Alexander Ovechkin and the Russian Hockey Team that Lost Its Chance at Gold – GQ

Six weeks ago, Russia’s Olympic hockey team looked like a dramatic sports movie just waiting to happen. Alexander Ovechkin, the most gifted goal scorer of his generation—maybe of any generation—has yet to win an Olympic medal. The last time the three-time NHL MVP suited up for Russia at the Games was eight years ago on home ice in Sochi. It ended with Ovechkin hanging his head at a press conference, solemnly apologizing to his country.

Tokyo 2022 offered a chance at redemption. But then Omicron hit and the NHL decided not to allow its players to attend the Games (American college players and European professionals will make up the teams now). With tufts of gray hair peeking out from beneath the 36-year old Ovechkin’s helmet, it might seem like he’s been denied a final shot at gold. But who knows? Through the first 22 games of the 2021–22 NHL season, his 17th in the league, he’s clocked a preposterous 19 goals for the Washington Capitals—on pace for his best offensive year ever. “I mean…the way he plays now?” says 27-year-old Andrei Vasilevskiy, who would have been Russia’s starting goaltender. “I think he’ll be able to play at another Olympics in 2026.”

Vasilevskiy and 23-year-old defenseman Mikhail Sergachev could be there with Ovechkin in 2026. The pair have raised back-to-back Stanley Cups together with the Tampa Bay Lightning, and they were also having great seasons before the league put an end to their Olympic dream: Vasilevsky has racked up a sparkling .923 save percentage this year, with Sergachev logging major minutes in front of him as the Lightning battle ongoing injury issues.

Although they’ve never played with Ovechkin in the NHL, Sergachev has been a fan of his “since I was a kid,” and he says the legend’s game is still improving. “He’s gotten more mature on the ice,” Sergachev says. “He’s reading the game, he’s back-checking, he skates like the wind.”

Four years is a long time to wait, but it feels like this sports movie might still have a happy—and even more dramatic—ending after all.

A version of this story originally appeared in the February 2022 issue with the title “Cold Word.”