Pavel Lysenkov talks to Ovechkins and Semin

Ovechkin Sr.: Son has an insurance already


"I've just got off the phone from Washington," says Uncle Misha, Ovechkin's Dad and a great friend of Sovietsky Sport. "I was told that the insurance money for Sasha have been already wired to the account.

Who did the transfer?
Of course, RHF (Russian Hockey Federation). It was sent to the American insurance company who takes care of my son's contract. Yes, it takes care of the full amount of the contract, which expires in 2022, so it is protected.

I can imagine how much the insurance costs!
But without it Sasha can't even train. My son can't even play soccer because the contract. That's how he is protected.

Is Semin also insured?
What do you think? But he has a contract with the Capitals for only one year, and the insurance cost is quite different.

Did you fly without an incident? Varlamov lost all his luggage.
Yeah,right... Half of Semin's sticks were stolen. Perhaps for souvenirs. Collectors, darn it... Each stick can be auctioned starting from one thousand dollars. And if it is autographed, then it's several times more. We flew from Washington via New York. And imagine, someone went through our luggage. Some things are gone. Well, if it's personal things, to hell with it. The main thing is that my son's hockey equipment is all intact.

Will you fly to Germany?
No, I have enough flying back and forth to and from America. Tatiana Nikolaevna (mother of Alexander Ovechkin) and I will watch the World Cup at our dacha outside Moscow. Scenic nature, cats and dogs... We even have a sheep there! [sheep is Oveja in Latin, Ovtsa in Russian, and it's the root of Ovechkin's last name - tj]

Was it a present from Alexander's fans?
Andrei Grigoriev-Apollonov from "Ivanushki" gave the sheep to us. He was presented with the lamb on his the birthday. He was in shock, what to do with it? And he asked, "Michael Viktorovich, can you take it to the country!" Well, we took the oveja. We called her Byasha.



Ovechkin with Grigoriev-Apollonovs and Byasha





Ovechkin: I want to play for my country



The training was over at 6:30pm and soon all the players got in their cars and left. Finally the door opened and both Alexanders appeared.

"An interview? How about tomorrow? We have an open media day!", offered Ovechkin.

"We were all told not to talk to reporters. We should avoid them like the plague!" joked Semin.

"But if you insist, of course we'll talk. Ask a question. Or a two!" said Ovechkin.

Are you done with jet lag?
I an trying to ignore it.





You haven't skate for a week. How was it on the ice?
All is well. We again met with Fedorov. Our troika is reunited.

Why were you in a white helmet with the Capitals logo?

I was given a red helmet, but it was too small. There was no time to adjust it, so I donned a white helmet.

What was your incentive to go to the World Cup after the two terrible moral blows in the season, at the Olympics and in the the Stanley Cup playoffs?
I don't think I need to explain my motivation. Let's assume we haven't heard the question. Everyone knows why I come to the Russian national team. I want to play for my country.

Will you go to Germany with the feeling of revenge?
Let's just say, I always have the competitive spirit. And to the fans, we want to prove that the defeat in Vancouver from Canadians was an accident. Well, not really quite an accident... but it does not mean that Canada will now always be stronger than Russia.




Can you say that Russia wants to repay the debt?
What debt? For the Olympics? It now must be repaid in Sochi. The World Championship is the tournament of another level. We're going to Germany to retain our title. I hope that we will end a string of bad luck in Cologne and start from a new page.

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