With his secondary assist on TJ Oshie’s goal against the Vancouver Canucks Tuesday night, Alex Ovechkin surpassed Sergei Fedorov as the highest scoring Russian in NHL history.
To mark the occasion, Ovechkin’s parents Tatyana and Mikhail wrote their son a moving letter congratulating him not just on the milestone, but how proud they are of their son for using hockey to make others happy.
A Letter for Sasha@ovi8's parents wrote a letter congratulating their son on passing Sergei Fedorov and becoming the leading scorer among Russians in NHL history. https://t.co/7g64HWu52n
— Washington Capitals (@Capitals) February 6, 2019
To open the letter, Tatyana and Mikhail wrote about how Ovechkin has lost a lot through his NHL career, but has always battled through it.
Losing streaks are always hard. But those down swings happen to every team in the course of the season. The most important thing is to continue to believe in yourself. We are glad that you, Sasha, always fight for your teammates and try to do everything to make the team win and play well. This is more valuable to you than breaking Sergei Fedorov’s scoring record. Although it is a nice feeling to bypass such a great player, try not to put too much emphasis on this. We know that you want to win another Stanley Cup, and do it more than once. We understand how much you strive for this and we wish you good luck on this journey. The few misfires during the regular season should not discourage you. Without defeats there are no victories.
With the birth of their grandson, Sergei, over the summer, Tatyana and Mikhail also speculated on what the future might hold for him. Tatyana — well known for her basketball prowess — even suggested that he might follow in her footsteps.
Well, at least you finally gave us a grandson. (Sergei) is a great boy, so lively and smiling. He has turned five months old recently. What he becomes – only time will tell. An athlete, maybe? Once he picks up a hockey stick, let’s see how he holds it. Or, if he picks up a basketball, let’s see what that looks like. So long as he grows up healthy and becomes a good person, for us it would be good enough.
Of course, it wasn’t all parental advice. Tatyana and Mikhail also expressed how important it was that Ovechkin knew just how much joy he inspired in hockey fans across the world, but especially in DC.
It is very important, son, that you know how to bring people joy. We felt it ourselves last June. We saw hundreds of thousands of hockey fans taking to the streets in Washington. We know how people in Russia literally cried with happiness when you beat the Vegas Golden Knights in the Stanley Cup Final. With your game you are capable of evoking incredibly strong emotions among real fans.
Of course, Capitals fans know that feeling very well.
Headline photo: @aleksandrovechkinofficial
