Bogdan Trineyev recently made his NHL debut for the Washington Capitals, playing in two games during two different stints with the team.

Speaking to Sport-Express about the experience, Trineyev dished on the origins of his new nickname with the capitals and how he ended up with the number 87. He also recalled the warm welcome he received from the Caps, including from head coach Spencer Carbery, captain Alex Ovechkin, and his close friend Aliaksei Protas.

When Trineyev first arrived, he said he had “a quick and personal conversation” with Carbery.

“After practice, he told me to stop by,” Trineyev said per Sport-Express and a translation via Google Translate. “First, he congratulated me, then explained that if I had any questions, I could feel free to ask — either the guys or him directly. We’ve all been training together for years, so overall, a lot of things were clear, and there weren’t any difficult moments. Plus, we play the same system at Hershey.”

He added that the message “was simple: they told me to keep working. I was pleased, of course, but I knew I’d arrived but hadn’t played a single game yet, so the main thing was to keep doing my job.”

After making the two-hour drive from Hershey, Trineyev initially rented a hotel in Washington, but decided not to stay there.

“Aliaksei Protas took me in,” Trineyev said. “[We lived] together. It’s much more comfortable and fun than a hotel.”

Trineyev added of Big Pro, “he’s a really nice guy. We met back in Hershey. All the guys are positive. Aliaksei is always ready to help, to offer advice on things. At first, if we had any questions, we could go somewhere together. They helped me with both the documents and the language. When I first arrived in Hershey, Sanya Alexeyev (Alex Alexeyev) and Lyokha Protas (Aliaksei Protas) were there. They gave me a lot of advice, explained what needed to be done and how.”

Trineyev also received a lot of help and support from Ovechkin, who he said he could only call by his formal Russian name, Alexander Mikhailovich, out of deep respect for the legendary hockey player.

Ovechkin, though, was very happy for his fellow countryman and was happy to share the spotlight with the 23-year-old prospect, pointing a cameraman in Trineyev’s direction as he got ready for his NHL debut in the locker room.

“Of course, when the camera panned to me, I was a little confused,” Trineyev said. “I don’t know if it was obvious, but I started putting my jersey on, forgot something, and got a little confused. That’s normal — it’s your first game, you’re nervous. The guys all understood and supported me. My teammates, the staff, and the coaching staff all helped. Many were happy — some of them I played with in Hershey, some of them I worked with there, so we shared that moment together.”

When Trineyev arrived in the tunnel ahead of warmups, Ovechkin called him “Bogdan Crosby” due to his number 87. They then hugged each other.

“It just happened,” Trineyev said of the nickname. “When I came to Washington, I took number 88 — the same number I had at (KHL) Dynamo (Moscow). I just decided not to change it. Later, an older player who had already played in the NHL joined the team, and he took 88. They gave me 87. Since I’m young, I didn’t have much choice or change anything, so I decided to keep it. And then the jokes started — number 87, and here comes Bogdan Crosby.”

Trineyev asked if his Capitals nickname has stuck.

“I hope not,” he replied laughing. “But for now, I’m Bogdan Crosby.”

Trineyev wore number 88 at Capitals’ 2023 Training Camp, but went to number 87 the following season when Andrew Mangiapane signed a one-year contract with the team.

When Trineyev made his NHL debut, he became the first player in the NHL other than Sidney Crosby to wear number 87 since the 2022-23 season.

“As a child, yes, I followed him,” Trineyev said, admitting Crosby was one of his favorite players. “I won’t hide it, but most often, of course, I followed Russian guys.”