5 tips from Ovechkin

 If you haven't heard there's a new hockey league in Russia called MHL and it's the abbreviation from Junior (Molodezhnaya) Hockey League. The very first game was between Dynamo and Red Army (6:2) where Alex Ovechkin debuted in a new role as a hockey commentator. Joe Beninati might have to look for a new job... :-)

A day before that he was interviewed by the great Pavel Lysenkov from Sovetsky Sport where he gave some advices to the young players...

5 tips from Ovechkin

1 Do not rest on your laurels
There is a rule for mountain climbers, you can go left or right, bypassing or straight. But your every step should be higher than the previous one... When you have achieved something in hockey your income seems to be good, but this is a trifle compared with what awaits you ahead. You need to grow as a player every day. And the ultimate goal is to climb to the peak of the mountain... even if you don't see the peak yet.

2 "Work hard" goes together like bread and butter
Without hard work you can't go too far just on a bare talent. Only by training you can lay the foundation, learn the useful things. Get down to it, guys!

3 Don't be distracted by nonsense
There are a lot of people around hockey, scouts, fake friends. It is necessary to understand who is who. And, of course, don't get squandered on a disco and roaming the streets. You must have a goal to become an awesome player.

4 Listen to your parents
These are the closest to you people. They won't give you a bad advice. No matter what you can lean on them.

5 Engage you head
Develop not only the body, but the brain. Learn English, get some life experience, read books. And look to the future positively. You should always be optimistic!

After the first MHL game became a history Ovechkin gave his autographs to young fans and was interviewed by Dinara Kafiskina from SportsDaily.ru:

Sacha, how do you like idea of a youth league?
Of course it's great. Now the young kids know that there is such a league and will try to get in. And thanks to those people who came up with idea of such a league. Definitely now in our country a new little stars will shine and one day they will grow into a real stars. If there was such a league when I started to play hockey, I would definitely want to get in.

What are your impression in general from what you have seen?
It was a stupendous pleasure to watch it. You could see how hard the kids wanted to win and how they were striving to get noticed.

And what, by the way, did you want when you started to play hockey?
I had hockey in my head since childhood. Actually it's the same now. And, frankly, I dreamed of getting to the NHL. As you can see my dream came true. Seems like I've lived up to my expectations (smiles).


Alex Ovechkin works as commentator of the first MHL game between Dynamo and Red Army (6:2), September 4, 2009. Photo by Sergei Pankratiev

Today you have excelled in the new role. Together with Sergei Gimaev you were commenting the game for two periods live on Sport channel. Did you like it?
This incidentally, was my first experience as a commentator. [tj - not true, couple of years ago Ovie was a commentator at a soccer game, this is how he met Victoria Lopyreva] I must admit, I liked it very much. It was very interesting. And, I think, it was interesting for the fans when they hear from people who understand hockey.

I remember in one of our conversations you said that if you wouldn't be a hockey player, you would be a journalist...
You're right, I really did say that. But for now, let me continue to play hockey, but then we'll see. If something, I'll ask for your help (smiles).

From a side it seemed that you've already had some experience in the journalism business. During these two periods you simply were talking non-stop...
Why to be silent? If I was allowed into to this important business, you have to justify the trust (smiles).

Sounds like Ovie really did well, one fan at SovSport.ru site said that Ovechkin was surprisingly good as a commentator. Ovie for President! :-)

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