Alex Ovechkin is accumulating quite a memorabilia collection as his NHL career winds down.
Dylan Strome, Ovechkin’s centerman during his record-breaking seasons, detailed exactly what Ovechkin keeps after he scores a goal while appearing on the Pardon My Take podcast earlier in January. (S/T to @bobbyfinnerty2)
“Every goal that Ovi scored, the last like a hundred probably, or maybe like since 800 and on, he’s got whoever gets the assist to sign the back of the game-worn jersey,” Strome said. “Have you heard about the museum? So he has a museum that’s like going to go up in Russia. So every time he scores a goal, he gets the stick, the puck, the jersey. And like throughout that run, he was getting like his socks, like the game socks.
“He has this museum. That’s just like, it’s like a folklore that we’ve heard about. I don’t know if it’s going to be like his hockey school. And apparently, it’s going to be like a museum on the second floor. It’s going to be nice.”
If the museum ends up at Ovechkin’s planned hockey academy, the memorabilia display will live in the hockey legend’s hometown of Moscow The concept, per the Ovi Academy website, includes two ice rinks where it can host tournaments and dining options.
“The Academy concept realization will be based on (a) full-fledged and multi-purpose sport ecosystem. It will combine training, tournament, sports-recreation and medical-rehabilitation functions,” the website reads. “The Academy will become one of the attraction centers on (the) Moscow map.”
During the offseason, Ovechkin brought home to Russia the record-breaking 895th goal puck and hockey stick from the Capitals’ April 6 game against the New York Islanders.
Not only has Ovechkin been collecting his own memorabilia throughout his goals chase, but he’s also been collecting sticks and jerseys from opposing players throughout his career. This season, Ovechkin has done jersey swaps with legendary players in the NHL, ilike Evgeni Malkin, Brady Tkachuk, and Brad Marchand.
It sounds like he’ll have quite a haul after this season.
