Alex Ovechkin Celebrates Knowledge Day with Schoolkids, Has Really Really Grey Hair Now

September 3, 2013 10:24 pm

On September 1st, Russia celebrated Knowledge Day. The national holiday marks the end of summer and the return of children to school. The day is marked by celebrations. At the beginning of the day, all the kids, dressed-up in their best clothing, present flowers to their teachers. And to call the kids to their classes an eleventh grader carries a first-grade girl on his shoulders as she rings a bell. It’s cute.

This year, Washington Capitals captain Alex Ovechkin helped celebrate the day by visiting St. Petersburg’s boarding school #576 nicknamed Forward, along with sudden KHLer Ilya Kovalchuk and former San Jose Shark Alexei Semenov.

Ovechkin, whose hair is almost completely grey now, signed autographs, shook hands, and hugged a few kids.

He also offered some advice. “Work and don’t pay attention to little things that don’t matter,” Ovechkin said to the SKA blog Hockey Petersburg and translated by Fedor Fedin. “Most importantly, have desire, and everything else will come true.”

At the end of the celebration all first-graders stood for a photo with the hockey players and their first teacher.