Alex Ovechkin isn’t going for a repeat visit to Dubai during the NHL’s 4 Nations Face-Off break, but the Washington Capitals captain will still get some sunshine over the next several days. Ovechkin has flown with his family to Miami, Florida, where they have an apartment property.
The veteran winger disclosed the news in an exclusive interview with RG’s Sergey Demidov on Monday. In the same interview, Ovechkin revealed he invited a mystery training partner to Florida to help keep him in shape ahead of the final portion of the 2024-25 campaign.
“I flew to Miami with my wife and children,” Ovechkin told Demidov. “And I will have a small training camp with a person whose name I will not name yet. But he played in the NHL. Let’s make a little mystery out of this. And it is not Ilya Kovalchuk. Maybe you will see this on my or his social media. He is a famous person.”
Ovechkin added, “…I will also rest, as I am doing now. You need to rest well and work hard! I will rest for a few days, recover, and prepare.”
After the Capitals’ bye week and All-Star break last season, featuring a camel ride in the desert, Ovechkin’s production skyrocketed after a career-worst start. The Great Eight potted just eight goals through his first 43 games in the 2023-24 campaign but ended his season with 23 goals in 36 games.
Capitals head coach Spencer Carbery believes Ovechkin’s best hockey is yet to come during the 2024-25 campaign, despite a hot start where the team’s captain posted 40 points (26g, 14a) in his first 38 games. The second-year bench boss believes Ovechkin, who broke his leg in November, will use the nearly two weeks between games to again find another level.
“In my head, at 39 years old, missing that amount of time and trying to come back and get caught up in the National Hockey League, I think that’s really, really hard, and I saw a difference in his individual game,” Carbery said. “I think he’s going to look even better coming out of the break. That’s just my own personal opinion. These last 27 games – I’m looking forward to seeing them.”
Carbery’s words come despite Ovechkin’s 0.68 goal-per-game rate being nearly a full tenth higher than his career average (.60) and the fact that Ovechkin is on pace to break Gretzky’s record by the beginning of April. Washington has 27 games remaining on their schedule after the break.
Update, February 14: The secret former NHL player Ovechkin is working out with is Darius Kasparaitis.
