Washington Capitals captain Alex Ovechkin will not get the chance to compete at the 2026 Winter Olympic Games in Milan, as Russia will not be allowed to participate in the games amid the ongoing war in Ukraine.
IIHF president Luc Tardif announced the decision, which ultimately came from the International Olympic Committee and is pending an official statement.
“The IOC is the organizer – we only deal with the competition (the hockey tournaments) itself,” Tardif said, per hockeynews.se. “We have been pressuring them to make a decision, one way or another, because we’re getting closer to the Olympics and we need to know.
“Recently, they asked us to send them a schedule without Russia, so that’s where we are. The official statement is pending but the IOC has told us that they are informing the Russian Olympic Committee that they are not participating in the Olympics.”
Ovechkin will be 40 when the Games get underway in Italy, and this could be the last year he'd be able to participate as an active NHL player.
The Russian winger broke the NHL's all-time gaols record this past season, netting his 895th career goal on April 6 against the New York Islanders and scoring two more to set the new record at 897 and counting.
In 65 games in 2024-25, Ovechkin scored 44 goals, the third-most in the NHL this season, and still managed over a point-per-game season despite missing 16 games with a broken leg. In the Stanley Cup Playoffs, he led the Capitals with five goals.
Ovechkin has one year left on his NHL contract, and is expected to decide on his future after that. However, he has made it clear that he intends to finish his playing days wtih his original team, the KHL's Dynamo Moscow.
Alex Ovechkin brings ‘precious’ 895th career goal puck and hockey stick back home to Russia
Alex Ovechkin flew home to Russia with a lot of bags, and now we know two of the items that traveled with him.
Ovechkin brought home the hockey stick with which he scored his 895th career goal and the milestone goal puck — both of which were meticulously authenticated by the Washington Capitals and MeiGray.
Ovechkin’s close friend Gus posed with the famous twig over the weekend. The stick features a special sticker on its blade, which appears to be signed by Capitals equipment manager Brock Myles, that reads “Ovie Goal 895 Game Equipment” along with a small hologram sticker from MeiGray. There’s also a piece of tape on the shaft that reads in black Sharpie: “895th Record Setting Goal 4-6-25 vs NYI.”
A video of Ovechkin holding the milestone goal puck was later posted to the “Official channel of Alexander Ovechkin’s Media Team” on Telegram.
Ovechkin says in the video, per a Sports.ru transcription and a Google translation, “Hello everyone! Here it is, precious.”
It’s unclear if Ovechkin brought home the record-breaking memorabilia just for the summer or for good. Ovechkin plans to eventually open a museum in his native Moscow featuring his own game-used memorabilia from his career and the extensive stick collection he has put together over the years.
Two new sticks Ovechkin added this season were from goaltenders. New York Islanders goaltender Ilya Sorokin gave Ovechkin the twig he was holding when the record-breaking goal was scored on him during the April 6 game. Ovechkin also asked for the goalie stick Charlie Lindgren used to score an own goal on himself.
Other hockey sticks Ovechkin has received throughout his career have come from Mario Lemieux, Connor McDavid, and Wayne Gretzky.
