ARLINGTON, V.A. — Before starting his media availability at MedStar Capitals Iceplex, Washington Capitals captain Alex Ovechkin made a statement regarding his appearance in a video advertismenet for Vladimir Putin's United Russia party.
The 41-year-old said that he was asked to do the video and said yes, wanting to support his country. At the same time, he advocated for peace.
"I’m Russian and I support my country. I’m for peace and love, and I hope in the world it doesn’t matter who you are, I hope everybody understands, everybody wants peace and everybody hope everything is going to be okay in the world," Ovechkin said.
Ovechkin is featured in the commercial behind Russian Foreign Minster Sergey Lavrov and standing alongside other notable Russia public figures, including NHL alumnus and former Soviet Union team captain Viacheslav Fetisov.
Russian parliamentary elections will be held from Friday to Sunday.
Ovechkin also added that he is going to live in Russia following the conclusion of his NHL career, whenever that may be.
"As soon as I’m done playing hockey, I’m going to stay there. I’m going to live there, my kids are going to live there, family," Ovechkin said. "I’m for peace and love. I hope everything’s going to be okay. My home is Russia, D.C. is my second home. I have lots of friends, I grew up here as a person and I love D.C., I’d say it’s my second home. I hope everything’s going to be okay and peace and love for everybody. "
Ovechkin was on the ice for the first day of training camp on Thursday, skating on a line with Dylan Strome and Ryan Leonard ahead of what will be his 22nd NHL season.
