Alex Ovechkin is set to break out his acting skills again, but this time on the silver screen in Russia.
According to a report from Russian outlet TASS, Ovechkin will star in the upcoming film “Hockey Dads 2.” Per an IMDB cast list, he’s not the first Russian hockey legend to join the film series, as Alexander Yakushev and Viacheslav Fetisov starred in the original.
“Legendary hockey player and world star Alexander Ovechkin will not only participate in the film but will also help promote it,” director Andrei Bulatov told TASS, as translated via Google Translate.
The first movie, which premiered in 2023, was a comedic drama about the fathers of youth hockey players forming their own team to save their children’s ice arena from demolition by winning a tournament. Those same dads will reunite in the sequel with their now grown-up children to play in a new international tournament called the “Games of the Future.”
Ovechkin has gotten involved in the Russian film industry before, making a cameo appearance in the second season of the comedy TV show “Evgenich,” where the Great 8 helped out a washed-up music producer. His other Russian credits include the TV series “Minute of Silence,” “Russian Hockey,” “Team,” as well as films “The Father,” “Gagarin Cup: Battle for a Dream,” and “Zaitsev, Burn! The Story of a Showman.”
Ovechkin was joined by KHL star Vadim Shipachyov for the filming of a film titled “Extra Time” this past summer. Ovechkin will have a guest appearance in a story about time-traveling stepbrothers.
Additionally, the NHL legend was announced as Russia’s official cultural ambassador for the Intervision 2025 song competition. Intervision 2025 is a Russian state-sponsored music competition, established by President Vladimir Putin as an alternative to the popular Eurovision song contest, which the country was banned from in 2022 after it invaded Ukraine.
Ovechkin has also acted in many commercials, both Russian and North American, with memorable spots particularly as a spy for ESPN, as a duo with Nicklas Backstrom for MassMutual, as a pizza delivery guy for Papa John’s, and as a floating head for CCM.
Bulatov announced Ovechkin’s participation in the film while at a pitch event for the Cinema Fund at the Russian Ministry of Culture. The exact release date of the movie has not yet been revealed.
S/T to @HockeyNewsHub
