Washington Capitals captain Alex Ovechkin is back in his native country of Russia for the offseason, arriving safely with his family and bags filled with memorabilia from his historic 20th season.
The 39-year-old is fresh off yet another NHL award win, this time taking home the Mark Messier NHL Leadership Award, presented “to the player who exemplifies great leadership qualities to his team, on and off the ice, during the regular season and who plays a leading role in his community growing the game of hockey.”
After being named the winner, he appeared on ESPN with Mark Messier, who chooses the recipient each year, to discuss what it meant to win.
“It’s special award… I play hard every single day since my day one ,and it’s been hell of a year,” Ovechkin said. “Obviously what we been through for this last couple months, chasing the Great One and passing him and it was something special here.”
Ovechkin also credited his teammates, saying that he wouldn’t have been able to reach any feats without them over his two decades in the District.
“I’ve been lucky enough to play with the greatest players: (Sergei) Federov, Jason Arnott, Mike Knuble, Nicklas Backstrom, John Carlson. We growing up together and we support each other as leaders as friends. I learned from them a lot,” Ovechkin said. “I would never be that kind of person or that kind of leader on the ice and off the ice. Obviously the Capitals organization, what we’ve been through together… it’s been tremendous 20 years.”
As he leaves D.C. for the summer, he again stressed how much the city has meant to him,a nd what it’s been like to watch the “Ovechkin Effect” take place with hockey in the Potomac Valley and DMV expanding significantly in popularity since his arrival in 2005.
“It’s great to see how this area grows hockey-wise,” Ovechkin said, adding, “The kids are playing, parents watching, it’s great, you know. It’s nice to be huge part of the success.”