Obtaining the Gretzky Prize, a birthday with his family and a victory over Tarasenko: how Ovechkin spends time on the eve of the NHL season

“We are all kind of ambassadors”

The last few days have turned out to be incredibly intense for one of the most popular athletes in the country Alexander Ovechkin. Firstly, it became known that the Russian will receive the prestigious Wayne Gretzky International Award for his contribution to the development of American hockey. It was established in 1999. The ceremony itself will be held on December 12.

“Among Ovechkin’s many exceptional contributions to our sport, one of the most important is the cultivation and promotion of a passion for hockey among young players all over Washington. So, Ovechkin in the upcoming season for the sixth time will take part in the training of the American Hockey Association for special children. In addition, in 2006 he launched the Ovi's Crazy 8 project, which provides tickets for children with disabilities to Washington matches. During the existence of this project, more than 5,000 children were able to watch the Capitals games for free, ”explained their choice in the US Hockey Hall of Fame.

It is interesting that Ovechkin will not be the first domestic winner of the award. In 2008, she was posthumously awarded the legendary Soviet coach Anatoly Tarasov. In addition to him and Ovechkin, only Canadians and Americans have received such honor in different years: Gretzky himself, Scotty Morrison, Scotty Bowman, Bobby Hull and others.

Ovechkin himself admitted that he was proud to be in such a company.

“Great reward. It's not about me. We are all kind of ambassadors; it is not so important from which country. Are you trying to develop hockey in the United States, China, or elsewhere? Therefore, I think this is cool. This is my 15th year in the league, and every time you go somewhere, people recognize you, children recognize you. This is a fun thing. If not children, then who else will play? ”- quotes Ovechkin the official website of the NHL.

Victory over the reigning champion and a curious goal

And in the evening, “Vashinton” was waiting for a meeting in the preseason match with the reigning champion “St. Louis”, which included another Russian hockey player Vladimir Tarasenko. Despite the fact that the game did not have official status, it gathered almost full stands in the capital, and many fans who missed hockey came to the stadium in the captain’s jersey.

As a result, Ovechkin became one of the main protagonists, and the Capitals won - 3: 2. Alexander has two assists. Moreover, the decisive washer “Washinton” was incredibly curious.

A few seconds before the end of the third period, Ovechkin redirected the puck to Niklas Bekström, who sent the shot towards the opponent’s goal from the center of the court without much hope for a goal. But the goalkeeper of the opponents disoriented a small rebound from the ice, and the puck slipped into the target. Hockey players hardly restrained laughter.

Rumor has it that Backstrom has really been working on his shot this summer ... 🤷‍♂️ pic.twitter.com/dGsxa24Zgc

So “Washington” before the start of the season beat the current champion. By the way, Evgeni Kuznetsov, who was disqualified for three matches of the NHL for taking cocaine, also took part in the game, but he practically did not remember anything.

"Believes that everyone owes him"

As for Ovechkin, after the game he celebrated his 34th birthday with his family and friends. The event was rather modest, and the birthday man blew out traditional candles on the cake to the song Happy Birthday. Earlier, the wife of the hockey player Anastasia arranged a surprise for her husband. Together with her one-year-old son, Ovechkin, she came to the Washington training session with a balloon.

This is Sasha Ovechkin. Sasha Ovechkin is 34 years old. He blows out the candles on the cake to the song "Happy Birthday" pic.twitter.com/Whqf22eCXW

Interestingly, amid such a modest celebration, the press published an interview with Andreas Lobzhanidze, the general promoter of the capital's famous Paradise club Andreas Lobzhanidze, in which he described how he organized parties in honor of Ovechkin.

“Many times he organized events in honor of our illustrious hockey player Alexander Ovechkin. For example, we know that he received the prize of the best player and is now in Moscow. I personally called him and offered to take part in the party. Does he pay for it? Unfortunately, our star is not used to paying anywhere for herself. Because he believes that everyone owes him. So we organized parties for him with all our heart and soul, ”Lobzhanidze said in an interview with Match TV.