SOCHI, Russia – This was Alex Ovechkin as the gracious host. Four years ago in Vancouver, the Russian superstar made headlines for refusing to speak with reporters throughout the Olympics and on Monday he actually grabbed teammate Evgeni Malkin by the arm and dragged him into a scrum.
My how times have changed.
“Of course it’s age,” Ovechkin said Monday at the Bolshoy Ice Dome when asked why he seems so relaxed. “And of course it’s a situation when you’re not young, it’s my third Olympic Games, and I know exactly what could happen, what’s going to happen.
“The situation is simple, you just have to enjoy your moment, enjoy your time. As soon as you’re going to think about different stuff you’re going to be stuck in something bad.”
Ovechkin was dressed for success during his first practice here – sporting customized Bauer skates with a Russian flag on the side and his usual gold laces. They were his idea. He skated alongside Malkin and Alexander Semin on a line projected to be the Russian team’s top unit.
Afterwards, it was clear that Ovechkin wanted to be accommodating as possible while spending more than 30 minutes taking questions from reporters. Evidently, he also felt it was important for his teammates to do the same.
Rather than seeming burdened by the high hopes of his countrymen, Ovechkin was focused on soaking everything in. He took pictures and signed autographs for the excited workers in the athletes village and welcomed all of the attention coming his way.
“I like pressure,” said Ovechkin. “I like when the people look at me. It means the people respect you.”
The Russian team is seeking to win its first Olympic gold since 1992 in Albertville, France – a tournament played without NHLers. While many of Ovechkin’s teammates were basically speechless when asked what accomplishing that goal would mean to people in this country, he had a funny response.
“A gold is going to cost $50-billion, probably,” said Ovechkin, referencing the amount of money Russia spent on staging these Games.
