Photo: Instagram/Alex Ovechkin
Washington Capitals captain Alex Ovechkin announced the passing of his father, Mikhail, on Wednesday. The announcement was made on his Instagram account.
Alex inscribed the post: “Today I lost my father. I thank everyone for their support, but please be understanding and do not disturb my family in this difficult time for us.”
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Ovechkin took a leave of absence from the Capitals on Tuesday. The Capitals announced that Ovechkin was tending to family matters related to the health of a loved one. It’s assumed he and his family made the trip back to Russia on Tuesday.
Mikhail Ovechkin, who played soccer professionally before an injury cut short his career, had a big impact on Alex’s professional hockey career along with Ovechkin’s mother Tatyana, a two-time Olympic gold medalist for the Soviet Union in women’s basketball (1976 and 1980). They helped spark Ovechkin’s love of hockey from a young age.
Mikhail Ovechkin was unable to travel to see the Capitals win the Stanley Cup in 2018 because of health reasons. This is the moment that summer when Alex brought the Cup to him at Dynamo Moscow’s training facility. As Mikhail said that day “Huge happiness.” pic.twitter.com/bdi4U2wDgc
— Tom Gulitti (@TomGulittiNHL) February 15, 2023
“My father, I remember, he would go on some trips and bring me some goalie helmets,” Alex Ovechkin said after he signed a 13-year contract with the Capitals in 2008. “I didn’t know what it was, except it was something about hockey, and when I was a little kid everything was about hockey, hockey, hockey.”
Mikhail Ovechkin was 71.
Our thoughts and prayers are with Alex and the Ovechkin family.
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