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Alex Ovechkin, who is definitely not on the Florida Panthers, skates at the Florida Panthers IceDen

By Cara Bahniuk

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August 16, 2018 11:31 am

Washington Capitals captain Alex Ovechkin is continuing to ramp up his training for next season.

We’ve previously covered Ovechkin at the beach kayaking, doing frogger leaps, and exercising on whatever this thing is. Thursday, Ovechkin took his workouts back to the ice and showed up at an enemy ice rink.

Ovechkin, who is still definitely on the Capitals roster, skated with a collection of Florida Panthers and other NHL players at Florida’s practice rink, the IceDen.

The video was posted by George Richard who covers the Columbus Blue Jackets for the Columbus Dispatch.

The on-ice workout was arranged for NHL players currently living in South Florida. Attendees included Ovechkin, Winnipeg Jets Jacob Trouba and Dmitry Kulikov, Ottawa Senators Craig Anderson, and Florida Panthers Derek MacKenzie, Aaron Ekblad, Keith Yandle, and Micheal Haley. Ovechkin wore his red Capitals practice jersey from last season.

In a second video posted by Richards, Ovechkin skates around blockages on the ice and picks up pucks in the corner to shoot on Ottawa Senators goaltender Craig Anderson.

The Ovechkins are currently living at their apartment in Miami while awaiting the arrival of Baby Ovechkin, due sometime this month.

Ovechkin was at one time almost a Florida Panthers player – if you follow the logic that then Panthers GM Rick Dudley used during the 2003 NHL draft.

Ovechkin was born two days after the cutoff date for prospects to be eligible to be selected in the 2003 draft. With the very last pick in the ninth round of that draft, Dudley tried to select Ovechkin based on the fact that leap year days pushed him just out of eligibility. The NHL did not subscribe to that logic.

The Capitals selected Ovi first overall the very next year.