Alexander Ovechkin, a Capitals forward and National Hockey League superstar, became a member of the elite NHL 800-goal club in December 2022. The club includes only three hockey players in league history and our team wanted to commemorate Ovechkin's historic entry with an innovative digital experience to immerse fans in not only this moment, but in his storied career.

After spending time one-on-one with the goal-scoring icon before the start of the season, our team crafted an interactive digital experience that launched the night of Ovechkin's 800th goal. The multimedia presentation offers an engaging, user-driven interface to dive into what is already a nearly two-decade long career in the forms of a video documentary, statistical research, archival video and more.

From the beginning, creators planned to utilize video, data and narrative storytelling. After gaining access to direct time with Ovechkin, it became clear the centerpiece of the experience would be a documentary-style video. The video leads viewers through the chapters of Ovechkin's career beginning on draft night and ending with his entering the 800-goal club. The main video celebrates access to the Capitals forward now as well as access to years of archival footage.

Coded graphics added to the presentation allow data into the video itself but a chapter system was created to dive deeper. Each of the six chapters focuses on unique elements of Ovechkin's career and allows a user-driven timeout from the central video to engage in rich reporting and background data at the viewer's pace.

With little doubt that Ovechkin would break into the 800-club in the 2022-23 season, planning for the project began during the off-season. Once granted access from the Capitals, a photo and video crew worked with Ovechkin to capture an interview as well as unique footage of his style and approach to goal shooting. The main documentary combined this custom footage with interviews and archival footage spanning nearly 20 years. This extensive archival footage was made possible, and the project broadly, because of the companies extensive NHL video rights.

Stepping beyond the central video, six unique "deep-dives" were created to complement the six video chapters. Each dive was imagined as a place for viewers to dive further into the data, history and success of Ovechkin with more numbers, more goals and more stories. Deep dives covered everything from his most iconic goal to a heat map graphic emphasizing Ovechkin's consistency in scoring goals from the "Ovi Office."

The content was collected and produced over the course of three months. In the week leading up to his 800th goal the countdown quickly shrunk, speeding up timelines and publication time. On the night of goal 800, one of three for him that night, the final project published before the game clock ran out to draw in viewers and fans as Ovechkin's name grabbed hold of national headlines.