Home / News / Alex Ovechkin tours Moscow with Stanley Cup, stops at Fan Fest, Dynamo HQ and parties the night away

Alex Ovechkin tours Moscow with Stanley Cup, stops at Fan Fest, Dynamo HQ and parties the night away

By Donya Abramo

 2 Comments

July 8, 2018 9:53 am

On Saturday, Capitals captain Alex Ovechkin was reunited with the Stanley Cup for his day with the trophy.

Ovechkin, who returned to Russia in late June, with enough merchandise in tow for the entire country, chose to spend his day with the Cup in his hometown of Moscow. He visited the FIFA World Cup Fan Fest — ahead of Russia’s clash with Croatia in the quarter-final — as well as his hometown club, Dynamo Moscow, before heading to Arbat Hall for a party with his friends and Russian teammates, Evgeny Kuznetsov and Dmitry Orlov.


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FIFA World Cup Fan Fest

Ovechkin’s day began at Moscow State University and the FIFA World Cup Fan Fest. He brought the Cup there to share with fans waiting to watch Russia and Croatia’s game later in the day.

As Ovi made his way to the front of Fan Fest, in order to set up for photographs, he was surrounded by fans chanting his name. More than 3000 fans lined up to get a photo with Ovechkin and the Stanley Cup.

Once photographs with waiting fans were completed, with the last photo happening at 3:45 PM local time, Ovechkin took the the stage overlooking Fan Fest, to share the Cup with everyone that had turned out to attend the event. He was also interviewed by an emcee about his experience winning the Cup, as well as his thoughts about Russia making it to the quarter-final stage of the World Cup.

Additionally, while at Fan Fest, Ovechkin was gifted with a portrait from a fan, Sia Minlivi. Ovechkin’s agent, David Abrutyn, held it up so that it could be photographed by the media in attendance.

Dynamo Moscow Headquarters

The next stop on Ovechkin’s day with the Stanley Cup was the headquarters of his hometown team, Dynamo Moscow. Upon arriving, Ovi insisted on his father, Mikhail, who had been too sick to travel to the United States to watch him win the Cup, come over and lift the trophy with him.

Ovechkin then addressed the young Dynamo players in attendance, encouraging them to follow their dreams. “Follow your dream, and it doesn’t matter who you’re going to be in the future,” Ovechkin said, according to NHL.com’s Tom Gulitti. “Follow it. It doesn’t matter if you want to be a hockey player or you’re going to play in the NHL or KHL.”

After meeting briefly with Russian media, Ovechkin made a stop at Nicklas Backstrom’s photograph and held the Cup up next to it. During the 2012-13 NHL lockout, Backstrom and Ovechkin played together at Dynamo Moscow.

Ovechkin also took the Stanley Cup out onto the ice at the Dynamo Moscow rink. After taking a quick lap, Ovechkin posed for a photograph with his father, Mikhail.

Photo: Dynamo Moscow

Before heading out, Ovechkin had one final stop to make, according to Gulitti. He went to the locker room with former teammate Vladimir Vorobiev, who now coaches Dynamo. There, he fulfilled a promise made to Vorobiev last summer, to bring the Cup to the Dynamo locker room and share some beers.

Arbat Hall

Ovechkin’s final stop of the night was at Arbat Hall, for a party with friends and family. Evgeny Kuznetsov and Dmitry Orlov both joined Ovechkin there to celebrate. Ovechkin’s wife, Nastya Ovechkina, largely documented the private event through her Instagram stories.

First up was Ovechkin’s arrival at Arbat Hall, which was met with cheers, and a ton of confetti.

They also relived Evgeny Kuznetsov’s second round series-winning overtime goal.

A video montage of Ovechkin and Nastya’s engagement and love story projected for the guests, while they were serenaded with live music. Later, the video documenting their wedding day was played.

Videos: @nastyashubskaya

Of course, it wouldn’t be a party with the Stanley Cup without a Cup stand. Ovechkin, Kuznetsov, and Orlov all participated in the new tradition, which was started at the Georgetown Waterfront celebrations.

Once the Cup stands were completed, it was back to the live music. This time, two polar bear mascots, wearing Ovi’s Capitals jersey, went up on stage and danced along as another song celebrating Ovechkin was sung.

Finally, as the party wound down — at least on social media — Ovechkin danced with the Cup one last time, cuddled and kissed it at his table, and was serenaded one more time the dance floor.

Ovechkin will have the Cup again on Sunday, July 9, but for a more private affair out of the public eye.

Headline photo: @KHL

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