Barely a handful of days have passed since the family touched back down in Russia, and young Sergei is already lighting the lamp.
The two Ovechkin boys, Ilya alongside Sergei, took to the rink Sunday for some pee-wee action while their celebrated father, Alex Ovechkin, looked on with evident pride up in the stands. Fittingly, the pair of pint-sized Ovis turned out in matching red sweaters and laces of yellow on their skates.
A delightful clip Nastya Ovechkina posted to Instagram showed Sergei — donning the No. 91 of a miniature Sergei Fedorov — grabbing the puck off the ice from behind the net he was defending, motoring the full length of the sheet, and burying it past the keeper at the opposite end for a tidy tally. Coasting to the red line balanced on a single blade, he thrust his arms skyward, which had his father, himself famous for theatrical antics, peering toward the lens and cracking up.
That memorable marker came mere weeks after the two siblings took on their dad, the pair of Protas brothers, and Evgeni Malkin in a round of corridor shinny on the eve of a Penguins-Capitals tilt.
These hockey-mad kids stepped onto the surface at the Iceplex in MedStar Capitals' complex more than once across the season just finished — including a bid to mimic the trademark hot-stick plus belly-flop bits of their father after the club practiced this past March. Back in January, Sergei suited up too for an intermission contest, the Mites-on-Ice showcase, held over at the Capital One building, his dad looking on from the players' bench.
Soon to settle the question of whether he laces up for one more campaign in the NHL with the Caps, Ovechkin pointed to his pair of boys when speaking on Breakdown Day, naming them among the reasons a comeback appeals to him. The kids want him back, he explained, because the city, the club, and the guys all have their affection.
He'll play the part of hockey dad for now, at least, while Sergei nudges the scouting world to watch for his name when the 2036 draft rolls around.