Biography of Alexander Ovechkin
February 5, 2020
Alexander Ovechkin with the Stanley Cup. Photo: afp.com
- Born: September 17, 1985 (age 34)
- Height: 1.91 m
- Weight: 104 kg
- Position: left winger
- Club: Washington Capitals
Alexander Ovechkin is a hockey player for the Washington Capitals and the Russian national team. With Washington, Ovechkin won the Stanley Cup in the 2017/18 season and won the Maurice Richard Trophy eight times, the prize for the best sniper of the NHL regular season. As a member of the Russian national team, Alexander won the World Championship three times and participated in three Olympic Games.
Ovechkin was born into a sports family
Alexander Ovechkin was born on September 17, 1985 in Moscow. Alexander is the youngest child in the family. He has two older brothers - Sergei and Mikhail.
Alexander's mother Tatyana Ovechkina is a former professional basketball player. As a member of the USSR national team, she twice won Olympic gold medals and became world and European champion. After finishing her career, Tatyana Ovechkina became the coach of the women's basketball Dynamo. Her team won the Russian championship four times.
Tatiana Ovechkina (No.
during the match. Photo: sport-express.ru
The father of the future hockey player, Mikhail Ovechkin, was a professional football player and played for Dynamo Moscow. After finishing his career, he became a children's coach at the blue and white sports school.
Ovechkin’s parents competed in different sports, but spent most of their career in the Dynamo Moscow system. Alexander also began performing in the Dynamo hockey club.
The footballer's chosen one
To be fair, it should be said that Mikhail’s invitation to the Dynamo (Moscow) national team changed the young man’s fate quite a lot. It is clear that, having become a professional football player, Mikhail Ovechkin was able to meet many famous and famous athletes of those years. It was thanks to the chance that fate gave him that the young man was lucky enough to meet a promising basketball player named Tatyana.
Ovechkin was brought into hockey by his older brother
Ovechkin started playing hockey at the Dynamo school at the age of 8. Parents had no time to take their child to classes, so Alexander’s older brother Sergei most often accompanied him to training. A year later, Ovechkin’s parents took him out of the section because they considered hockey a dangerous sport.
Alexander’s first coach, Vyacheslav Kirillov, insisted on Ovechkin’s return. He came to the Ovechkins’ home several times and said that he saw Alexander’s great potential. Ovechkin's older brother Sergei also played an important role. He was close to Alexander and saw how much the child loved playing sports. As a result, the parents agreed and returned their youngest son to the sports school.
When Ovechkin was 10 years old, Sergei died in a car accident. The parents admit that Alexander was very worried about the death of his brother. Ovechkin never talked about this event in his interviews.
Childhood and youth
The future hockey star was born on September 17, 1985 into a sports family. His mother was a famous basketball player throughout the Union. Ovechkin’s father played his entire career in the capital’s Dynamo football club.
Alexander Ovechkin has said more than once that it was his parents’ sporting achievements that helped him decide on his direction in life. However, as a child, little Sasha really liked fishing. He fell in love with this activity because he often visited his grandmother in the village.
Alexander Ovechkin became interested in hockey at the age of 8. His father was watching the match itself, but since the game was sluggish, he switched the channel. After that, little Sasha threw a loud tantrum. To calm the boy down, dad came to play hockey again.
The father decided to send the boy to one of his familiar sports coaches for hockey, but by that time Ovechkin could hardly stand on skates on his own, and everyone else already had some skill. In this regard, I had to turn to another coach. As part of the new group, Alexander Ovechkin had to learn all the basic elements from scratch. Already in one year he became the leader of the youth team.
When Alexander Ovechkin was only 10 years old, he lost his older brother, who was killed in an accident due to a blood clot. Two years later, the team where the young talent played managed to beat Vympel for the first time.
Ovechkin was already a star in children's hockey
Ovechkin began his career in the Dynamo sports society. From the first training sessions, Alexander played in attack. Ovechkin was focused on the shot and tried to play effectively. He was often involved in training with older people. Ovechkin stood out even among older players. He was placed on the first line at tournaments and given a lot of playing time.
Alexander Ovechkin wearing a jacket with the Buffalo Sabers emblem. Photo: sport-express.ru
As a child, his parents encouraged their son to play productively. Alexander received 10 rubles for each goal scored in friendly matches and tournaments.
When Ovechkin was 12 years old, his team played in the Moscow championship. Before the last match of the tournament, Alexander scored 53 goals.
The performance record at the Moscow Championship among players under 13 years old belonged to Pavel Bure. At the age of 12, Pavel scored 55 goals at the 1983 tournament.
In the decisive match, Ovechkin scored 6 goals and set a new record, which still stands.
How Alexander Ovechkin played hockey as a child, video
Alexander Ovechkin
born in Moscow on September 17, 1985 in a sports family. The mother of the future hockey player Tatyana Ovechkina (nee Kabaeva) is a famous Soviet basketball player, two-time Olympic champion, winner of the World and European Championships, Honored Master of Sports of the USSR and Honored Coach of Russia. Mikhail Ovechkin, Alexander's father, is a former professional football player. Both of Ovi’s parents devoted their entire careers to the Dynamo sports society, so Alexander had no choice but to join the blue and white ranks.
But why did the son of a basketball player and football player suddenly choose hockey? Ovechkin’s father said that the boy suddenly developed a love for this sport at the age of 8. According to Mikhail Viktorovich, everything happened by accident. “Dynamo” played, I don’t remember with whom. The youngest son was playing near the TV. I switched programs, saw hockey, and decided to find out the score. I found out, I was about to click somewhere again, and then Sashka suddenly shows: no, no, leave it! That’s where it all started,” Ovechkin Sr. recalled in an interview with Sport Express.
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However, Tatyana Ovechkina has a slightly different version, according to which her son became interested in this game much earlier, on a subconscious level. They say that Alexander made his choice in favor of hockey at the age of two, when on the eve of the New Year holidays his mother took him with her to Children’s World. In the store, Ovechkin Jr. liked the plastic helmet, stick and puck so much that he did not want to leave until Tatyana Nikolaevna bought him the first hockey set in his life.
Be that as it may, 8-year-old Alexander Ovechkin was enrolled in the hockey section. Mikhail Viktorovich took his son to his friend Dynamo coach Alexander Filippov, but he refused to take the boy: the guys in the group born in 1985 had been training for several years, and Ovechkin didn’t even know how to skate. The future NHL superstar had to go to another coach, Vyacheslav Kirillov, with whom Ovi began to learn basic hockey skills from scratch.
Parents, by the way, at first did not share their son’s passion. Mikhail and Tatyana considered this sport to be too dangerous for injuries, and their high employment did not allow them to regularly take their son to classes. “The first time we took him to hockey, it didn’t last long. The fact is that my husband and I, then the head of the Dynamo women’s basketball team, were constantly traveling, and for some time Sasha stopped playing hockey,” Tatyana Ovechkina said in an interview.
Alexander was actually forced to return to the parents' section by coach Kirillov, who saw something in the boy, as well as by his older brother Sergei, who fully supported little Ovi in his endeavor.
“When Sasha and I came again, they were just having an important game with Spartak. He was seated last on the bench. Didn't play for two periods. I look, he’s crying: “They won’t put it on, let’s go home!” - “Sasha, wait.” And in the third period the coach put him on. After which he almost never left the site,” Ovechkin’s mother recalled.
Alexander Ovechkin with his parents
From that moment on, Alexander’s hockey education was taken seriously. His grandfather or brother Sergei, with whom the boy was very close, took him to training, and then Mikhail Viktorovich also joined. For the sake of his son’s career, who was doing better and better, Ovechkin Sr. even quit his job and since then did not miss a single lesson from Alexander almost until he came of age. In the section itself, Vyacheslav Kirillov worked closely with Ovechkin, literally molding Alexander into a big player.
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“People know almost nothing about Sasha’s first coach, Kirillov. About the man who put his whole soul into my son, and to whom Sasha owes everything. As soon as Vyacheslav Viktorovich did not work with him! After each training session I told him what he needed to work on - and Sasha stayed and worked. He passed on to his son everything he owned: skating, feints, and throws... We also came to Kirillov for additional lessons. It happened that all the kids were practicing on one half of the ice, and on the other Kirillov was fiddling with Ovechkin alone. It was something! This man was like a second father to Sasha,” Mikhail Viktorovich warmly recalled the first coach of his brilliant son. Alas, Vyacheslav Kirillov passed away due to heart problems at the age of 29, without even living to see the first successes of his best student.
The enormous talent given to Ovechkin from birth, coupled with hard work, proper upbringing in a sports family and a colossal love for hockey, made Alexander a great player already in childhood. At the age of 10, Ovechkin had a hard time with the loss of his brother Sergei, who died in a car accident, but managed to pull himself together psychologically and from then on, when he went on the ice, it was as if he was playing for two. The Ovechkins’ eldest son, after all, also started playing hockey, in addition, according to Alexander himself, it was Sergei who motivated Ovi to play sports, set him on the right path, “taught him to fight to the end and give his all on the ice.”
Alexander Ovechkin with a friend
Photo: twitter.com
At the age of 10, the young sniper entered the Dynamo Moscow system and began playing for children's teams in the Moscow Championship. Ovechkin, like any great talent, was ahead of his time, played for seniors, but was always the best hockey player. Not only skill helped, but also character. “I remember Sashka’s childhood years at the Dynamo school, starting at the age of ten. The team loses, the boys return to the locker room, everyone - hee hee, ha ha, and I’m the only one sitting there crying! Tears - as big as a finger! “How did we lose?!” And what fights there were in the locker room! They were forcibly pulled away. “You, so-and-so, didn’t give me the puck!” Guard! I hated losing all my life,” Ovechkin’s father recalled.
Alexander was a real leader of his children's team, where already at the age of 10 he stood out for his skating, size, and puck control. Ovi loved to take control of the game, drag the ball into the zone, dribbling past his opponents, and learned to position his body. Videos from young Ovechkin's games show that from an early age he was accustomed to dominating the ice.
Already at the children's level, Ovechkin scored not just a lot, but in batches. Here is an illustrative story on this topic, once told by Mikhail Viktorovich. “When Sashka was, I think, 12 years old, I found out that Pavel Bure at that age scored 56 goals. My son had 53 at that moment, and there was one last game left in the season. Do you know what Sasha did after I told him about Bure’s record? Scored six goals! That’s when I realized that something would definitely come of this guy. Around the same time, scouts started talking about him.”
Yes, at the age of 12, Ovechkin broke Bure’s unique record and first attracted the attention of the world hockey community. People who followed children's hockey already realized that the main talent of the generation was growing in the Dynamo school.
Photo: RIA Novosti
From that Dynamo 1985 team, which was brought to graduation not by Kirillov (for some reason the group was taken from him), but by Ramil Valiulin, except Ovechkin, not a single famous hockey player emerged. Konstantin Fomichev and Vladimir Mochalov only managed to reach the Major League, Konstantin Romanov and Vladimir Karpov even played a little in the KHL for Barys and Vityaz, but it is not possible to compare them with the Magnificent Eight from Washington.
Ovechkin's historic match. How a future NHL star made her debut for Dynamo at age 16
Alexander immediately made it clear that he would grow into a great hockey player.
Ovechkin did not have a single chance to stay in youth hockey for a long time. At the age of 15, Ovechkin was transferred to the adult team, and in the 2001/2002 season of the Russian Super League, Dynamo head coach Vladimir Semyonov for the first time brought 16-year-old Ovechkin to the base of the blue and whites: Alexander played 22 matches, scoring 4 (2+2) ) points. A year later, Ovi was already breaking records in the Russian junior team, at the age of 17 he made his debut in the country’s national team at the Eurotour stage and spent his first full season for Dynamo. Even before reaching adulthood, Ovechkin became the main target of NHL clubs in the draft, and was almost selected by Florida in 2003, but a scam by the Panthers, who tried to acquire the rights to a 17-year-old European player (this was prohibited by lottery rules), They quickly figured it out, and the deal did not take place.
At the MFM, Ovechkin scored hat-tricks and took gold, but the first meeting with Crosby turned into tears
The main Russian sniper of the NHL played in three youth world championships, but was never the best there.
Ovechkin played for Dynamo from 2001 to 2005, won Super League gold in the 2004/2005 season, and then almost ended up in Avangard, but Alexander never opened the Omsk page in his career and left for the NHL. There he still performs brilliantly, now as a living legend of Washington. He scores more than anyone else, breaks records, wins titles and loves hockey as selflessly as he did in childhood.
Ovechkin made his debut in adult hockey when he was 16 years old
Ovechkin played his first match in the Dynamo adult team in 2001 at the age of 16. In his first season, he played 21 matches in the Super League and scored 4 points (2 goals and 2 assists).
Alexander Ovechkin and Dynamo head coach Vladimir Krikunov. Photo: sport‑express.ru
In the 2002/03 season, Alexander played 40 matches with Dynamo and scored 15 scoring points (8 goals and 7 assists).
Alexander became the team leader in the third season. He played 53 matches and scored 23 points (13 goals and 10 assists). At the end of the season, Muscovites fans recognized Ovechkin as the team's best winger.
Personal life
Due to his constant employment, Ovechkin could not devote much time to organizing his personal life. He was credited with having affairs with Zhanna Friske, Victoria Lopyreva and singer Fergie, but the rumors were not confirmed. In 2012, Alexander was getting ready to marry his beloved Maria Kirilenko, but information about the wedding never appeared in the biography of Alexander Ovechkin; they say that the girl initiated the separation.
As a result, Alexander married the famous model and daughter of Vera Glagoleva Nastya Shubskaya. For the sake of her lover, the girl abandoned her usual life, constantly accompanied him during competitions, and after the wedding she moved to live in America. Now the hockey player spends all his free time with his family or friends.
2018 was a landmark year for Ovechkin in every sense. In the summer, his son was born, in whose upbringing his caring father takes an active part. And soon the athlete became a real legend, because he brought his club the Stanley Cup, which he is very proud of.
Interesting!
On the Internet you can find a photo of Ovechkin’s child along with the Stanley Cup.
In addition to constant training and performances, Ovechkin manages to drive around the city in a luxury car. There are several of them in the athlete’s fleet. They are a source of pride for a hockey player. He never puts anything on display, but lives his own life, he is not interested in what others will say.
Anastasia supports all the endeavors and achievements of her lover, calling him the best husband and father. According to the girl, star status does not prevent a man from doing household chores and showing touching care for his little son.
Ovechkin was selected first overall in the 2004 draft.
In 2004, there were two favorites in the NHL junior draft: forwards Alexander Ovechkin and Evgeni Malkin. Washington chose first, Pittsburgh second. It was clear that Ovechkin would end up on one of these teams. Alexander's parents wanted their son to play for Pittsburgh. In 2003, the Penguins had the first pick in the draft and received the rights to center Sidney Crosby, whom experts called “the second Wayne Gretzky.” Because of this, Pittsburgh was considered a more promising team than Washington.
Alexander Ovechkin and Sidney Crosby. Photo: nhl.com
As a child, Ovechkin supported Pittsburgh. In the 1990s, world hockey stars played for the Penguins, including Jaromir Jagr and Mario Lemieux.
Ovechkin was chosen by Washington. The club immediately offered Alexander a professional contract. Due to a lockout that lasted the entire 2004–05 season, Ovechkin's debut took place a year after the draft. In his first NHL match, Alexander scored a double and brought the team victory.
From the first seasons, Ovechkin became an NHL star
In his debut season, Ovechkin played 81 games for Washington and scored 106 points (52 goals and 54 assists). The Russian took third place in the list of the league's top scorers and won the Calder Trophy (a prize for the best rookie of the season).
Alexander Ovechkin in his first season in the NHL. Photo: reuters.com
In his later career, Ovechkin never scored fewer than 30 goals in a full season and won eight Maurice Richard Trophies - prizes for the best sniper of the regular season. This is the best result in NHL history.
In the 2007/08 season, Ovechkin had the best season of his career. In 82 regular-season games, he scored 112 points (65 goals and 47 assists). The Russian won the Art Ross Trophy (award for the best scorer), the Maurice Richard Trophy, the Hart Trophy (award for the best player according to journalists) and the Ted Lindsay Award (award for the best player according to the players' union). Until now, no one in NHL history has won these four awards in the same season.
Ovechkin showed his best play in the playoffs in the 2017/18 season. Washington won the Stanley Cup that game. The Russian played an important role in the team's victory. He became the best sniper of the playoffs with 15 goals. Alexander helped the defense and did a lot of rough work. Based on the results of the elimination games, Ovechkin received the Conn Smythe Trophy (a prize for the best player in the playoffs).
Alexander Ovechkin invited the Channel One film crew to visit and introduced him to his son
What is he like, Alexander the Great, when he doesn’t play hockey? A family story told by himself.
“A lot has changed, you know who you have to live for now, all the attention is on the “boss”,” says Alexander Ovechkin.
Not only hockey fans know who Alexander Ovechkin lives for now. The news that the legendary athlete had a son aroused almost more interest than the Stanley Cup won that same year. And the video where Ovi learns to change a diaper received no less views than the triumph of the Washington Capitals hockey players.
“We kept everything secret. And the day when Seryozha was born was the best in my life,” the hockey player admits.
It was as if he himself had chosen this symbol of endless happiness for himself. Eight for Ovechkin is not only his very lucky playing number, but also a mystical number with which victories in his personal life are associated. In 2008, he will meet his future wife for the first time, they will get married on July 8, and Seryozha will be born on August 18, 2018. The hockey player came up with a name for the baby right away; it means a lot to him. That was the name of his older brother, who once brought Sasha to the ice as a child and did not allow him to give up even when it was very difficult.
“Sergei died when I was 10 years old, so there is no need to say anything more, to explain anything. This is a very painful moment for me, for my family. But Sergei Alexandrovich showed up, so everything is fine,” says Alexander Ovechkin.
The love story of Sasha and Nastya is like a fairy tale. One of the highest paid hockey players on the planet first saw the very young daughter of actress Vera Glagoleva at the Beijing Olympics; a few years later they met again.
“She came to America, to Los Angeles, to study. We also had an away trip, we met there, and after that she came to the playoffs. She knows me thoroughly, she knows my mood, she knows what I like and what I don’t like. That’s why I feel very comfortable,” the hockey player admits.
Nastya chose her family over her career as a film actress and model; she doesn’t even miss her husband’s training, and Sasha stands behind her like a mountain. Footage from a football match shows how Ovechkin takes a hit in a matter of seconds, saving his wife from a ball flying at her. What a reaction! Everyone discussed the luxurious and touching wedding of the Ovechkins, and almost immediately after it, Nastya lost her mother.
“She and Sasha were best friends, they constantly called each other, corresponded, and discussed me. Mom loved him very much. I am very grateful to him, he helped me a lot and is still helping me,” says Anastasia Ovechkina.
Ovechkin's son was born almost 4,500 years ago, he is growing very quickly, although Seryozha seems very tiny in his dad's arms.
“Of course, it’s good that the first one is a boy, he will look after everyone, and me too, when I’m old. Now I can relax,” jokes Alexander Ovechkin.
But it seems that the “magnificent eight” (that’s what Ovechkin is called in Washington) are not going to relax. Over 13 years of playing in the National Hockey League, he still remains unpredictable for his opponents, he was named the best sniper in the NHL seven times, and every fifth shot of the “Russian machine” becomes an assist.
Ovechkin carefully keeps all the trophies in the basement of his mansion. He remains true to himself and his beliefs, and for this he is idolized by fans all over the world. And also for his modesty and sense of humor. For the fact that, despite fatigue and workload, he is always attentive to the fans - he can deliver pizza and easily give away his hockey stick.
“You know, before working for the Capitals, I coached a team for five years, as they say, to play against Ovechkin, and I’ll tell you: I like coaching Ovechkin much more. He is a legend. And while working with him, I learned that he is also a man with a capital M. In general, we really like Russians here,” says Washington Capitals head coach Todd Reirden.
But what lies behind a beautiful life, mansions and multimillion-dollar contracts is grueling training and working on yourself every day. Admission to the Washington Capitals base is free, and there is no end to those who want to touch their idol. And no matter what anti-Russian hysteria the local media spread, in the minds of ordinary Americans, Russians, like our three heroes from the capital’s team - Ovechkin, Kuznetsov and Orlov - are desperate, daring and invincible.
Looking at his favorite toy - a gift from the family of hockey player Dmitry Orlov, it seems that Seryozha Ovechkin’s fate is already predetermined.
“Is it important for you that your son loves hockey?” - asks the journalist.
“I haven’t thought about this yet, but when he grows up and goes to games, he will already have it automatically, hockey,” says Alexander Ovechkin.
Ovechkin is also not thinking about ending his career yet; he is now 33 and in the best shape. He has at least three more years under contract with the Capitals. And even if Alexander the Great ever leaves the club, the eighth number of the Washington team will forever remain with the Russian hockey player.
Ovechkin is the first hockey player in the world to sign a $100 million contract
In 2007, Ovechkin's rookie contract with Washington expired. The Capitals management offered their star a contract, which was a record for the NHL at that time. Ovechkin signed a 13-year deal worth a total of $142 million. No one in the NHL had ever signed such large contracts before.
In 2010, the NHL banned clubs from signing contracts with players for more than eight years. Therefore, Ovechkin’s contract remains unique to this day.
Ovechkin has been playing for the Russian national team since he was 17 years old.
Ovechkin played for the Russian national team of all ages. Alexander participated twice in the Junior World Championships and three times in the Youth Championships. Ovechkin made his debut in the main team at the age of 17 at the Czech stage of the Eurotour. Until now, Alexander holds the title of the youngest debutant of the national team.
Ovechkin participated in 13 world championships and won three times. One of Ovechkin’s best tournaments as a member of the national team was the 2008 world championship. That season, Washington lost to Philadelphia in the first round of the playoffs (3:4 in the series). Ovechkin joined the national team during the tournament and played nine matches, in which he scored 12 points (6 goals and 6 assists). Russia won the tournament and became world champion for the first time since 1993.
Evgeny Nabokov, Alexander Ovechkin and Ilya Kovalchuk after the Russian team's victory at the 2008 World Championships. Photo: reuters.com
Ovechkin took part in three Olympic Games. In 2006, he scored 5 goals in eight matches and became one of the team's best players.
In 2010, Alexander scored 4 points (2 goals and 2 assists) in six matches. Ovechkin did not drop out of the game, but did not stand out from his teammates.
At the 2014 Olympic Games in Sochi, the forward scored only 2 points (goal and assist) in five matches. The head coach of the Russian national team, Zinetula Bilyaletdinov, assigned the team defensive hockey and limited the potential of attacking hockey players. Ovechkin had to fight a lot and play without the puck. The forward was unable to show his best qualities: a strong and accurate shot and active play in forechecking.
In 2017, Alexander stated in several interviews that he would go to the 2020 Olympics in any case. Washington owner Ted Leonsis was ready to release the Russian to the national team during the regular season. Alexander never managed to go to the Olympics. The International Hockey Federation banned NHL players from participating in the tournament, so as not to completely ruin relations with the leadership of the North American league.
Ovechkin's school teacher said that the athlete is still grieving the death of his brother
Alexander Ovechkin became the first Russian to score 700 goals in the National Hockey League. Why was one of the best strikers of our time considered a “loser” for a long time? What personal drama happened to the hockey player? Is Ovechkin going to return to Russia or will he live in the USA forever? And what changes are coming in his personal life? Only in the “Secular Chronicle” program!
Not long ago they said about Alexander: the athlete stopped scoring and gaining points. For five matches in a row, the forward and captain of the Washington Capitals did not throw a puck into the opponent’s goal. The media wrote: Ovechkin had one game left to break the performance record. But the hockey player restored the fans’ faith in himself.
Ovechkin was included in the “700 club” - only seven athletes before Alexander managed to score such a number of goals in the NHL. The leader of this list, Canadian Wayne Gretzky, has 194 more goals. Such faith in Alexander was not always there. For a long time they talked about him as an unlucky athlete.
Pavel Lysenkov, sports journalist: “For many, many years, Ovechkin was spread rot because he couldn’t win anything, that he didn’t win cups, that he was a loser.”
Since his NHL debut, Ovechkin has been fighting for the right to lift the Stanley Cup over his head for 13 long years. His team won the main trophy of the National Hockey League only in 2020. But the celebration of the long-awaited victory was not limited to this.
“Any hockey player, when he wins the Stanley Cup, can get drunk and drink for four or five days in a row. This is normal,” said the sports journalist.
But the main event of that summer was not the victory of Ovechkin’s team, but the birth of the athlete’s first child. The heir was named Sergei - in honor of Alexander's older brother.
“For Sasha he was an authority. Sasha loved him very much and respected him very much,” his school teacher Nelya Bedretdinova told the Secular Chronicle program.
Ovechkin's brother died 25 years ago in a car accident, when Alexander was only ten. Sergei suffered a blood clot while driving. In memory of a loved one, the athlete got a tattoo in English, the translation of which is “Sergey, you are always in my heart.” His name is also written on the forward's hockey glove.
Nelya Bedretdinova: “He’s still worried. He still remembers his brother.”
Ovechkin promised to do everything to make his brother proud of him. And he kept his word: Alexander is a three-time world champion and one of the highest paid athletes. In 2008, the Russian signed a record contract in NHL history. According to it, over 13 years as a member of the Washington Capitals, the hockey player will earn $124 million. At the same time, as friends note, Ovechkin managed not to become arrogant from such success.
“An awesome person, without any star stuff,” shared singer T-KILLAH.
The hockey player has a 200-meter apartment in Miami overlooking the ocean. But most of the time, the Ovechkin family lives in a mansion near Washington, worth more than 260 million rubles.
Recently, Alexander pleased his fans not only with an anniversary goal, but also with good news. Soon there will be one more Ovechkin! His wife published a touching post in honor of this event.
Ovechkin's contract with the Washington Capitals expires next year. Ovechkin’s friends are sure that someday Alexander will play for his native club again. And for Russian fans this will probably be a real gift!
Ovechkin has a signature move - a one-time throw from the left face-off circle.
Ovechkin has been training his throwing separately since childhood, even in the summer. He used a country fence as a gate. The hockey player’s grandfather lined the fence with metal sheets to prevent the puck from flying out of the area. Alexander could throw for several hours a day.
These trainings were useful to the hockey player. Even from a young age, coaches noted the forward’s powerful throw, but did not adjust special combinations for it. In the NHL, coaches have figured out how to use Ovechkin's shot most effectively. In most cases, the Russian was placed in the left circle of throw-ins and asked his partners to find him with touch passes. The rinks in the NHL are narrower than in Europe, so Ovechkin’s shot became even more dangerous for opponents. Ovechkin scored so many goals from this position that the left faceoff circle became known as "Ovechkin's office."
Ovechkin could break Gretzky's NHL regular season goals record
Legendary Canadian hockey player Wayne Gretzky scored 894 goals in the NHL regular season during his career. Second-place forward Gordie Howe has 93 fewer goals. Ovechkin's performance is so high that he could get ahead of Gretzky.
Gretzky averaged 0.60 goals per game. Ovechkin's indicator is slightly higher - 0.61. In March 2020, the Russian took 8th place in NHL history in goals - 706. The difference between the Russian and the Canadian was 196 goals.
Wayne Gretzky and Alexander Ovechkin at the 2004 NHL Entry Draft. Photo: nhl.com
On average, Ovechkin scores 48 goals over a full season. To break Gretzky's record, the Russian must not fall below this mark in the next five seasons. It is important that Alexander does not have serious injuries at this time, and that there is no lockout in the NHL. Ovechkin will break Gretzky's record if he continues to play until age 39.
It is possible to break Gretzky's record. There have been examples in the history of the NHL when older hockey players showed high performance. For example, forward Johnny Busiek scored 51 goals at age 35, and forward Teemu Selanne scored 48 goals at age 36. Legendary Canadian striker Bobby Hull scored 53 goals at age 37 and scored 46 times at age 39.
In 2020, Ovechkin created Putin Team
Four months before the 2020 Russian presidential election, Ovechkin announced the creation of the informal Putin Team movement. In November 2020, Alexander posted a post on his Instagram page in which he openly supported the current President Vladimir Putin. Many athletes, artists and public figures joined Ovechkin. The Putin Team consists of current and former hockey players: Ilya Kovalchuk, Evgeni Malkin, Sergei Mozyakin, Pavel Bure, Vyacheslav Fetisov, Boris Mikhailov.
Vladimir Putin and Alexander Ovechkin. Photo: ria.ru
The Putin Team holds charity events and events, sports tournaments and festivals. The movement has an official website, an Instagram page and a Telegram channel.
Ovechkin often appears in music videos and commercials
Ovechkin first appeared in rapper Sasha Bely’s video for the track “Champion” in 2007. Moreover, the hockey player not only played the role of a guest star, but also rapped himself. Then Ovechkin appeared in the videos of Katya Lel and Vlad Topalov.
In 2020, Canadian rapper Friyie released the track Ovechkin. The rapper starred in the video wearing an Ovechkin jersey. The Russian hockey player is mentioned in the chorus of the song. Alexander himself does not appear in the video.
Fragment of the chorus in the original: God got me, ain't no question Ice up on my wrist, it's all a blessin' Skatin' like Ovechkin
Translation: God is watching over me, Gold is a blessing. I skate like Ovechkin.
In America, Ovechkin often appears in commercials. The last time a Russian advertised hockey sticks. The video with his participation was released in September 2020.
Ovechkin's wife is the daughter of actress and director Vera Glagoleva
Alexander Ovechkin is married to Anastasia Shubskaya, the daughter of actress and director Vera Glagoleva and businessman Kirill Shubsky. Ovechkin and Shubskaya met at the 2008 Olympic Games, when Anastasia was 14 years old. Shubskaya's father was a member of the Olympic Committee, and Ovechkin was part of the Russian delegation.
Alexander Ovechkin and Anastasia Shubskaya after Washington's victory in the Stanley Cup. Photo: afp.com
After their first meeting, Alexander and Anastasia did not communicate for seven years. According to Shubskaya, in 2020, Ovechkin accidentally found her on Instagram and wrote to her. Alexander and Anastasia began to correspond. That same year, Shubskaya went to Los Angeles for acting classes. Then Alexander and Anastasia met in America. In 2020, Ovechkin and Shubskaya announced that they were in a relationship and got married a year later. On August 18, 2020, two months after Ovechkin won the Stanley Cup, the couple had a son. The child was named Sergei - in honor of his older brother Alexander.
Personal life of Alexander Ovechkin
The name of the famous hockey player constantly flashed in the headlines of the overseas press in connection with various high-profile novels.
Thus, over the years, journalists attributed to the Russian love relationships with such famous beauties as Victoria Lopyreva, Zhanna Friske and even Fergie (lead singer of the Black Eyed Peas). It is difficult to judge how true these rumors are. For a long time, the hockey player dated the famous Russian tennis player Maria Kirilenko. On December 31, 2012, the couple announced their engagement. However, in mid-2014, the hockey star’s press service announced their breakup. A little later, Maria gave an interview in which she said that she was tired of putting up with “certain habits of Alexander” and wished him happiness in his future career. Rumors spread in the media that the hockey player’s affair with 19-year-old gymnast Karolina Sevostyanova was to blame.
In the photo: Alexander Ovechkin and Maria Kirilenko
In 2020, the hockey player began dating 21-year-old model Anastasia Shubskaya, the daughter of actress Vera Glagoleva and millionaire Kirill Shubsky. They met at the Beijing Olympics (2008), but did not maintain a relationship for a long time. In 2020, a girl almost drowned in Dubai and told her Instagram followers about the incident. Ovechkin was among them. Concerned about Nastya’s condition, he decided to support her personally. And so their whirlwind romance began, ending with a magnificent wedding. The celebration took place in July 2017.
Alexander Ovechkin is married to Anastasia Shubskaya
