Alex Ovechkin took questions from reporters in Ottawa on Tuesday, ahead of the Washington Capitals‘ game against the Ottawa Senators. Most of them were about something other than hockey.
Prime Minister Mark Carney announced last week that Russian players will not be permitted to compete at the World Junior Championship in Alberta, with the federal government saying it will use its immigration powers to stop Russian and Belarusian athletes and officials entering the country to compete under their national symbols.
Ovechkin was careful about how far he went.
“Well, guys, I’m not there. I’m not sitting there. I’m not making any decisions,” he said. “As an athlete, we just want to play, and that’s it.”
Pressed on Carney’s decision specifically, he offered a measured objection.
“That’s his thoughts and his decision. I don’t know how it’s going to work out, but I’m pretty sure if you asked the fans, the fans want to see the best players out there,” Ovechkin said. “The fans want to see young generation players who are going to be future stars, future NHLers. But you know, it’s not up to us.”
The 2027 World Junior Championship:
| Host | Starts | Russia’s IIHF status | Russia’s status in Canada |
|---|---|---|---|
| Alberta | December 26 | Reinstated by CAS | Banned by the government |
Why is Russia banned from the World Juniors in Canada?
Two separate decisions are in play, and they point in opposite directions. The Court of Arbitration for Sport ordered the IIHF last week to reinstate Russia to international competition, overturning the exclusion imposed after the full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022. Canada then said Russian players would not be allowed into the country to take part.
Canada’s secretary of state for sport, Adam van Koeverden, said the decision stems from accusations that the Kremlin has used sporting success for propaganda purposes to build domestic support for the war. Hockey Canada publicly thanked the government for the position, and Wayne Gretzky has backed Carney’s call.
Ovechkin was asked directly whether he was comfortable being used as a propaganda tool by the Russian state. He didn’t take long over it.
“Nobody’s using me,” he said.
He has supported Vladimir Putin publicly for years, including campaigning for him in 2018, which is why the Ukrainian Canadian Congress organized a protest outside the Canadian Tire Centre on Tuesday and has called on Canada to deny him entry altogether. Protesters held signs reading “Ban Ovechkin.”
Ovechkin acknowledged it without engaging.
“Lots of protests going on around the world,” he said.
He returned to the same point whenever the conversation came back to the players themselves, via The Canadian Press.
“Doesn’t matter which, World Championship, Olympic Games, European Championship, you just want to go out there and play, represent your country,” he said.
This is Ovechkin’s final NHL season and his first visit to Canada since announcing it. Washington face Toronto and Montreal later in the campaign, where the reception is unlikely to be any quieter.
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