Alex Ovechkin will be back on the ice in a few weeks on the final day of the Ovi Cup in Moscow, Russia. The Ovi Cup is an annual youth hockey tournament named after the Washington Capitals captain and features 24 youth teams from Russia, Belarus, and Kazakhstan.
On the last day of the tournament, stars from the NHL and KHL usually get together to put on a “gala match” for spectators. This year’s game is set for August 9 at the Mytishchi Arena and, according to Match TV’s Pavel Lysenkov, will be held in honor of Ovechkin breaking Wayne Gretzky’s all-time goals record.
In last year’s game, Ovechkin was joined by his eldest son, Sergei, on a line with Pittsburgh Penguins legend Evgeni Malkin. Ovi Jr. would later score on a breakaway chance in the game, looking off his record-breaking father, and finishing past the opposing netminder’s blocker.
Confirmed participants for this year’s game include Ovechkin, Vyacheslav Fetisov, Valeri Kamensky, Roman Rotenberg, Evgeni Plushenko, Alexei Morozov, Pavel Datsyuk, Kirill Kaprizov, Dmitry Sychev, Sergei Konkov, Alexander Guskov, Dmitry Orlov, Andrei Nikolishin, Mikhail Sergachev, Kamil Gadzhiev, Matvei Michkov, Kirill Marchenko, Egor Zamula, and Dmitry Simashev.
The coaching staffs will include Alexander Yakushev, Viktor Shalimov, and actor Denis Nikiforov.
Ovechkin recently returned to Russia from a month-long vacation in Turkey. The Ovi Cup match will be his second game this summer, following his appearance and goal in the “Match of the Year” on July 13 at CSKA Arena.
