Stanislav Galiev (2014-2016) was one of five former Capitals to medal in the 2022 Winter Olympics held in Beijing, China.
Galiev was a member of the silver medal-winning ROC (Russian Olympic Committee) – the designation of Team Russia players due to the country’s Olympic doping penalties.
The other former Capitals to medal on the ROC include Sergei Fedorov (2007-2009) and Sergei Gonchar (1994-2004), who were assistant coaches, and Ilya Kovalchuk (2020)- the team’s general manager.
“Thank you so much, workaholics! Only forward 🇬🇺🏒💪🏻🙏🏻” Kovalchuk posted on his Instagram page. The picture included Fedorov and Gonchar posing.
“Thank you guys for these emotions and feelings, they will remain forever in my life! #ROC #olympics2022 #beijing2022,” Galiev wrote on his Instagram after Russia lost to Finland 2-1 in the gold medal game. For Finland, it was the country’s first Olympic gold medal in men’s hockey.
Galiev dressed in four of the team’s six games and fired six shots on goal per the IIHF. He currently plays on Dynamo Moscow in the KHL, where Alex Ovechkin played his junior and lockout hockey.
Galiev and his wife Olya shared several photos on their Instagram pages.
The Olympic medals were the third for Fedorov, Gonchar, and Kovalchuk. Fedorov and Gonchar previously won silver (1998) and bronze (2002) as players on the Russian Olympic Team. Kovalchuk won bronze in 2002 with Fedorov and Gonchar and led Russia to gold in 2018, earning the tournament’s distinction of most valuable player. For Galiev, it was his first Olympic medal.
Slovakia finished third in the Olympic tournament and won bronze, the first medal in its history. The team featured one player with Capitals organization ties. Defenseman Michal Cajovsky skated for the Capitals in preseason games and participated in its development camps. Cajovsky also spent the 2014-15 season under contract for the Hershey Bears.
Slovakia earned congratulations from former Capitals Peter Bondra and Zdeno Chara on social media for medaling.
Congrats to @HockeySlovakia for the bronze medal🥉! Zaslúžene víťazstvo o Bronz! https://t.co/wp8zKKjtwM
— Peter Bondra (@PeterBondra12) February 19, 2022
Team USA featured former Capitals defenseman Aaron Ness, but did not medal, losing 3-2 to Slovakia in the quarterfinals. Ness wrote on Instagram that his time in Beijing was “an unbelievable experience.”
Headline photo: @olya_pro/IG Story
