Photo: Bruce Bennett

Alex Ovechkin‘s skates aren’t the only things looking more patriotic for the Sochi Olympics. During Monday’s practice at the Bolshoy Ice Dome, the Russian machine debuted brand new sticks, specially designed by Bauer to match his skates and uniform. The bottom half of the stick is boring: a simple black with Ovechkin’s number eight and the Bauer logo. The top half is where the design gets fancy.

There’s a stripe of blue, as seen in the country’s flag. Then there’s Россия, Russia written in the mother tongue, over a white background. Then the stick concludes with a bright red and the Russian coat of arms overlaid in white.

Photo: Scott Rovak

On the other side of the stick, the coat of arms extends lower, and Россия, in gold, overlays a red background.

Photo: championat.com

Ovechkin finishes off the look with blue and red tape on the handle.

I don’t know about you, but I think these sticks are a work of art.