Babies born to legendary athletes usually have unrealistic expectations heaped upon them to continue the family business when they grow up. But ever since Sergei Ovechkin was born, Alex Ovechkin has maintained he wouldn’t force hockey on his son.

“[W]hen he starts walking, I will bring him to the rink,” Ovechkin said in August. “If he likes it, we’ll work on it. But we will not make him.”

Since then, Sergei and his hockey stick have become inseparable. Ovi has taken his son on a tour around MedStar Capitals Iceplex. He’s skated his son around the ice. In February, Sergei took the ice with dad’s Capitals teammates during practice. All the while, Ovi has worked with Ovi Jr. on his stickhandling and taught him how to do a proper slap shot (with Blake in goal). After Alex scored his 700th goal on February 22, he got Sergei his own baby hockey gear from CCM.

Despite the NHL’s 2019-20 season being suspended due to the coronavirus outbreak, Sergei’s obsession with hockey has continued to grow.

Ovi Jr. has continued to work on his stickhandling out on the driveway. I’m most impressed with that backhand! This kid can already dangle.

Later, Sergei watched videos of himself on his mom’s phone. He quickly found himself getting impatient with this and instead scrolled to his dad scoring a goal.

But you guys, a baby needs his cuddles. What better time to do it with dad than when he’s criticizing Digi Kuzy for losing a faceoff while playing NHL20?

Hockey is becoming a huge part of Sergei Ovechkin’s life and it’s happening naturally. He loves what dad does and he likes doing it too. There are no expectations. But Sergs (can I call you Sergs?), it’d sure make us all happy if you continue to develop and someday (let’s say 20 years), you combine with Vince Backstrom to score another 700 goals for the Capitals.

Headline photo courtesy of @nastyashubskaya