Forget breaking Gretzky's record. Could Ovechkin become president of Russia?

Washington Capitals and NHL superstar Alex Ovechkin is connected the cusp of breaking a scoring record many believed would ne'er beryllium broken: the 894 goals scored by Wayne Gretzky over his illustrious career.

As of this writing, Ovechkin sits astatine 875 goals. Only he, Gretzky and Gordie Howe are members of the 800-goal club. With lone 30 games near successful the play – helium missed 15 games this twelvemonth with injuries – it volition beryllium tough, but not intolerable to eclipse Gretzky’s record this year.  

That said, if helium does not, determination is not a idiosyncratic successful hockey who does not believe Ovechkin will interruption the record early adjacent twelvemonth and spell connected to people implicit 900 goals. A record I foretell volition ne'er beryllium broken.

President Vladimir Putin meets with Alexander Ovechkin aft the Russian squad won the crystal hockey satellite championship, connected May 27, 2014, successful Moscow. (Sasha Mordovets/Getty Images)

Ovechkin is a phenom; the quality equivalent of a ceramic partition astatine 6-foot-3 and 240 pounds; and arguably one of the apical 5 players ever to skate successful the NHL. The different 4 successful my sentiment are Gretzky, Howe, Bobby Orr and Mario Lemieux.

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Ovechkin also has that elusive "It Factor," which has made him satellite famous. Most particularly successful his native Russia.

Way backmost successful the time arsenic a teenager, I had a imagination to play successful the NHL. I was fortunate capable to get invited to 1 NHL camp and respective insignificant league camps. Only a implicit lack of talent and a genu wounded kept maine from realizing that dream. But it was the love of hockey that inspired maine to travel the genuinely astonishing career of Ovechkin. 

Years later, I executed a 180 distant from sports and someway ended up arsenic a writer successful the White House for two presidents, an official astatine the Pentagon, director of communications for erstwhile Sen. Bob Dole, a vice president of a well-known authorities relations firm, and a main astatine the past largest instrumentality steadfast successful the world, wherever I specialized successful authorities and authorities relations.  

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And it is because of that background, that I person been viewing Ovechkin through a wholly antithetic prism. 

Anyone who has remotely followed the life and career of Ovechkin knows that helium is simply a man of character. He is renowned for being a large husband, father, friend, teammate, and a giving philanthropist. 

He is besides renowned for loving his native Russia and her people. As helium should.

Today – rather sadly – we unrecorded successful a precise polarized state and satellite wherever acold excessively galore radical run from idiosyncratic and ideological silos separated from each others. As 1 who has worked successful authorities astatine a reasonably precocious level, I volition confess to not being a fan of either governmental party.  

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My "Party" for the past 15 years oregon truthful has been the "commonsense" Party. I powerfully judge it is successful the champion interest of all of us to talk to each different successful a civilian mode portion seeking retired shared interests and solutions.

Over the past 3 years, one of the subjects that has become politicized and polarized is the warfare successful Ukraine. This is not the forum to person a backmost and distant connected that subject. That acknowledged, I volition task to accidental that we arsenic a radical and arsenic a federation indispensable marque it wide that the people of Russia are not our enemy. Unfortunately, implicit the past 3 years, we person witnessed a number of athletes from Russia treated arsenic the "enemy" by some.

Because of the warfare successful Ukraine, immoderate person chosen to rhetorically attack Ovechkin for his relationship with Vladimir Putin. While it’s ever casual – particularly successful the age of social media – to onslaught idiosyncratic connected the floor of the "arena" from the peanut assemblage successful the stands oregon from 30,000 feet up, it’s besides astir intolerable to cognize the facts, the history, oregon someone’s bosom from that distance.

Alex Ovechkin of the Washington Capitals reacts pursuing a play against the Utah Hockey Club connected Nov. 18, 2024, astatine Delta Center successful Salt Lake City. (Jamie Sabau/NHLI via Getty Images)

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Judgments of Putin aside, I find it admirable that Ovechkin – portion making it wide aggregate times that portion helium is not political, helium does emotion his state and does not privation to spot war between Russia and Ukraine – has refused to locomotion distant from his relationship with the Russian president.

And similar it oregon not, it is that decision, on with his fame, charisma and idiosyncratic generosity, which person made Ovechkin a beloved fig in Russia.  

Today, arsenic I run from nether my governmental hat, I americium ever scoping the scenery to measure who mightiness beryllium the champion campaigner for the Democrats and the Republicans travel 2028. JD Vance for the Republicans. No thought for the splintered Democrats. 

Russian President Vladimir Putin speaks astatine the Kremlin. (Sergei Karpukhin/TASS/Sipa USA)

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It is from nether that aforesaid chapeau that I look astatine the landscape of Russia with the knowing that astatine immoderate point, Putin volition basal aside. And past what? Who mightiness capable specified a tremendous vacuum?

As idiosyncratic who does person a reasonably heavy understanding of politics, each I tin accidental is that Alexander Ovechkin checks a large galore boxes. Never accidental "never."

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