Alex Ovechkin may be on vacation in Turkey right now, but he’s still getting put to work.
Upper Deck, the exclusive licensed manufacturer of physical and digital trading cards for the NHL and NHLPA, made sure to take advantage of Ovechkin having some time off to get him to sign 1,600 cards for several of their upcoming product releases.
Ovechkin, recently tanned by the Turkish sun, sat down for the autograph session with stacks of cards laid out in front of him. His wife, Nastya Ovechkina, posted a video to her Instagram Story showing The Great 8 beginning the likely painstaking signing process.
“Some people are relaxing, while others are working,” Ovechkina says in the video, as translated via Google Translate. “How many signatures are needed here?”
“Total, 1,600,” Ovechkin replies.
Ovechkin is used to long signing sessions, especially after breaking the NHL’s all-time goals record at the end of the 2024-25 regular season. Before returning home to Russia that summer, Fanatics had Ovechkin come in to sign thousands of pieces of memorabilia commemorating his historic feat.
The Washington Capitals captain has also participated in a few special promotions for Upper Deck, including signing a one-of-one hockey card with an ‘895’ inscription for their 2024-25 The Cup product release.
Ovechkin also signed and hand-numbered eight of his 2005-06 rookie cards so they could be placed in special boxes of the company’s 2024-25 Extended Series product.
Ovechkin is expected to remain on vacation in Turkey for at least the next few weeks before a huge month of July, where he is expected to decide if he wants to return to the NHL for one more season.
