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Alex Ovechkin attends Washington Nationals game with former Capital Jakub Vrana

By Ian Oland

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April 18, 2023 6:53 pm

The Washington Nationals hosted two special guests at Nationals Park on Tuesday night.

Alex Ovechkin was on the field for batting practice along with former Capital Jakub Vrana.

ABC 7’s Scott Abraham first reported the news on Twitter where he posted several videos from near the Nats dugout.

Ovechkin wore a grey sweat suit and Capitals Reverse Retro hat while Vrana rocked a Detroit Tigers cap that he likely got during his time with the Detroit Red Wings.

Nationals manager Davey Martinez made sure to come over to embrace Ovechkin. According to Abraham, a joking Martinez asked Ovechkin if he wanted to play in the game.

The Washington Post’s Chelsea Janes also published a photo of Ovechkin. She reported that “Ovechkin left batting practice with an Orange Orioles Adam Frazier jersey.” The Nationals were playing the Baltimore Orioles in a Beltway Series game.

Ovechkin was honored by the Nationals during the game. The Capitals captain sat with his son Sergei behind the plate. Ovi Jr. could be seen wearing a First Nationals Game pin.

Ovechkin’s hangout with Vrana comes exactly four days after Capitals head coach Peter Laviolette was let go by the team. Vrana and Laviolette appeared to butt heads during the former head coach’s first season in Washington, eventually necessitating a trade of the player.

“That was really tough,” Vrana said in late March of the deal. “I didn’t expect it at all. I thought my position on the team with the Capitals, how I’ve been there since Day One since the draft, I thought I would get more opportunity and spend more time there, but unfortunately, that’s not what the management wanted.”

Vrana was traded by the Red Wings to the St. Louis Blues ahead of the 2023 NHL Trade Deadline.

The game marks the first time the two players were together on the field at Nationals Park since the Capitals celebrated their Stanley Cup championship with the Nats on June 9, 2018, nearly five full years ago.

Photo: Ian Oland/RMNB (See more photos)

While the Capitals were sitting up in their suite, Vrana invited a 10-year-old Capitals fan inside to celebrate with them.

Screenshot: @Scott7news/Twitter

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