The three players committed to playing in the 2026 Match of the Year are going all out to promote the charity game.
Earlier this week, the exhibition’s Instagram account released a commercial featuring Artemi Panarin, Mikhail Sergachev, and Alex Ovechkin as they prepare to make their trek to Saint Petersburg, where this year’s game is being held at SKA Arena on July 25.
A late-arriving Ovechkin, who’s the driver, jokes in the ad about his pending decision about his future — either to retire or play another season in the NHL — while also acknowledging he’s the NHL’s all-time goals leader in a clever way.
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Transcript
Translation by Google Translate
Artemi Panarin: You’re taking forever! Even Alisa gets ready faster than you.
Alisa: How can I help?
Artemi Panarin: Who is that speaking?
Mikhail Sergachev: It’s a long story; just don’t say that name again.
Artemi Panarin: Alisa?
Alisa: Did you enjoy chatting with me?
Artemi Panarin: Just tell me where Sasha Ovechkin is.
Mikhail Sergachev: Imagine if he’d already taken off for Turkey.
Artemi Panarin: Nah, he said he had some business to attend to.
Alex Ovechkin: Alright then—hey, sorry I’m late.
Mikhail Sergachev: Is that it? Are you done?
Alex Ovechkin: I haven’t made the official announcement yet.
Mikhail Sergachev: That’s not what I meant. Can we go?
Alex Ovechkin: We need to change something.Ovechkin changes a Wayne Gretzky car freshener for one of his own.
Alex Ovechkin: Panara, do you know how to use the GPS?
Panarin slowly opens a large map of Russia.
Alex Ovechkin: Well?
Artemi Panarin: Straight ahead for 700 kilometers.
Alex Ovechkin:Put that map away. Alisa, map a route to Saint Petersburg.
Alisa: Done. Straight ahead for 700 kilometers.
Artemi Panarin: Isn’t that what I just said?
Mikhail Sergachev: Come on, guys, it’s all good—let’s go; the others will catch up.
Alisa: Next stop: The Match of the Year.
Beyond the flawless acting, the commercial is fun in how it blends real-life situations into the clip. Not only does the ad integrate Ovechkin’s pending decision on his future and his breaking of the NHL goals record — the car’s license plate read O929VI, but it was also released just as Ovechkin was leaving for his annual month-long vacation in Turkey.
Ovechkin has participated in the previous two charity games, which have featured NHL stars taking on KHL players. Last summer, Ovechkin was gifted a new car for becoming the NHL’s new goals king. He then scored a goal in the NHL players’ 15-3 victory, skating on his team’s first line with Panarin and Andrei Svechnikov. During the first intermission, Ovechkin took the helm of a mounted turret t-shirt cannon.
Ovechkin has said he will make his decision about whether he’ll return to the NHL in July.
