Why Ovechkin’s Record Was the Antidote to Our Achievement-Starved Era
A torch passed in the most ancient way: through mastery, not media.
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This past Sunday, history was made. Alexander Ovechkin scored his 895th goal and broke the record for All-Time Goals scored, previously held by Wayne Gretzky. No one, including a young Ovechkin, thought this would ever happen. But. Here. We. Are.
It was amazing!
Take a look.
While those outside the hockey world may have missed it, inside this is as big a deal as the Berlin Wall coming down or Nixon going to China. The importance is not just in an accomplishment of dogged perseverance, but it is also in the moment of respect for the sports traditions and the history that has gone before them, both things which are deeply lacking in other cultural areas.
Breaking this record resonated in another important way. It was also a moment of unapologetic masculine achievement, the sort young men are too often taught to view with suspicion rather than pride.
Gretzky was there to witness the event, both on Friday when Ovechkin tied his record and again Sunday when he broke it. When that last goal finally happened, the game stopped and a ceremony began, complete with carpet hastily pulled over the ice and photographs that will someday go up in the hockey hall of fame. It was a beautiful moment of achievement, celebration, ritual, and honoring of one incredibly gifted player to his successor.
Both men were equally humble despite being select members of a two-person group. Ovechkin had the opportunity to break the record back on Friday by scoring on an empty net, a statistically efficient but anticlimactic goal, but he chose to wait for circumstances that made it feel earned. He didn’t even leave the bench when the opposing team pulled their goalie in a last-ditch effort to tie the game.
Instead, two days later he secured the record. Scoring while the net was defended by a goalie he had never bested. He stacked up the challenges he’d willingly placed before himself.
At a time when so many people, inside and outside of the sports world are focused on getting validation for posturing or trivial deviations from the norm, it’s refreshing to dip back into the hockey world and hear two great players talk of everyone that helped them reach the top, how they were taught to be part of a team, and extended themselves for years to reach the pinnacle of the sport.
Detractors might say that hockey is a brutal sport. People have complained for years about the fighting. The sport has been called out for sexism, homophobia, racism, hazing, being exclusionary, entitled, toxically masculine, and privileged, especially at the peak of recent idenity shaming cultural warfare.
I’m sure there have been instances of all of those things. Like in any other group, bad things sometimes happen, and people are gonna be people.
What critics often overlook are the deeply positive values hockey cultivates—especially for men. As a fast-paced, physically demanding team sport, success hinges on cooperation. Even a legend like Ovechkin can't win games alone.
The culture of the sport reinforces that ethos. Excessive or disrespectful goal celebrations are generally frowned upon, while humility, discipline, and respect for the game are held in high regard. Off the ice, giving back is woven into the fabric of hockey life: support for charities, veterans, and youth sports is a standard part of nearly every game.
Then there are the cherished traditions and quirky rituals—growing playoff beards, tossing hats after a hat trick, the octopus on the ice, singing both national anthems, tapping sticks for encouragement, or boxing for luck. And above all, the playoff handshake line. After brutal, high-stakes battles, every player—win or lose—lines up to shake hands. It’s a powerful, tangible reminder that no matter how fierce the competition, animosity ends with the final buzzer.
As a contained space for competition, players push themselves and each other physically and emotionally. They also push the rules, constantly testing the limits of what is allowed. That’s part of what sparks some fights, but also the excitement that draws both players and fans to the game.
Hockey offers an essential outlet for the physically competitive drive that many men feel. As much as modern culture may pretend we've outgrown violent impulses, that belief is not just naïve—it’s dangerous. Violence, particularly masculine violence, played a central role in building the world we live in. It's a force with two faces: destructive, yes—but also protective, boundary-setting, and necessary in moments of real threat.
Shaming men for this aspect of their nature doesn't blunt its edge; it only drives it underground. And eliminating it entirely shouldn't be the goal. Anyone who's ever faced a hostile situation knows there are times when violence is the right response.
The real challenge lies in learning discernment—when to hold back, and when to act. Hockey, for all its speed and intensity, provides a contained, rule-bound space to work through those questions. Even the fights serve a purpose: a release valve, a test of limits, and sometimes a reset for respect.
That’s not to say all men feel compelled to test themselves physically, or that this is the sole way to cultivate fortitude and wisdom. Some excel in other realms—art, intellect, mentorship—and that’s worthy of honor too. Neither path makes one better than the other. What matters is that both are grounded in something real: in effort, in striving, in sacrifice.
Ovechkin’s moment wasn’t just a sports milestone. It was a reminder that some victories are earned the hard way—over decades, not tweets. In a world starved for authentic achievement and the rituals that honor it, hockey gave us something rare: a moment of respect between legends, for a legacy built not on self-expression, but self-mastery.
Perhaps it will even remind a generation of men that greatness is still worth chasing, and that some traditions are worth preserving.
Housekeeping
This has been a spring of juggling meetings. Some in person, and even more online. I’ve spent some time working over the model legislation. I have quite a bit more of that to do. The process is shining a light on what values underlie the law.
While I haven’t quite got there yet, I can see some time spent reading legal philosophy in my future.
One thing that I have observed in my in person meetings is that here in Tennessee, folks are particularly stirred up to change law. There has been both protests of the current president, and targeted action over issues.
While social media has simmered down, I’m getting the feeling that this summer may be intense. It’s a little too early to make any specific perdictions, but my intuiton is tingling. We’ll see what happens.
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I’ve also been on several podcasts lately. If you haven’t yet, please check them out. The list is below. If there is something in particular you’re curious about, do ask questions in the comments.
Ideological Oasis with Karen King,
The Radical Center with Leslie Boyce,
Ryan Rogers’—author of The Woke Mind—channel,
Outliers in Exile with Gen X Jeff, and have scheduled two recordings on the horizon. Thank you all!
These are prior podcast appearances that flesh out more details from my time in grad school.
Critical Therapy Antidote—An hour-long podcast that goes deep into the gaslighting and projection I experienced.
Genspect—Leslie Elliot Boyce and I share our stories with Sally Satel, Andrew Hartz, and Carrie Mendoza.
With Lauren Holt on the Radical Center—All three of us share our experiences with radicalized counselor training programs.
With Aaron Kindsvatter on the Radical Center—We discuss the toxic environment in counselor training.
I also have my own YouTube channel with videos I made fully detailing counselor training hell. I have considered making more videos to automate some of the process. Let me know if that would be of interest in the comments.
On the Bookshelf
I am proud to report that I have read several chapters this week.
And again, two new books are on the shelf, but besides me, who’s counting? Also, one was required reading for the Monday post on accreditation.
I reiterate that the left’s turn to violence is disturbing, if scarily predictable. From where I’m standing, the motives behind it lack the appropriate discernment. Over the coming weeks, I’ll write more about that.
I feel like people need to get some help, but this week, I’ll point out that I was excluded from providing that help because I didn’t accept the racist worldview training programs require. Coincidence?
Accreditation on the Edge: Challenging Quality Assurance in Higher Education by Susan D. Phillips
Lawless: The Miseducation of America's Elites by Ilya Shapiro
Moral Calculations: Game Theory, Logic and Human Frailty by Laszlo Mero
The New Know-nothings: The Political Foes of the Scientific Study of Human Nature by Morton Hunt
The New Oxford Annotated Bible with Apocrypha: New Revised Standard by Marc Brettler, Carol Newsom, Pheme Perkins
Surely You’re Joking, Mr. Feynman! Adventures of a Curious Character by Richard Feynman
We Have Never Been Woke: The Cultural Contradictions of the New Elite by Musa al-Gharbi
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About
Diogenes in Exile began after I returned to grad school to pursue a Clinical Mental Health Counseling master’s degree at the University of Tennessee. What I encountered, however, was a program deeply entrenched in Critical Theories ideology. During my time there, I experienced significant resistance, particularly for my Buddhist practice, which was labeled as invalidating to other identities. After careful reflection, I chose to leave the program, believing the curriculum being taught would ultimately harm clients and lead to unethical practices in the field.
Since then, I’ve dedicated myself to investigating, writing, and speaking out about the troubling direction of psychology, higher education, and other institutions that seem to have lost their way. When I’m not working on these issues, you’ll find me in the garden, creating art, walking my dog, or guiding my kids toward adulthood.
You can also find my work at Minding the Campus