Alex Ovechkin created a core memory for a recently married couple during his trip to Saint Petersburg for the 2026 Match of the Year.
The annual game, which features NHL and KHL stars, raises money for charity. This year’s edition of the event was held on Saturday, July 25, at SKA Arena.
Ovechkin and his family appeared to stay at the Four Seasons Hotel Lion Palace during their multi-day visit to Saint Petersburg, located roughly five miles from the rink.
While Ovechkin made waves on social media for lighting the lamp in the game, he got more attention for how he left the actual hotel. The NHL’s all-time goals leader bumped into a beautiful newlywed couple as he made his way down a stairway.
The bride and groom parlayed the surprise encounter into an incredible photograph with the hockey legend, in which, if no one had any prior context, Ovechkin appeared to attend their wedding and offer his blessings.
“Before our wedding party, we stayed in the hotel,” Kristina told RMNB. “In the morning, we had a photo shoot in the room and hotel interiors. As for the moment in the video, it would be such a usual thing – just a walkway up the stairs for wedding reels. While the video was rolling, this stranger appeared, and our photographer shouted that it would be done again.”
But upon closer look, the stranger turned out to be Alexander Ovechkin. And the mild annoyance was actually a once-in-a-lifetime meeting.
“Frankly speaking, they thought that it was a janitor due to the hockey stick,” Kristina said, laughing. “It looked like a mop.
“I just raised my head and saw Alex,” she recalled. “I was so confused and excited. I said, ‘Hello,’ and asked him for the photo. He agreed. My husband told him that literally two days ago he had watched the FONtour with the World Cup with him and Andrey Arshavin.”
The couple had followed Ovechkin since his career at Dynamo Moscow, where he first became a star before being drafted by the Washington Capitals. “For most Russians, Alex is like Cristiano (Ronaldo), but in hockey.”
Not only did their photographer, Katerina, post a reel of the meeting — the Russian text on it, translated, reads “The chances of running into Alex Ovechkin on your wedding day are slim, but never zero” — but Kristina later posted the pic Ovechkin posed for.
“Of course, we were overwhelmed,” Kristina said, smiling. “Alex is a legend! This meeting was like destiny.”
As the Instagram post began being re-shared and commented on by people in the couple’s social circle, the video was reposted by X user @Uggg_ugg, receiving nearly 3.5K likes and getting exposed to an English audience.
When asked if she believed the moment would get the reaction it did and be shared all over the world, Kristina responded, “To be honest, no.”
Since then, commenters have suggested that their future son would be a hockey player and encouraged them to name their child Alex if they have a son.
“It was an unforgettable gift for our day,” Kristina said, with one additional wish. “It will be great if Alex makes a comment on this reel.”
