Washington Capitals star forward Alex Ovechkin said Tuesday that Russian athletes just want to represent their country, but declined to weigh in when asked about the decision to allow Russia back into international hockey tournaments.
Ovechkin took questions from reporters in Ottawa ahead of Washington's game against the Senators.
Last month, the Court of Arbitration for Sport overturned the International Ice Hockey Federation's ban on Russia competing in its events.
Russia has been excluded from international hockey tournaments since it invaded Ukraine in 2022. Belarus has also been banned from competing, but the CAS ruling only addressed the Russian ban.
Asked about the Canadian government's decision not to allow Russian players to compete at the upcoming world junior hockey championship in Alberta next month, Ovechkin said fans want to see the world's best athletes compete.
"I don't know how it's going to work out, but I'm pretty sure if you ask the fans, the fans want to see the best players out there," Ovechkin told reporters.
"The fans want to see young generation players who are going to be future stars, future NHLers. But you know it's not up to us."
Prime Minister Mark Carney was unequivocal earlier this month in saying Russian players would not be at the world juniors in Edmonton.
The decision to ban them drew support from the NHL's all-time points leader.
"I understand the stance the prime minister is taking, and good for him. He's made that stance, and he's made it clear," Wayne Gretzky said at an event in Toronto.
"I think a lot of the players and the people of Canada feel the same way."
Gretzky and Ovechkin have a unique relationship. Gretzky publicly supported Ovechkin as he chased down the NHL's all-time goal-scoring record last year, personally encouraging him along the way.
Asked about Carney's decision, Ovechkin declined to take a position.
"It's his thoughts, his decisions," Ovechkin said.
Other countries have also opposed Russia's return to international competition. On Sunday, the Swedish Ice Hockey Association said it would refuse to play Russia if the teams meet at the world juniors. Finland and Czechia have also threatened boycotts.
Canada's secretary of state for sport, Adam van Koeverden, said last week the decision to ban Russia stems from accusations the Kremlin has used sporting success for "propaganda" purposes to garner domestic support for the war in Ukraine — a charge Ovechkin denied when asked Tuesday.
"As an athlete, you want to represent your country," Ovechkin said.
"It doesn't matter which — world championship, Olympic Games, European championship. You just want to go out there and play and represent your country."
Tuesday night's game against the Senators marks the start of the Canadian leg of Ovechkin's farewell tour, with the NHL's all-time leading goal scorer saying this will be his final season.
The CAS decision to reinstate Russia has prompted some hockey pundits to wonder whether the move could open the door for the NHL to include Russia in the 2028 World Cup of Hockey, which is not an IIHF event.
Asked whether he would represent Russia one final time if it competes, Ovechkin ruled it out.
"No. One hundred per cent, no," he said, smiling.
Tuesday night's game in Ottawa also drew attention off the ice.
Russian President Vladimir Putin, left, shakes hands with hockey star Alex Ovechkin while receiving a team jersey during a Kremlin reception in Moscow celebrating Russia's victory at the 2014 world hockey championship on May 27, 2014.THE CANADIAN PRESS/AP-Yuri Kadobnov
The Ukrainian Canadian Congress organized a demonstration outside the Canadian Tire Centre called "No War Crimes in Hockey" to protest Ovechkin's support for Russian President Vladimir Putin.
The organization has held demonstrations around Ottawa, usually to protest Russia's invasion of Ukraine. A rally in February marking the fourth anniversary of the invasion drew 300 people to Parliament Hill.
Tuesday's protest drew fewer than two dozen people on a rainy, windy evening in the Ottawa suburb of Kanata.
"People should be making choices and understand whether to support stuff like that for pleasure, for destruction, of ruining of childhood, and causing devastation," said Mike Ryndzak, one of the demonstrators.
"Winter is coming. People have nothing. No food, no electricity, no heat, no water … and it’s absolutely not acceptable. It’s obvious that it has to stop at some point.”
Ryndzak acknowledged the low turnout at the protest, but said the Ukrainian Canadian Congress was also holding a fundraising event Tuesday which most members opted to attend.
Ovechkin publicly backed Putin in 2017 when he launched a social movement called “Putin Team.” At the time, he told reporters from The Associated Press and The Washington Post, “I just support my country.”
When Russia invaded Ukraine in February 2022, Ovechkin said, “Please, no more war,” when asked about the invasion. Asked about his relationship with Putin, Ovechkin said: “He’s my president, but I’m not in politics. I’m an athlete.”
Ovechkin also appeared in an ad earlier this year for a political party aligned with Putin. He told reporters in September that he was asked to participate and agreed to do so.
— With files from Abdulhamid Ibrahim and Josh Clipperton in Toronto, and The Associated Press.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 10, 2026.
By Nick Murray | Copyright 2026, The Canadian Press. All rights reserved.