Capitals celebrate Ovechkin's 900th goal, 1,500th NHL game with special ceremony

WASHINGTON – What’s better than one Ovechkin?

How about three?

Alex Ovechkin was joined on the ice by sons Sergei, 7, and Ilya, 5, at the end of warmups Wednesday as part of the pre-game celebration for the Washington Capitals captain becoming the first player to score 900 NHL goals and for reaching 1,500 games earlier this season.

Ovechkin was honored during a ceremony prior to the Capitals hosting the Winnipeg Jets at Capital One Arena on Wednesday.

Sergei and Ilya were part of the ceremony, along with Ovechkin’s wife Nastya and mother Tatyana. Nastya and Tatyana watched from the bench while Sergei and Ilya, who were dressed in their full equipment with black “Screaming Eagle” Capitals Ovechkin jerseys, passed the puck around with their father and took shots on goalie Logan Thompson during the final minutes of warmups.

“That’s a pretty cool moment. They’re young right now, but they’re going to remember this for the rest of our lives and they’re going to show this to their kids," Ovechkin said. "Yeah, it’s a special moment. It was pretty cool.”

Ovechkin, who entered the game Wednesday with a League-record 907 career goals, scored his 900^th on Nov. 5 against the St. Louis Blues.

The 40-year-old forward became the eighth player in League history to play in 1,500 games with one franchise on Oct. 25 against the Ottawa Senators. Ovechkin, who entered Wednesday with 1,644 points in 1,514 games, also passed Joe Sakic (1,641 points) to move into 10^th in NHL history in points, when he had four (33^rd career hat trick, one assist) against the Montreal Canadiens on Nov. 20.

During the ceremony, which was emceed by Monumental Sports Network play-by-play announcer Joe Beninati, Capitals general manager Chris Patrick presented Ovechkin with a custom bronze trophy crafted by Logan Sports Group to commemorate his 900^th goal. Capitals president of hockey operations Brian MacLellan presented Ovechkin with a custom oil painting by Ottawa-based professional sports artist Tony Harris, who created six previous paintings of Ovechkin.

“It’s unbelievable to see this area growing up as a hockey community and how many kids, how many people start following hockey. It’s great," he said. "It’s not just me. I think it’s just how the organization grow, how many great people and how many great stuff we’re doing off the ice, and you can see the result.”

This painting includes an image of Ovechkin as a 20-year-old rookie in 2005 side-by-side with the current Ovechkin. In the background, are the names of every teammate to play with Ovechkin during his 21 seasons.

These kinds of pre-game ceremonies have become common for Ovechkin. His most recent one before Wednesday came after he scored his 895^th goal to surpass Wayne Gretzky (894) for most in NHL history on April 6 against the New York Islanders.

This one featured a video highlighting, “the Ovechkin effect,” the term used to describe the impact Ovechkin has had on the growth of hockey participation in the Washington area since he was selected with the No. 1 pick in the 2004 NHL Draft. Fittingly, eight players, ranging in age from 6 to 24, who were inspired by Ovechkin to begin playing hockey, joined the group on the ice for the ceremony.

Sergei and Ilya Ovechkin are part of that generation, as well.

According to USA Hockey, the number of registered players (youth and adult) increased 186 percent in the Washington area, including Virginia and Maryland, from Ovechkin’s rookie season in 2005-06 through 2024-25. The number of USA Hockey-registered girls hockey players within the Potomac Valley Amateur Hockey Association more than doubled from the 2005-06 season through the 2024-25 season.

“It’s a great feeling,” Ovechkin said. “It’s nice to be a part of that success hockey-wise in this area and be part of it. I’m happy that kids start learning hockey here in this area and you can see how it goes. It goes fast and it’s special.”