MOSCOW, July 25 Three-time world hockey champion as part of the Russian national team Alexander Ovechkin expressed hope that he will still be able to play in the World Championship and the Olympic Games.
Ovechkin has played for the Russian national team at 13 World Championships, three Olympics and two World Cups. He missed the last two Winter Olympics in 2018 and 2022, because the National Hockey League (NHL) did not release its players. Since 2022, Russian national teams have been suspended from competitions under the auspices of the International Ice Hockey Federation (IIHF) due to the situation in Ukraine.
«I hope that I will still be able to play in both the World Championship and the Olympic Games,» the official website of the Russian Ice Hockey Federation (RIHF) quotes Ovechkin as saying.
Ovechkin named «the tournaments where the Russian team won» as the most memorable competitions as part of the national team. «The Olympic Games left a special impression, it's a pity that we couldn't win medals. But the atmosphere that reigned at the training camp, at the Games — it was wonderful. Of course, the World Championship in Quebec stands out. The plot there developed in such a way that it was time to write books and make films. For us and for the fans, it was a real holiday,» the forward believes.
The Dynamo alumnus emphasized that he celebrated all three gold medals of the World Championship as brightly as he did his victory in the Stanley Cup in 2018 with Washington: «We got together with all the guys and celebrated. Of course, it wasn't as public as with the Stanley Cup, but we had a good rest.»
Recalling the tournaments he didn't win, Ovechkin said that the Russian team was «dumped» by the referee at the 2010 World Championships in Germany: «The Russian team has always come to the World Championships with a strong lineup. But a lot depends on nuances, for example, luck. In Riga (2006 — editor's note) there was a good chance, but we missed it because of our own mistakes. In the same Germany (2010 World Championships) we lost to the Czechs in the final, but then the referee simply dumped us.»