Alex Ovechkin

1985-present

Alex Ovechkin is a Russian professional ice hockey forward who plays for the NHL’s Washington Capitals. The son of famous Soviet era-athletes, Ovechkin was widely considered one of the world’s top young hockey players by age 17. He was selected No. 1 overall by Washington in the 2004 NHL Draft and was named Rookie of the Year in his first season. Ovechkin led the Capitals to their only Stanley Cup championship in 2018 and has set multiple NHL records during his career. Nicknamed “Ovie” and “The Great Eight” in reference to his jersey number, he is the second best scorer in NHL history behind Wayne Gretzky.

FULL NAME: Alexander Mikhaylovich Ovechkin
BORN: September 17, 1985
BIRTHPLACE: Moscow, Russia
SPOUSE: Anastasia Shubskaya (2017-present)
CHILDREN: Sergei and Ilya
ASTROLOGICAL SIGN: Virgo

Alexander Mikhaylovich Ovechkin was born on September 17, 1985, in Moscow. He is the son of well-known Soviet-era athletes. His mother, Tatyana, excelled at basketball and was a two-time Olympic gold medalist. His father, Mikhail, was a serious soccer player.

Ovechkin’s childhood was shaped by modesty. Not long after his birth, he moved with his family to the outskirts of Moscow, making a home in a tall high-rise building that was surrounded by a crumbling neighborhood. To escape his surroundings and strict public school, Ovechkin turned to hockey, pouring everything he had into the sport.

By age 16, Ovechkin had begun playing with the Moscow Dynamo, a pro Russian team. A year later, he became the youngest member of Russia’s national team.

Alex Ovechkin poses with Washington Capitals ownership following his selection during the 2004 NHL Entry Draft.

Spurred to escape Russia where his older brother, Sergei, died in a car crash, and many of his friends were becoming addicted to drugs, Ovechkin dreamed of playing in the NHL. In his bedroom, he carefully stashed away the cards of many players, including his idol Mario Lemieux.

Considered a hockey phenom in his native country, Ovechkin soon earned the praise of NHL scouts. As his game took off, his confidence soared. At the 2002 Under-18 World Championships in Slovakia, the young forward led the tournament with 14 goals in just eight games.

“It’s the best hockey there is,” Ovechkin said of the NHL. “And I think I’m ready to play there, wherever I’m drafted.” In the end, the highly prized and touted Ovechkin went No. 1 overall to the Washington Capitals in the 2004 NHL Entry Draft.

After missing a year due to the league’s season-long lockout in 2004-05, Ovechkin made his NHL debut with a bang in October 2005, potting two goals in just four minutes and checking an opponent so hard that he broke the glass partition. He went on to net 52 goals and register 54 assists that season, winning the Calder Memorial Trophy as the league’s Rookie of the Year.

In the years following, the Russian superstar—best known for his booming slap shot—became one of the NHL’s most explosive and feared scorers. During the 2007-08 season, Ovechkin scored 65 times and dished out 47 assists to capture his first Hart Trophy as the league’s MVP. The following season, Ovechkin won the Hart for the second time. He earned a third MVP honor following the 2012-13 season.

Ovechkin firmly established himself one of the league’s top scorers, netting 50 or more goals in four of his next six campaigns. However, playoff success proved elusive for the Capitals, who never made it past the second round in any of Ovechkin’s seasons through 2016-17.

But in 2018, with the help of playmaking forwards Evgeny Kuznetsov and Nicklas Backstrom, Ovechkin scored 49 goals and led Washington to the Metropolitan Division title. He kept up his torrid scoring pace in the playoffs, and the Capitals beat the Columbus Blue Jackets, Pittsburgh Penguins, and Tampa Bay Lightning to advance to the Stanley Cup Final against the Vegas Golden Knights.

Alex Ovechkin receives the Stanley Cup from NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman after the Washington Capitals won the league championship in 2018.

Washington beat Vegas in five games to win the first and only Stanley Cup in franchise history. Ovechkin received the Conn Smythe Trophy as postseason MVP after recording 27 points during the Caps’ run. “It’s just [a] dream come true,” Ovechkin said on the ice while holding the Cup. “That’s why you have to play. That’s why you have to work hard, to get this moment and share it with your teammates, share it with your family, with the fans.”

Following their championship, the Capitals failed to advance beyond the first round of the playoffs in five consecutive seasons.

Ovechkin—who stands at 6 feet, 3 inches—established his dominance on the ice early on and was named the 2005-06 NHL Rookie of the Year. Two seasons later, he won the Art Ross Trophy as season points leader and his first of nine NHL scoring titles. The 12-time NHL All-Star has earned three awards each for the league’s MVP and Most Outstanding Player.

As of October 19, 2023, Alex Ovechkin has 822 total regular season goals and 72 playoff goals for a combined 894 goals. Here’s a rundown of his career NHL stats, according to Hockey Reference:

Regular Season Totals

• Games played: 1,350
• Goals: 822
• Assists: 664
• Points: 1,486
• Shots on goal: 6,359 (NHL record)
• Game-winning goals: 124
• Power play goals: 299 (NHL record)

In his regular season career, Ovechkin has notched 30 hat tricks and scored 40 goals or more in 13 seasons, a league-wide record.

Playoff Totals

• Games played: 147
• Goals: 72
• Assists: 69
• Points: 141
• Shots on goal: 637
• Game-winning goals: 10
• Power play goals: 28

Because of his undeniable skill and durability, Ovechkin has made a steady climb up the NHL’s all-time scoring list. In March 2022, Ovechkin broke a third-place tie with Jaromir Jagr with his 767^th goal in a win over the New York Islanders. Then on December 23 of that year, Ovechkin scored twice to reach 802 career goals and pass Gordie Howe for second all-time.

As of the start of the 2023-24 season, Ovechkin has 822 career goals—only 72 behind Wayne Gretzky’s NHL record. If he continues to score at his career rate, it is likely that Ovechkin can catch and pass Gretzky sometime during 2024-25.

In addition to his NHL career, Ovechkin was a key member of three Russian Olympic squads in 2006, 2010, and 2014.

With the 2014 Olympic Games in Sochi, Russia, Ovechkin was tapped as the official ambassador for his home country. As the country’s most famous winter athlete, he kicked off the running of the 2014 Olympic torch in Olympia, Greece. Unfortunately, the Russian team bowed out in the quarterfinal round with a loss to Finland.

NHL players didn’t compete at the Winter Olympics in 2018 due to a financial dispute between the NHL and International Hockey Federation, nor in 2022 because of scheduling disruptions caused by the COVID-19 pandemic.

Alex Ovechkin sits with sons Sergei and Ilya after moving into second place on the NHL scoring list in December 2022.

Ovechkin has been married to Anastasia Shubskaya, a Russian actor and socialite, since July 2017. The hockey star publicly acknowledged they were dating in March 2015. The couple initially met at the 2008 Beijing Olympics and reconnected years later.

In August 2018, just two months after Ovechkin won the Stanley Cup, the couple welcomed their son Sergei. Although Ovechkin and Shubskaya have said they didn’t push Sergei into hockey, Ovechkin claims his son picked up a stick “as soon as he began to talk well” and soon began skating. He memorably appeared on the ice with Ovechkin and Pittsburgh Penguins star Sidney Crosby at the 2023 NHL All-Star Skills Competition.

In May 2020, the couple had their second child, another son named Ilya. In a 2022 interview with Hello Magazine Russia, Ovechkin expressed his desire to have more children—preferably four in total.

Prior to his marriage with Shubskaya, Ovechkin was engaged to professional tennis player Maria Kirilenko from December 2012 to July 2014. Kirilenko called off their engagement and said there were “a lot of reasons” behind her decision.

Ovechkin’s father, Mikhail, died from an unspecified illness at age 71 in February 2023.

Russian President Vladimir Putin presents Alex Ovechkin with a certificate after the Russian national team won the 2012 IIHF World Championship.

Ovechkin is a longtime supporter of Russian President Vladimir Putin and helped organize a social movement called PutinTeam in 2017 to help his reelection bid. Ovechkin has a photo of the two of them as his profile picture on Instagram.

Following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, Ovechkin made headlines when he refused to directly criticize Putin. “Like, I’m Russian, right?” he said. “He’s my president, but I’m not in politics. I’m an athlete. I hope everything is going to be done soon. It’s a hard situation right now for both sides.” Ovechkin called for an end to the conflict and for everyone to “live in peace and a great world.”

• You dive into sport with your head and arms and legs, and there’s no time for anything else. There’s no other career.
• I’m OK. [The] Russian machine never breaks.
• Hockey is my life, and money is money. If you think about money, you stop playing hockey.

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