Washington Capitals captain Alexander Ovechkin gave a candid interview blogger Amiran Sardarov. We have collected Ovi's loudest and most interesting statements — about his love of alcohol, about the assassination attempt on US presidential candidate Donald Trump, about his career, about his love for Russia, about the future, and even about a wedding gift from the Russian President.
About family She comes first. It was happiness for me and all my loved ones when the child was born. Time flies very quickly, Seryozha will soon turn six years old. Now I can only devote time to myself during training.
I think that without my family there would not be all my sporting achievements. He calmed down and calmed down. Other priorities in life. And discipline. Previously, when we were young, you could go to a nightclub until six in the morning without worry. Wake up the next day and go to the nightclub again. Now there is no such thing. You have two children, a wife. They will say: “Listen, dad, what are you doing?”
About alcohol and the love of beerDrink beer? It's calm, there's nothing like that here. And not just one bottle. We don’t drink, what does “thump” mean? We just love to relax. After hockey you are tired, and drinking a couple of glasses of wine or beer is normal. I like beer. It makes you feel relaxed and relieves tension. I like the taste of light beer.
But when training begins, you need to give up beer. During preseason. You are trying to lose extra pounds and limit yourself in food and alcohol. But a little bit is possible, a couple of glasses. There are those hockey players who don't drink. But I don’t imagine myself as a person who says: “I’m not a drinker, I’m done.” You can pause for a certain amount of time, but after the game two or three beers are a pleasure. On the contrary, it is useful.
The NHL is a free league. Apart from drugs and doping, they can’t prohibit you from anything there. You came to training, worked hard, and then no matter what you do—whether you drink, go to the casino to lose all your money, or buy expensive cars—it doesn’t bother anyone.
About my career While I'm having fun, I'm enjoying it, is there any point in finishing? If I understand that that’s it, I don’t like it anymore… The most important moment is after the vacation. You come, you need to run cross-country, lift weights, sit on a certain diet. Then you think: “Why do I need this, do I still have it?” You suffer for three or four days, and then you enter, take your path and realize that you love this business. If I didn’t love it, I would have finished already.
I want to play 1,500 games in the NHL, I can achieve it in two seasons. And I want to win the Stanley Cup again.
There were so many moments, so many opportunities, but, unfortunately, I don’t have an Olympic medal. I was very happy when the guys won Olympic gold.
About fans in Russia and the USA The culture there is completely different. They come with their families and buy cola or beer. Here you come, and you have a fan sector. There is no such thing there. In Russia — drums, scarves, and there — T-shirts, caps, a glass of beer. And so they sit and enjoy hockey. I think that both there and there all the fans are grateful. They worry, they love.
About the assassination attempt on Trump 
The assassination attempt on Trump is stupid. I don't understand how you can kill a person. Even if you hate him. Thank God he survived.
Can I vote? No, I don't have a passport. It’s hard for me to judge who to vote for and who not to vote for. I'm not American. And I am not a supporter of political debates and conversations. Why impose your opinion on someone?
About Russia and the USA The mentality there is different, completely different rules. People there live according to the rules. They were told to go straight, they will go straight, they will not go right or left. When I come to Russia, it’s a completely different world. I have a blast here, and my wife has a blast too. But I feel good there too.
All my friends are here, all my relatives are here. And Nastya's relatives. I feel more comfortable being in Russia at the moment than in the USA. I had a childhood dream — to go play in the NHL, I didn’t have a dream to go to America. Could have ended up in Canada. I can calmly say that Washington is my second home, I feel comfortable there. Everyone knows me there, everyone loves me, I know and love everyone there. But home is home.
About the financial condition No, of course, less ($100 million). But as? If you take everything, there are taxes there. Financiers help, but all the same, you put, say, 100 dollars at 10 percent — and it’s still good if it’s 10 percent, everything is going up and down now. What 100 million? If there were 100 million, I wouldn’t be sitting here now, but would be relaxing somewhere, drinking beer, not water.
Are you ready to become a minister? To become a minister of sports, you need to learn a little more. I’m not ready to answer at the moment whether I want to become one. It’s hard, you won’t see your family again. On the road all the time. Don't know. We'll wait and see.
Messi or Ronaldo? Messi, of course. From the very beginning, when he first came to Barcelona, I immediately said: “That’s it, my favorite player.” Because of sporting achievements. I don't know him as a person. I know him, but I don't know what kind of person he is. I just love what Messi does with the ball. For Ronaldo, yes, speed, impact, and Messi, if you ask any football player, the majority will choose Messi.
About the wedding gift from Putin It was a very beautiful set. The exciting moment was when he called. The wedding was cool.