OTTAWA, Ontario (AP) — Alex Ovechkin said Tuesday that athletes from Russia just want to represent their country, but the Washington Capitals' captain and NHL career goal-scoring leader declined to weigh in on the decision to allow his home nation back into international hockey tournaments.
“I don’t know how it’s going to work out, but I’m pretty sure if you ask the fans, the fans want to see the best players out there,” Ovechkin said after his team's
morning skate ahead of playing the Ottawa Senators in Canada's capital city. "The fans want to see young generation players who are going to be future stars, future NHLers. But you know it’s not up to us.”
The Court of Arbitration for Sport ruled late last month that the International Ice Hockey Federation must reinstate Russia, beginning with the world junior championship set to open in the Canadian province of Alberta on Dec. 26. Russia has been excluded from participating in the sport internationally since it invaded Ukraine in 2022.
Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney said Russia will not be allowed to play at the world juniors, and the government may opt not to issue visas.
Wayne Gretzky, the league's all-time points leader, said he understood Carney's stance, adding, "I think a lot of the players and the people of Canada feel the same way.”
Ovechkin passed Gretzky in goals in April 2025, with the “Great One” in attendance for the final days of the chase. Asked about Carney’s stance, Ovechkin said, “It's his thoughts, his decision.”
Several prominent hockey countries, including Sweden, Finland and the Czech Republic, have voiced opposition to Russia's readmittance, even going so far as to say their national teams will not take the ice against Russia as long as the war is ongoing.
Canada’s secretary of state for sport, Adam van Koeverden, said last week the decision to bar Russia stems from accusations the Kremlin has used sporting success for “propaganda” purposes to garner domestic support for the war in Ukraine — a charge Ovechkin denied when prompted about it Tuesday.
The Ukrainian Canadian Congress is organizing a demonstration outside the Canadian Tire Centre called “No War Crimes in Hockey” to protest Ovechkin’s support for Russian President Vladimir Putin.
Ovechkin publicly backed Putin in 2017 when he launched a social movement called “Putin Team.” At the time, he told reporters from The Associated Press and The Washington Post, “I just support my country.”
When Russia invaded Ukraine in February 2022, Ovechkin said, “Please, no more war,” when asked about the invasion. Asked about his relationship with Putin, Ovechkin said: “He’s my president, but I’m not in politics. I’m an athlete.”
Ovechkin also appeared in an ad earlier this year for a political party aligned with Putin. He told reporters in September that he was asked to participate and agreed to do so.
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