Ovechkin thanked the NHL for awarding him the Mark Messier Prize.

On May 24, Russian Washington Capitals forward Alexander Ovechkin thanked the National Hockey League (NHL) for awarding him the Mark Messier Prize.

"Thank you very much for giving me this award. I've been working hard in the league since my first day here. It's been a hell of a season. What we've been through in recent months… My pursuit of [Wayne] Gretzky, the fact that I beat him and set a new NHL record… It was really something special," says a message on his Telegram channel.

He also noted that he enjoyed playing with such great players as Jason Arnott, Mike Knuble, Nicklas Backstrom, John Carlson. Ovechkin stressed that he had learned a lot from them.

"It's been an amazing 20 years," he concluded.

"I'm proud of Ovechkin's record as a simple Russian peasant"

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On May 24, Ovechkin won the prestigious NHL award — the Mark Messier Prize — for leadership in the 2024/25 season. It was noted that this award is given to the player who has demonstrated "outstanding leadership qualities for his team." He became the first Russian to be awarded this prize, which has been awarded since the 2006/07 season.