Alex Ovechkin is one of the greatest hockey players of all time and a fan favorite in most barns he visits. During warmups, no matter if it’s in Washington or another NHL city, fans will hold up signs hoping to get the attention of the Capitals’ captain. for a stick or a warmup puck from the Capitals captain.
Ahead of the Washington Capitals’ matchup with the Carolina Hurricanes at PNC Arena on Sunday, one fan had a sign that made Ovechkin go the extra mile.
“Ovi, we named our son Alexander for you!” the sign read. “Take a pic w/ him?”
Ovechkin obliged, finding the family after warmups were over.
“It was great,” Steven, baby Alexander’s father, told RMNB. “Ovi came through for us. I had the chance to take a photo with him at the CSA show in Chantilly last year and this one means a whole lot more, because he didn’t have to do it. When he came off the ice from warmups, he pointed to me and actually made the guy close the door so it was unobstructed.
“It felt awesome that he acknowledged us,” Steven added. “We just hoped he noticed. If he just skated up to the glass and taken a picture that would have been plenty, but that was really great of him to go that little extra. I think my son will appreciate it when he gets older and understands everything.”
The family made the trek to Raleigh, North Carolina from Chester, Virginia, which is about 25 minutes south of Richmond–practically in the middle mark between the two rival hockey teams.
As for how Alexander got his name, Steven has long been a Capitals fan and snuck in the suggestion while he and his wife discussed potential first names.
“I tossed out Alexander jokingly,” Steven said. “I thought my wife was going to immediately shoot it down. She didn’t catch it and liked the way his first, middle, and last names tied together and thought it was great. When she asked, ‘Why Alexander?’ I told her, ‘Why do you think?’ She asked if it was for Ovi. ‘Yes that’s exactly why.’ So, my wife, who is smarter than me, I was able to sneak one in on.”
Steven said he has been a Capitals fan for the last 18 years. He went to his first Capitals game in February 2006 against the Pittsburgh Penguins — the second matchup between Ovi and Sidney Crosby.
“I had only been into hockey for a couple of years before then, after starting to go to Richmond games with my brother,” Steven said. “I didn’t have a favorite NHL team at the time, but it didn’t take long to become a Caps fan after that first game.”
Steven’s daughter Kristina also made a for the Capitals-Hurricanes sign, which may have inspired Ovechkin’s graciousness that night as well.
“I asked my daughter who she wanted to make a sign for and she went with Ovi also,” Steven said.
Kristina’s sign read, “I love my family but I love Ovi more!” Steven laughed when I asked if he took it personally.
The Capitals-Hurricanes game marked nine-month-old Alexander’s first Caps game. His daughter’s first Caps game also came in Raleigh back in 2019 when she was 9 months old. That night, Nic Dowd gave her a warmup puck and then went on to score the game-winning goal.
As for the memorable signs, they met their end for a reason many parents of multiple children will understand.
“We didn’t even bring the signs home last night,” Steven said. “They served their purpose. Less we had to lug out of PNC in the rain.”
