Among current NHLers, none can make the same boast that Cooke is capable of stating. He is the only player in the league who has called both Ovechkin and Crosby, the NHL's resident superstars, a teammate.

Dealt to the Capitals by the Vancouver Canucks at last season's trade deadline, Cooke skated on the same squad with Art Ross and Hart Trophy winner Ovechkin for the remainder of the season, including one playoff series. Moving to the Penguins as a free agent during the summer, Cooke now suits up in the same dressing room as hockey's wonder boy Sid The Kid, playing one playoff series as his teammate thus far.

"I view it as a privilege and an honor," Cooke said.

In gaining a perspective on hockey's two hottest commodities shared by no other performer in the league today, Cooke has been struck by how they've taken vastly different paths to arrive at similar destinations.

"They're two unbelievable guys, unique in their own way, but at the same time, have a lot of the same characteristics," Cooke said.

As much as they are superstars who wow the masses when viewing the nightly highlight reels, it's what they are willing to sacrifice that make both Crosby and Ovechkin stand out in Cooke's eyes.

"Both have the same effect through different attributes," Cooke said.

Crosby leads with passion, while Ovechkin lifts his teammates via his infectious enthusiasm for the game.

"Ovie has a very outgoing personality, upbeat, uptempo and that's contagious within a group," Cooke said. "It's no secret that Ovechkin loves to score. That's probably his purest thing. Ovechkin, when anybody on the team scores, he's the happiest guy in the world. It doesn't matter who it is, he loves that.

Video   Crosby, Ovechkin great competitors May 2: The Capitals and Penguins stars respect each other, but don't always agree with the approach the other takes to the game.

"He wants to win, too and he'll do other things, like blocking shots, in order to make that happen.

"Sid's the same. He's got a tireless work ethic and that's contagious. He wants to win. He's willing to pay the price, to do anything it takes to take care of that first.

"It's different, but they still have the same effect on their dressing room, their group."

The effect they have on Cooke is apparent. In both men, he saw the chance that they could lead him to Stanley Cup glory.

"I think it's pretty neat, but my son, he's four and he has no idea," Cooke said. "I'm sure that someday, he'll realize that what was really going on when he was little."

Those men Jackson Cooke called friends will, in fact, become legends of the game.

Legends about to go head-to-head on the road to hockey’s most heralded bauble.

Like the hockey-viewing public, both are stoked about their marquee matchup.

“I think it's always a little bit more motivating,” Crosby said of playing Ovechkin. “You know, from my side I think that it's built up so much that, in a way you want to respond and make sure you have a good game. But at the end of the night the win is most important. That's the way I looked at it. But there's no doubt there seems to be more emotion and intensity when we play each other.”

On this count, they are in agreement.

“I think Sidney is right,” Ovechkin said. “It's important for us, for our team, to win the game. Of course, Sidney and me want to score goals and have some points, but it's important for us to win the game.”

From the moment each set foot on an NHL rink, the Ovechkin-Crosby comparisons began.

The debate is ongoing and now, it’s about to go viral.

Hockey fans can’t wait.

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