The head of the Ski Sports Association of the Russian Federation, Vyalbe, noted Ovechkin's uniqueness

Russian hockey player, captain of the National Hockey League (NHL) club Washington Capitals Alexander Ovechkin is a unique personality who stands out among his colleagues. Elena Vyalbe, a Soviet and Russian skier and head of the Russian Ski Sports Association, shared this belief with Izvestia on September 17.

"The people united around him as the greatest athlete, the greatest man. <...> This is a team sport, and Sasha stands out from all the teams very much. The only one. It seems to me that such people are born very rarely," she said.

Speaking about the formation of a hockey player's personality, Valbe noted that Ovechkin achieved success through hard work, abilities and upbringing.

"It can't be that [having] only talent, a person lay on the couch, went out and scored a million goals. Of course, it's all combined," she stressed.

"Many things performed by Ovechkin simply cannot be taught"

SKA hockey player Mikhail Grigorenko — about the upcoming record of the Russian sniper, the first round of the KHL playoffs and Nikita Zaitsev as a coach

Ovechkin celebrates his 40th birthday on August 17. Ovechkin is considered not just an athlete — he is a whole sporting phenomenon. He specified that he would celebrate the anniversary with his family.

In April, Ovechkin scored the 897th goal of his career. So, he updated the record for goals in regular NHL matches. On August 17, the athlete entered the Russian Book of Records as the best sniper in the history of the regular league championships. At the same time, on August 27, the hockey player's sniper record was recognized as the best goal in the 2024/25 season.

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