Alex Ovechkin flew home to Russia with a lot of bags, and now we know two of the items that traveled with him.
Ovechkin brought home the hockey stick with which he scored his 895th career goal and the milestone goal puck — both of which were meticulously authenticated by the Washington Capitals and MeiGray.
Ovechkin’s close friend Gus posed with the famous twig over the weekend. The stick features a special sticker on its blade, which appears to be signed by Capitals equipment manager Brock Myles, that reads “Ovie Goal 895 Game Equipment” along with a small hologram sticker from MeiGray. There’s also a piece of tape on the shaft that reads in black Sharpie: “895th Record Setting Goal 4-6-25 vs NYI.”
A video of Ovechkin holding the milestone goal puck was later posted to the “Official channel of Alexander Ovechkin’s Media Team” on Telegram.
Ovechkin says in the video, per a Sports.ru transcription and a Google translation, “Hello everyone! Here it is, precious.”
It’s unclear if Ovechkin brought home the record-breaking memorabilia just for the summer or for good. Ovechkin plans to eventually open a museum in his native Moscow featuring his own game-used memorabilia from his career and the extensive stick collection he has put together over the years.
Two new sticks Ovechkin added this season were from goaltenders. New York Islanders goaltender Ilya Sorokin gave Ovechkin the twig he was holding when the record-breaking goal was scored on him during the April 6 game. Ovechkin also asked for the goalie stick Charlie Lindgren used to score an own goal on himself.
Other hockey sticks Ovechkin has received throughout his career have come from Mario Lemieux, Connor McDavid, and Wayne Gretzky.
