Alex Ovechkin was the center of attention at Dynamo Moscow’s VTB Arena on Friday.
Ovechkin was celebrated by his former club for breaking the NHL’s all-time goals record ahead of his impending return to the United States early next month. To mark the occasion, Dynamo raised a banner to the rafters of the arena, featuring an image of Ovechkin in a Washington Capitals jersey, his signature, and the number 895 — his record-breaking goal.
The legendary winger broke the record previously held by Wayne Gretzky against the New York Islanders on April 6.
Ovechkin, donning a personalized no. 8 Dynamo jersey with the captain’s ‘C,’ was also gifted a golden stick for his achievement. Dynamo’s players gathered around center ice during the ceremony, and the team’s wolf mascot fired off a flamethrower.
Ovechkin’s wife, Nastya Ovechkina, his two sons, Sergei and Ilya, his mother, Tatyana Ovechkina, and his father-in-law, Kirill Shubsky, were all in attendance to watch the celebration. Nastya filmed the banner raising from the stands and was gifted a gold Dynamo medal and pin.
“We are Dynamo players,” Tatyana Ovechkina told RIA Novosti’s Andrey Senchenko, per a translation by Google Translate. “It is very honorable and pleasant that Sasha was so well honored at the Dynamo stadium. There were so many fans, and they all love Sasha so much. Sasha was happy. He started here; this is his home. He is very proud to be a Dynamo player.
“We are all Dynamo players. I am very grateful to those who organized all this; we are all very happy with this day. Of course, we feel how proud Russia is of us, proud of Sasha. But the most important thing is that I am proud of my son.”
The ceremony took place as part of an event titled “Dynamo at the Start,” where Ovechkin also helped hand out bronze medals to players who helped Dynamo reach the Semifinals of the Gagarin Cup playoffs last season. Dynamo then squared off with Ak Bars in KHL preseason action.
Ovechkin was brought up through Dynamo’s academy and played the first four years of his professional career with the club in what was then called the Russian Super League.
He returned to play for the team during the 2012-13 NHL lockout and has held an advisory role with them since 2010.
The event is one of the final stops for Ovechkin back in his native Russia before he rejoins the Capitals for training camp in the fall. Ovechkin is slated to jump on the ice one more time before then, playing in Pavel Datsyuk’s ‘Magic Game’ in Yekaterinburg on August 30.
S/T to @HockeyNewsHub