{"id":406001,"date":"2026-01-13T22:05:17","date_gmt":"2026-01-13T22:05:17","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/406001\/"},"modified":"2026-01-13T22:05:17","modified_gmt":"2026-01-13T22:05:17","slug":"alex-ovechkin-nikita-kucherov-andrei-vasilevskiy-named-to-russian-olympic-team","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/406001\/","title":{"rendered":"Alex Ovechkin, Nikita Kucherov, Andrei Vasilevskiy named to Russian Olympic team"},"content":{"rendered":"

Washington Capitals<\/a> captain and forward Alex Ovechkin<\/a>, Tampa Bay Lightning<\/a> forward Nikita Kucherov<\/a> and Lightning goaltender Andrei Vasilevskiy<\/a> were the first three players named to the Russian Olympic Committee\u2019s initial roster. <\/p>\n

Ovechkin, 36, will be making his fourth Olympic appearance but is seeking his first medal. Kucherov, 28, and Vasilevskiy, 27, will make their Olympic debuts after leading the Lightning to back-to-back Stanley Cup titles. <\/p>\n

Pittsburgh Penguins<\/a> center Evgeni Malkin<\/a>, who is recovering from knee surgery and will miss the first two months of the season, plans to play in the Olympics, according to<\/a> The Athletic\u2019s Rob Rossi. <\/p>\n

On Thursday, the U.S. Olympic team<\/a> named Toronto Maple Leafs<\/a> forward Auston Matthews<\/a>, Chicago Blackhawks<\/a> forward Patrick Kane<\/a> and defenseman Seth Jones<\/a> to its initial roster. <\/p>\n

(Photo: Maddie Meyer \/ Getty Images)<\/p>\n

What would winning an Olympic medal mean for Ovechkin\u2019s legacy?<\/p>\n

Tarik El-Bashir, Capitals writer: I\u2019d say his legacy as an all-time great is already secure. He\u2019s got a Stanley Cup, a Conn Smythe Trophy, three Hart Trophies and nine Maurice \u201cRocket\u201d Richard Trophies. He\u2019s also enjoyed a ton of success on the international stage, helping Russia to three gold medals in the world championship and a gold medal at the world junior championship. <\/p>\n

The one thing missing from Ovechkin\u2019s distinguished resume is an Olympic medal. I\u2019m not sure how much that means to his \u201clegacy\u201d but I do know how much it would mean to Ovechkin, who takes great pride in representing his homeland. His mother, Tatyana, won two gold medals as a basketball player and he wants nothing more than to claim one for himself in Beijing in what, at age 36, could be his last chance to do so.<\/p>\n

How do Kucherov and Vasilevskiy impact ROC\u2019s chances of winning gold?<\/p>\n

Joe Smith, Lightning writer: If the Russians win gold, Vasilevskiy and Kucherov will likely be a big reason why. Vasilevskiy, the reigning Conn Smythe Trophy winner, should give them a chance in any game, including against the juggernaut Canadians. Kucherov established himself as a top-five player and clutch playoff performer. The Russians are talented up front, but Kucherov is a difference-maker for their 5-on-5 and top line.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Washington Capitals captain and forward Alex Ovechkin, Tampa Bay Lightning forward Nikita Kucherov and Lightning goaltender Andrei Vasilevskiy…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":406002,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5114],"tags":[191,5,4,2602,92,190,109,5222],"class_list":{"0":"post-406001","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-washington-capitals","8":"tag-capitals","9":"tag-hockey","10":"tag-nhl","11":"tag-olympics","12":"tag-tampa-bay-lightning","13":"tag-washington","14":"tag-washington-capitals","15":"tag-washingtoncapitals"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/channels.im\/@nhl\/115890062910195218","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/406001","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=406001"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/406001\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/406002"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=406001"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=406001"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=406001"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}