The relationship between the United States and Russia has been tense in recent years. But Alex Ovechkin and some of his fellow countrymen believe the sport they love can bring the two countries together.

While participating in the Ovi Cup gala match over the weekend, the Washington Capitals captain spoke with CNN’s Fred Pleitgen and expressed hope that hockey could unite Americans and Russians despite political tensions.

“Both countries love hockey, so I hope it’s going to connect well and we will see,” Ovechkin told Pleitgen in the locker room post-game.

Hearing Ovechkin weigh in on this topic is significant considering his longstanding acquaintance with Russian president Vladimir Putin, especially since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in 2022. He spoke on the conflict that same year, calling for peace without condemning Putin’s actions.

“I’m Russian, right? Sometimes something I can’t control. It’s not in my hands. I hope it’s going to end soon and it’s going to be peace in both countries. I don’t control this one,” he said then. “He’s my president. But I’m not in politics, I’m an athlete. I hope everything is gonna be done soon. It’s [a] sad situation right now for both sides.”

United States president Donald Trump is set to meet Putin in Alaska on Friday where the two are expected to discuss the war in Ukraine among other topics. Pittsburgh Penguins forward Evgeni Malkin also spoke with CNN and wished the two leaders well.

“People love hockey here and people love hockey in the U.S. It’s a big meeting I think next week between Trump and Putin, and I hope they have a good meeting and everything is done,” Malkin told Pleitgen.

Trump and Putin also met in 2018, during the former’s first term. The summit held in Helsinki, Finland was one of the most significant meetings between the two countries since the end of the Cold War.

One player who experienced that era at its height told CNN he believes hockey is a competitive avenue that could level the playing field in diplomatic negotiations.

“I was first to come to the National Hockey League,” former Soviet defenseman Viacheslav Fetisov said. “It was 1989, and it was still the Cold War. Still it was hate between the people [of both countries] but as soon as you start playing we start to understand each other, we start to become friends.”

Fetisov led the first group of Soviet players permitted to play in the NHL. He spent nearly six seasons with the New Jersey Devils before being traded to the Detroit Red Wings in 1995 where he became part of the famous “Russian Five” that were pivotal in establishing the franchise’s Stanley Cup dynasty. He lifted the Cup twice (1997 and 1998) and brought it to Russia for the first time in its history.

Hockey has been engrained in the U.S.-Russia rivalry with the most notable moments occurring at the Olympics. The “Miracle on Ice” at Lake Placid in 1980 and TJ Oshie’s four-goal shootout effort at the 2014 Sochi Games are first to come to mind. Fetisov was actually on that 1980 Soviet team that fell 4-3 to the underdog U.S.