{"id":685384,"date":"2026-06-05T06:06:06","date_gmt":"2026-06-05T06:06:06","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/685384\/"},"modified":"2026-06-05T06:06:06","modified_gmt":"2026-06-05T06:06:06","slug":"alex-ovechkin-is-definitely-not-playing-in-proposed-russia-usa-exhibition-game-this-summer-nor-are-any-active-nhl-or-khl-players","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/685384\/","title":{"rendered":"Alex Ovechkin is \u2018definitely not\u2019 playing in proposed Russia-USA exhibition game this summer, nor are any active NHL or KHL players"},"content":{"rendered":"

At the St. Petersburg International Economic Forum (SPIEF) in Russia, American Chamber of Commerce president Robert Agee announced that an exhibition hockey game will be played between the United States and Russia<\/a>. The friendly, which hopes to rebuild relations between the two world powers, is scheduled for July 1 and will take place at the Kristall Ice Palace, within Moscow\u2019s Luzhniki Olympic Complex.<\/p>\n

Per The Moscow Times<\/a>, Agee added that Washington Capitals<\/a> superstar Alex Ovechkin<\/a> would be involved in the event, but did not provide further details.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m proud to announce that we will be hosting the first ProAm hockey match, in part to celebrate the 250th anniversary of the United States on July 1 in Moscow,\u201d Agee said. \u201cWe hope that, not to make a pun, will start to thaw a little ice (between the two countries).\u201d<\/p>\n

Ovechkin\u2019s participation in the game, however, does not appear to be happening, per his agent, Gleb Chistyakov.<\/p>\n

When Chistyakov was asked by TASS whether Ovechkin would play<\/a>, he replied, \u201cDefinitely not,\u201d as translated by Google Translate.<\/p>\n

Some<\/a> American<\/a> hockey outlets<\/a> reported the news on social media Thursday, falsely claiming or implying that the game would be between the senior men\u2019s national teams of both countries.<\/p>\n

In fact, the game isn\u2019t set to feature any active players from either the NHL or the KHL, which makes sense, given that the USA and Russia\u2019s hockey programs would need to go through lengthy approval processes with both leagues. Russia is also still banned, on an event-by-event basis<\/a>, from all international competitions run by the IIHF, and it\u2019s doubtful that any national team would challenge that decision of its own accord.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis is the first we\u2019ve heard about this match,\u201d KHL president Alexei Morozov said<\/a>. \u201cI don\u2019t know who\u2019ll be playing; everyone will be on vacation on July 1, resting and preparing for the new season. Alexander Ovechkin\u2019s participation? I don\u2019t know how he\u2019s connected to the Chamber of Commerce and Industry.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019ll be on vacation. I don\u2019t even know who\u2019ll be playing or what the lineups will be. You can just imagine anything.\u201d<\/p>\n

Agee\u2019s actual proclamation is more of a beer-league, pickup-style challenge between the two nations\u2019 government officials, with the potential participation of perhaps retired or unaffiliated professionals. Svetlana Zhurova, First Deputy Chair of the State Duma Committee on International Affairs, backed that up by announcing, per TASS<\/a>, that the game will feature men and women from the Chamber of Commerce and Industry of the Russian Federation and the American Chamber of Commerce.<\/p>\n

The USA-Russia game was first broached in March 2025 during a phone call between Donald Trump and Vladimir Putin<\/a> and was later publicly revealed in a summary of their conversation<\/a> posted by the Russian government.<\/p>\n

\u201cDonald Trump supported Vladimir Putin\u2019s idea to organize hockey matches in the USA and Russia between Russian and American players playing in the NHL and KHL,\u201d the relevant section reads, as translated via Google Translate.<\/p>\n

Even then, the exhibition\u2019s framework caused confusion among those who might be involved.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe have just become aware of the conversation between President Trump and President Putin,\u201d the league said in a statement<\/a>. \u201cObviously, we were not a party to those discussions, and it would be inappropriate for us to comment at this time.\u201d<\/p>\n

While Ovechkin won\u2019t be leaving his vacation in Turkey<\/a> to suit up in Agee\u2019s July friendly, he will be playing in an exhibition matchup later in the month. Ovechkin is scheduled to play in the annual \u201cMatch of the Year\u201d charity game between Russian NHL and KHL stars<\/a>, to be held at SKA Arena on July 25.<\/p>\n

The 40-year-old winger is set to decide on the future of his NHL career sometime next month<\/a>. He is weighing retirement versus signing one last, one-year contract with the Capitals<\/a>.<\/p>\n

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