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Washington Capitals: Alex Ovechkin – Hockey’s Global Ambassador

ByZach Williams|
WASHINGTON, DC - NOVEMBER 23: Alex Ovechkin #8 of the Washington Capitals stands on the ice with his teammates and the Detroit Red Wings for a NHL-wide moment of silence for Hockey Fights Cancer before their game at Capital One Arena on November 23, 2018 in Washington, DC. (Photo by Patrick McDermott/NHLI via Getty Images)
WASHINGTON, DC - NOVEMBER 23: Alex Ovechkin #8 of the Washington Capitals stands on the ice with his teammates and the Detroit Red Wings for a NHL-wide moment of silence for Hockey Fights Cancer before their game at Capital One Arena on November 23, 2018 in Washington, DC. (Photo by Patrick McDermott/NHLI via Getty Images)

Measuring Washington Capitals forward Alex Ovechkin’s impact on the ice is an easy thing to do. Just log onto your favorite stat site and look up the facts.

You’ll find he has 658 goals, 553 assists and just over 1.2k points in his career. I can sit and talk about his hockey stats all day, but we all know Washington Capitals left winger Alex Ovechkin is a Russian machine on the ice.

What you won’t find on hockey-reference, CapFriendly, or any other stat source is the impact Ovechkin has off the ice.

Before Ovechkin came to the Washington Capitals in 2004, hockey was just a thing in the DMV. Poor results led to upset fans, empty arenas, and a professional sports team that just planted a root in a city that already had so much going on to pay attention to mediocrity.

The success and energy Alex Ovechkin brought to the team enabled that root to sprout and the continued success has allowed the Capitals to continue to grow and blossom into the community that they’ve built today. Just watching Alex Ovechkin highlights on YouTube makes me want to lace up the skates and play the game of hockey, a game that needed a global voice.

The moment Alex Ovechkin accepted the key to D.C. years ago, he accepted a mission to grow the sport of hockey not just locally, but globally.

Washington Capitals forward Alexander Ovechkin is escorted by showgirls as he arrives at the 2009 NHL Awards.
LAS VEGAS – JUNE 18: Alexander Ovechkin of the Washington Capitals is escorted by showgirls as he arrives at the 2009 NHL Awards at the Palms Casino Resort on June 18, 2009 in Las Vegas, Nevada. (Photo by Ethan Miller/Getty Images)

From making a fans day by signing autographs, giving back to his local community, granting wishes for our youth, supplying hockey equipment to orphanages, giving back is what makes Ovechkin such an electrifying and captivating individual.

As soon as I learned that Ovechkin was heading to China to help continue to grow the sport, I wasn’t surprised. With two KHL teams in China, the seed has been planted and its full speed ahead.

While Ovechkin was in China, he was immersed in China’s rich culture, learned about Chinese tradition, even rubbed every knob on the door to The Forbidden City, met his biggest fan 10-year-old, William Ye, hit the ice with some locals including Arizona State Men’s Hockey Forward Peter Zhong, and of course toured the Gr8 Wall of China.

The sport of hockey experienced a lot of growing this past week. Establishing a solid presence globally, the NHL and KHL should continue to partner with the task of improving on the sport’s international presence. The sport of hockey spreads across most of the globe.

Washington Capitals forward Alex Ovechkin takes a group photo with children at Shougang Rink after having a positive impact on the sport of hockey in China.
BEIJING, CHINA – AUGUST 05: Alex Ovechkin takes a group photo with children at Shougang Rink on August 05, 2019 in Beijing, China. (Photo by Emmanuel Wong/NHLI via Getty Images)

When we talk about how great of a hockey player Alex Ovechkin is, let’s remember the work Ovi put in off the ice to grow the sport he loves.

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