Alex Ovechkin talks about his break, training plans, and the Capitals’ playoff push as he chases Gretzky’s goal record (Photo by Patrick Smith/Getty Images)
Alex Ovechkin flew from Washington to Miami on Monday to catch his breath during the NHL break for the 4 Nations Face-Off. The Capitals' next game will be held on February 22, and the 39-year-old forward intends to spend spare time usefully. He needs to score 16 goals to surpass Wayne Gretzky and set the NHL record for the most scored goals. Ovechkin currently has 879 goals, while Gretzky has 894. You can follow the great race in more detail on Team Ovechkin’s Telegram channel.
However, the Washington captain does not want to think about chasing Gretzky right now. For him, the main thing is to prepare for the second half of the season, because his Capitals (36-11-8) unexpectedly for many lead the Eastern Conference with a gap of nine points over their closest competitor and intend to fight for the Stanley Cup.
“Everyone understands why we [are in first place],” said Ovechkin in an exclusive interview with RG. “We have roster depth, which allows us to rotate and swap lines. It also helps that there are no serious injuries.”
Training With Mystery Partner
Last year, during the break in the regular NHL season, Ovechkin went on vacation to Dubai, but this year, he decided to change his plan. Instead of flying to a new destination to relax, Ovechkin remains committed to his fitness and coming back from the break at 110% for a final push to beat Gretzky’ goal-scoring record and a President’s Trophy finish.
In order to do that, he’s called on a mystery training partner to help push him to another level of fitness.
“I flew to Miami with my wife and children,” Ovechkin said. “And I will have a small training camp with a person whose name I will not name yet. But he played in the NHL. Let's make a little mystery out of this. And it is not Ilya Kovalchuk. Maybe you will see this on my or his social media. He is a famous person.”
“In Miami, of course, I will also rest, as I am doing now (the conversation took place on Monday — RG). You need to rest well and work hard! I will rest for a few days, recover, and prepare.”
The Future of Russian Hockey
As the face of Russian hockey, Ovechkin follows young and talented players from his country. Two of the top Russian talents of recent times are Philadelphia Flyers forward Matvei Michkov, who is in his first season in the NHL, and Montreal Canadiens draftee Ivan Demidov, who currently plays for SKA in the KHL but plans to try his hand at the NHL in the 2025-26 season.
Ovechkin, who has gotten first-hand experience playing against Michkov in the Metropolitan division, had some good praise for the young rookie, but cautioned against showboating his success.
“Michkov is a great guy; he's doing well,” Ovechkin said.
“He played against us recently, so I got to see him. But I wish he would show off a little less. Otherwise, everything is great.”
Ovechkin also had a great amount of praise for Ivan Demidov, who was drafted 5th overall in the 2024 NHL Draft by the Montreal Canadiens. In his estimation, Demidov could also become a great player, as long as he continued to focus on working hard and staying focused on the task at hand.
“Work, and everything will be fine,” said Ovechkin. “The most important thing is not showing off. Because when anyone shows off, it can come back to bite you in a big way.”
Ovechkin also said that the Capitals players could not watch the Super Bowl together this year, in which the Philadelphia Eagles beat the Kansas City Chiefs (44-20).
Sergey has been in sports journalism since 2007 as a reporter, editor, and manager. He has covered the Olympic Games, soccer World Cups, the World Cup of Hockey in 2016, the European championships, the Stanley Cup Finals, IOC events, and many others. Sergey interviewed the sport's greatest athletes, coaches, and executives. Since 2016, he has been an Independent Senior Editor of NHL.com/ru.
