."

""There's some phenomenal players in the league that you look at right now. If they continue to do that for another 10 years - but that's hard. That's half the battle, is the attrition of being able to play at such a high level: score, and produce, and be productive, and still be a difference maker on a winning hockey team. And to be able to do that for 20 years, those two guys are one of a kind.""

Alex Ovechkin, age 40, scored his 895th career goal on April 6 to pass Wayne Gretzky and later became the first NHL player to reach 900 goals; he also played his 1,500th game in October. Those milestones reflect exceptional goalscoring ability and remarkable longevity. Achieving similar records requires sustained consistency, durability, resistance to aging, and the capacity to remain a difference maker on winning teams across 17–20 years. Few current players combine early-career scoring totals and the potential for that kind of multi-decade production. Connor McDavid has 371 goals in 737 games, while Ovechkin had 459 in that span.

Read at RMNB