Washington Capitals star Alex Ovechkin did not directly address a planned protest outside the Canadian Tire Centre in Ottawa over his support for Russian President Vladimir Putin, but says Russian players “just want to play” for their country. The Ukrainian Canadian Congress (UCC) is organizing a rally at 5:30 p.m. called “Rally: No War Crimes in Ottawa” ahead of the Capitals game against the Ottawa Senators on Tuesday night. Ovechkin was asked how he felt about the planned protest outside the Ottawa arena before the game. “I just heard about this morning and I don’t know what to say,” Ovechkin told reporters Tuesday morning. “You know, lots of protests going on around the world.” Ovechkin appeared in a commercial for a party aligned with Putin in September, standing behind Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov. In 2017, Ovechkin voiced support for Putin when he launched a movement called “Putin Team.” “Ovechkin is campaigning for United Russia,” the UCC said in a social media post on Sept. 15. Last month, the Ukrainian Canadian Congress called on the federal government to deny Ovechkin entry into Canada after he appeared in a commercial for a party aligned with Putin. “That the National Hockey League celebrates Ovechkin and ignores his support of a genocidal regime is a moral stain on the NHL. But the NHL’s cravenness in no way absolves the Government of Canada from its responsibility to enforce the law and protect the security of Canadians,” Alexandra Chyczij, national president of the UCC, said in a statement on Oct. 8. “The Minister of Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship has the authority to bar supporters of genocide from entry into Canada. The UCC calls on Canada to act today and bar entry to Ovechkin and other supporters of Russia’s genocide against Ukraine.” Two online petitions on the House of Commons website, sponsored by Liberal MPs Yvan Baker and Bardish Chagger, call on the government to impose sanctions against Ovechkin, including barring him from entering Canada. The Ottawa Senators told CTV News Ottawa it was aware of the planned demonstration outside the arena, adding the club will “have appropriate measures in place to ensure the safety of our fans.” ‘We just want to play’ Ovechkin says Russian athletes want to represent their country at world and Olympic championships like players in other countries. On Oct. 30, the Court of Arbitration for Sport ruled the International Ice Hockey Federation must reinstate Russia for competitions, after the country had been barred from international competitions since the invasion of Ukraine. “As an athlete, we just want to play,” Ovechkin said. He was asked about Prime Minister Mark Carney saying Russian players won’t be allowed to represent their country at the World Junior Hockey Championship in Alberta in December and January. “It’s his thoughts, his decisions, and I don’t know how it’s going to work out,” Ovechkin said. “I’m pretty sure if you’re going to ask the fans, the fans want to see the best players out there, and the fans want to see young generation players who are going to be future stars. But you know, it’s not up to us.” Canada’s Secretary of State for Sport Adam van Koeverden told reporters on Monday that the “prime minister was extremely clear that sport will not be used for propaganda on Canadian soil.” Ovechkin told reporters that “nobody” is being used as a propaganda tool by Russia. “You want to represent your country. Doesn’t matter which — world championship, Olympic games, European championships. You just want to go out there and play, represent their country,” Ovechkin said. Ovechkin announced in October he will be retiring at the end of the season after a 22-year career. He broke Wayne Gretzky’s goals record in April 2025 and his 930 goals in his career. With files from The Canadian Press
