Alex Ovechkin‘s number 8 jersey has become one of the most recognizable in NHL history over the past two decades.
Since the 2005-06 season, Ovechkin has rewritten the league’s goal-scoring history books, led the Washington Capitals to the franchise’s first Stanley Cup, and become a true sporting superstar. He achieved all of that greatness while sporting a number now nearly synonymous with his name — hence “The Great 8” — but why did he choose it and where does it originally stem from?
We’ve known for years that Ovechkin credits his mother, Tatyana Ovechkina, with his choice of digits, as Ovechkina was an incredibly decorated basketball player for the Soviet Union, winning two Olympic gold medals, and at the club level for Dynamo Moscow, joining the team at just 16 years of age. Ovechkin reiterated that explanation when asked about his number at the annual Ovi Cup on Saturday.
“My mother played with number 8,” Ovechkin told sports.ru’s Alexander Plekhanov, as translated via Google Translate. “So there was never any question about what number I would wear. My mother is my lifelong idol. Because she’s an outstanding athlete.”
While Ovechkin’s inspiration for the number is well known, the reason it originally entered family lore is less so. Ovechkina revealed why she initially chose the number all the way back in October of 2006 in an interview with Sport-Express’ Vladimir Mozhaytsev, which we covered on RMNB in 2010.
“Who had the greatest influence on basketball player Ovechkina?” Mozhaytsev asked then.
“First and foremost, Vladimir Tsinman,” Ovechkina replied. “I even took number 8 in his honor. Now he’s better known as a coach. But I was simply in love with what Tsinman did on the court as a player. His passes are true basketball classics. The way he led the team should have been filmed and shown in sports schools.”
While Tsinman was a talented player domestically in the Soviet Union, he is more known for eventually becoming the head coach of their men’s senior national team. He served in the role for two Olympic tournaments, winning a gold medal in Munich in 1972 and a bronze medal in Montreal in 1976.
While Ovechkin has kept that tradition of respect alive, he has worn a number other than 8 before during his career. While with Dynamo Moscow in what was then the Russian Super League and later when he rejoined the club during the 2012-13 NHL lockout, Ovechkin wore number 32. He explained why on Saturday.
“When I joined the adult Dynamo team, our captain, Alexei Troshchinsky (who wore number 8), played for us,” Ovechkin said. “That’s why I chose number 32.”
Once Ovechkin joined the Capitals in 2005, he became the 22nd player in franchise history to wear the number. He will assuredly now be the very last to ever wear the number with the Caps once he calls it quits on his illustrious career.
