On Saturday, Washington Capitals captain Alex Ovechkin had his day with the Stanley Cup. The Russian machine shared the championship trophy with thousands of Russians in his hometown of Moscow, but there was one moment that was especially notable.
Ovechkin’s father Mikhail finally had his chance to raise the Stanley Cup with his son.
Video
.@ovi8 meeting his father at his hometown rink Novogorsk Dynamo Hockey School pic.twitter.com/QlhIGku6oC
— Washington Capitals (@Capitals) July 7, 2018
The moment happened at the Dynamo Hockey School in Novogorsk, Ovi’s hometown rink.
Mikhail gave the Cup a kiss.
The proud father also smooched his son on the cheek.
Dad and son would later go out on the ice and take a photo together.
Photo: @Capitals
“Congratulations on your win,” Mikhail says to his son, as translated by Graham Dumas. “14? How many? Did we wait 14 years?”
“13,” Ovechkin responds.
“We waited 13 years!” Mikhail says.
According to a Russian interview, Ovechkin’s mother Tatyana said that Mikhail was not well enough to travel to the United States during the Capitals championship run. Ovechkin called Mikhail back in Moscow immediately after the Caps’ Stanley Cup victory.
During the Capitals playoff run in 2016, Mikhail was hospitalized for two days while staying with his son. MatchTV reported that Mikhail underwent a four-hour surgery after having a heart attack. A source close to the Ovechkins disputed MatchTV’s characterization of Mikhail’s illness, but did not deny the surgery. During the 2014 Sochi Olympics, Ovechkin’s father had heart trouble. Mikhail felt sick following Russia’s game against Slovakia on February 16. Then Caps general manager George McPhee said Ovechkin’s father “probably had a heart attack.”
While dad stayed home during the Caps’ Cup run, Tatyana did fly over for her son’s Stanley Cup celebration at his Northern Virginia home.
Alex Ovechkin hands the Stanley Cup to his father, Mikhail, for the first time. pic.twitter.com/5exWMvAZyz
— Tom Gulitti (@TomGulittiNHL) July 7, 2018
