Alex Ovechkin is no stranger to cereal. His first signature cereal, Ovi O’s, debuted in 2019, a year after he led the Washington Capitals to the team’s first Stanley Cup title. Ovi O’s came in a red white and blue box that mirrored Ovechkin’s Capitals uniform and featured the Russian left wing smiling on the front. The cereal was a hit and flew off the shelves of Giant Food grocery stores (located in Washington, Maryland, Virginia and Delaware) but the Ovi O’s box design became somewhat of an issue when the time came to begin planning Ovechkin’s next move into the wild world of breakfast foods.

Brad Bell, Giant Food’s creative manager, said the supermarket chain, Ovechkin, and Ted Leonsis’ Monumental Sports (parent company of the Capitals) began planning a new cereal over a year ago, when Ovechkin was still closing in on NHL legend Wayne Gretzky’s all-time goals scored record. Once again, a red, white and blue box design that aligned with Ovechkin’s Capitals home uniform was in play, but Bell and his team felt another design was worth looking into. 

For inspiration, Bell and his collaborators thought back to the one goal that might be just as special as the one that would eventually break Gretzky’s record. Ovechkin’s first. That goal (the first of two that night) was scored in his NHL debut in Washington on Oct. 5, 2005 against the Columbus Blue Jackets. In that game, Ovechkin wore the Capitals’ all-black “screaming eagle” uniform, a personal favorite of his, and a retro look recently brought back during the team’s 50th anniversary celebration last season. 

“It was a combined brainstorm between us and the Capitals really,” Bell said. “His first jersey that he wore in the NHL, his first game when he came into the league, was the screaming eagle jersey. All black, super sleek. We were like, ‘shoot, that could be a really cool idea to do an all-black box that gave a nod back to his (first) start.’ That’s what took us down the path we did. We did both versions and as we started to do the all-black version we just really resonated with that one so much more and really pushed that one.”

That look to the past made Ovechkin’s future cereal come into focus: Ovi’s Great Crunch was born. But not without some heavy debates between Bell and his team as to what makes a great athlete cereal box. Some even wondered if a black box in the cereal aisle was the right choice given it wasn’t a color generally seen in grocery stores on any products. 

The 18-ounce, all-black cereal box that retails for $2.99 arrived at all of Giant Food’s 163 locations on Sept. 19 and is on sale for a limited time as long as supplies last. The cereal box features an image from the Capitals 2024-2025 season of Ovechkin with the phrase “#1 GOAL SCORER IN NHL HISTORY” over a blue, brown and white stripe designed to mimic the secondary colors of the Capitals’ black uniforms. Below the stripe is Ovechkin’s name, jersey number and his (facsimile) autograph. The top of the box features the same yellow ice skate laces that Ovechkin is seen wearing on the front of the box. Portions of the proceeds from the sale of the cereal will go to Ovechkin’s The GR8 Chase for Victory Over Cancer, an initiative to raise funds for pediatric cancer research.

Bell was frequently told that Ovi’s Great Crunch shouldn’t shy away from the typical smiling professional athlete on the front of the box. But Bell and his team insisted that a profile picture of Ovechkin would work better on the back. To really make the all-black box pop, Bell and his team decided on an image of one of Ovechkin’ signature moves on the ice, his slap shot, for the front while reserving the back of the box for one of Ovechkin’s most popular attributes.

“We also wanted to show off the missing tooth,” Bell said of Ovechkin’s famous hockey smile.

Ovechkin made an appearance at a Giant Food grocery store in Washington on Sept. 23 to help promote the launch of Ovi’s Great Crunch, serving up bowls of cereal to customers. 

whatchu want https://t.co/bksicfItac pic.twitter.com/6R9pBJZrnN

— Washington Capitals (@Capitals) September 23, 2025

“It’s a great feeling, obviously,” Ovechkin said during the promotional event. “It’s the right thing to do. We’re doing it for a good cause so it’s pretty cool. Me and my kids and my family tried it, it’s tasty.”

Ovechkin said he wasn’t sure whether or not Capitals fans would save the new cereal boxes as an unopened collectible item (there are plenty of unopened boxes of Ovi O’s and Ovi’s Great Crunch selling on eBay for fans who can’t get to a D.C. area store) or open them up to eat them, but he said he plans to put aside a box or two for the museum he is planning to build in his native Russia.

“I’m probably going to have a couple of boxes because I (still) have my old one,” Ovechkin said. “I’ll keep a couple of boxes for sure.”

Dozens of unopened box of Ovi’s Great Crunch have sold for as much as $29.99 on the secondary market, while opened boxes appear to only be worth about $10 at most, making it profitable to keep them sealed (which is what this writer chose to do with his box).

As he closes in on 900 goals to start the 2025-2026 NHL season, would Ovechkin want a third cereal to commemorate 1,000 goals if he should get there?

“We’ll have to make it first,” Ovechkin said.

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(Photos: Giant Food)