The father of Alex OvechkinMikhail Ovechkin, died on Wednesday, the Washington Capitals forward announced on Instagram.
Mikhail Ovechkin was 71 years old.
“Today I lost my father,” Ovechkin shares in the post. “Thank you everyone for the support but please understand and don’t bother my family at this difficult time for us.
Thanks.”
Ovechkin has been on leave from the Capitals since Tuesday to travel to Moscow to visit his father. He struggled with health issues that have prevented him from traveling to North America in recent years. When Ovechkin left the team, Washington announced that he would not play for the team indefinitely due to family reasons and the health of a loved one.
Mikhail Ovechkin, who played professional football before an injury ended his career, had a huge impact on Alex’s
professional ice hockey career, as did Ovechkin’s mother, Tatyana, a two-time Olympic gold medalist for the Soviet Union in women’s basketball (1976 and 1980). They helped spark Ovechkin’s love of hockey at a young age.
“I remember my father traveling and bringing goalie helmets for me,” he said Alex Ovechkin, after signing a 13-year deal with the Capitals in 2008. “I didn’t know what it was but it had something to do with hockey and when I was a little kid it was all about hockey, hockey, hockey.”
Picked No. 1 in the 2004 NHL Draft, Alex Ovechkin is in his 18th season in the league, all for Washington. With 812 goals, he is second in NHL history to Wayne Gretzky (894).
Early in Alex’s career, Mikhail would travel frequently from Russia to see his son play in the NHL and share some of his greatest moments, even after undergoing heart surgery in February 2014. Mikhail was with Alex in Los Angeles when he was named one of the NHL’s 100 Greatest Players in 2017, but was unable to travel with Tatyana to watch the Capitals win the Stanley Cup and Alex the Conn Smythe Trophy for Most Valuable Player in 2018 won in the Stanley Cup Playoffs.
When Alex brought the Stanley Cup to Russia this summer, he and his father lifted it over their heads at the Dynamo Moscow training ground, where Alex played as a youth and began his pro career.
“I can’t even put it into words,” Mikhail Ovechkin said through a translator after lifting the trophy and kissing it.
“We’ve worked towards this goal for thirteen years and to finally win the Stanley Cup is extremely lucky. Extremely lucky.”