Kirill Kaprizov, the Minnesota Wild’s Russian superstar, took fellow countryman Alex Ovechkin to a sushi bar on Wednesday. The two long-time friends met up ahead of the conclusion of the two-game regular-season series between the Washington Capitals and the Wild on Thursday night.
In a now viral Instagram post, staff from Billy Sushi posed for a photo with Ovechkin.
“Yesterday we were talking to the wall. Today, we’re dining with greatness — the Gr8 himself Ovi, & our guy Kapriz,” the caption from the downtown Minneapolis restaurant read in part.
One of the videos in the post shows Ovechkin happily signing a wall behind the bar with handprints and other signatures from famous customers who have visited Billy Sushi, like chef Guy Fieri, NBA Hall of Famer Charles Barkley, and Minnesota Vikings wide receiver Justin Jefferson.
Another picture from a previous dine-in shows Kaprizov gifting a stick to the establishment.
Ovechkin and Kaprizov have long been comrades, with the latter having several ties to other Russians who have previously played with the Caps.
Kaprizov, a Novokuznetsk, Russia native, shares his hometown with former Capital Dmitry Orlov and once named his cat after Evgeny Kuznetsov.
Kaprizov notably shared his admiration of the Capitals’ legendary captain in 2022 when he honored his compatriot during the NHL All-Star Breakaway Challenge by wearing Ovechkin’s jersey and mimicking his goal celebration. Kuznetsov was present at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada to assist him.
Unfortunately, Kaprizov came up short in the event, with the judges instead awarding first place to Golden Knights defenseman Alex Pietrangelo, much to the chagrin of Ovechkin.
“I think [Kaprizov’s attempt] was pretty cool. It was fun,” he said of the tribute after the event. “I don’t know why he don’t get too many points, but what’s the referee doing out there?”
Kaprizov did not play in the Wild’s 4-3 shootout victory at Capital One Arena in January. In fact, Ovechkin has only faced off against the 27-year-old Wild forward four times in the near five seasons Kaprizov has been in the NHL.
Thursday night was not the fifth meeting, as Kaprizov is still recovering from surgery for a lower-body injury suffered on Jan. 26.
