Alex Ovechkin’s mother, Tatyana Ovechkina, had some kind words for her son after he reached 1,000 combined goals on Sunday against the Colorado Avalanche.
Ovechkin joined Wayne Gretzky (1,016) as the only player in NHL history to hit the millennium mark (with goals scored in both the regular season and playoffs) after sending a one-timer into the back of the net past Mackenzie Blackwood.
Tatyana, who was back in her native Russia, told TASS, as translated by Google Translate:
Of course, I called and congratulated him on his 1,000th goal, we talked and celebrated it together.
I returned to Moscow because my basketball team, Dynamo, is in the playoffs right now. But I watch all the Washington games and am happy for my son. He’s a great guy, a real beauty.
I think everyone is very happy for Sanka, for our hockey, that it was our Russian guy who achieved such a result. And I’m doubly happy because he’s my son.
I’m very happy, and I knew it would definitely happen. And I’ll even tell you more: no one will ever surpass my son’s achievement.
[Editor’s note: Sanka (Санька) is a common, informal, and affectionate diminutive of the Russian first name Aleksandr, and it is used primarily among family, close friends, or by people who know the person well to indicate familiarity.]
Ovechkina, who celebrated her 76th birthday last week, is currently the president of the Dynamo women’s basketball club.
