{"id":4279,"date":"2026-09-17T00:21:07","date_gmt":"2026-09-17T00:21:07","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/sotnews.agency\/?p=4279"},"modified":"2026-09-17T00:21:07","modified_gmt":"2026-09-17T00:21:07","slug":"nhl-superstar-ovechkin-was-asked-to-film-putin-ad-team-says-ice-hockey-news","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/sotnews.agency\/?p=4279","title":{"rendered":"NHL superstar Ovechkin \u2018was asked\u2019 to film Putin ad, team says | Ice Hockey News"},"content":{"rendered":"
\n
\n \t<\/i> Read Time:<\/span>2 Minute, 21 Second <\/div>\n\n <\/div>


\n<\/p>\n

\n

Russian sports icon joins prominent domestic figures promoting the ruling United Russia party ahead of elections.<\/em><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

\n
\n

Published On 17 Sep 2026<\/span>17 Sep 2026<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

\n

The Washington Capitals ice hockey team has deflected criticism of star Alex Ovechkin\u2019s appearance in a campaign video for Russian President Vladimir Putin\u2019s United Russia party.<\/p>\n

A spokesperson for the Capitals said that their National Hockey League (NHL) record-setting<\/a> goal scorer had been \u201casked by his country to participate\u201d.<\/p>\n

\n

Recommended Stories <\/h2>\n

list of 3 items<\/span>end of list<\/span><\/section>\n

Ovechkin, a longtime Putin supporter who spends his offseasons in Moscow, is among a group of prominent Russians shown in a campaign video for the ruling United Russia party ahead of nationwide elections this week.<\/p>\n

The statement added: \u201cThis summer, while in Russia, he was asked by his country to participate in a video campaign. As the longest-tenured athlete in Washington, DC, and a pillar of the community, his focus and ours is on the season ahead and the continued impact he makes on the ice and in our city\u201d.<\/p>\n

While Ovechkin\u2019s appearance comes as no surprise following similar endorsements of Putin in the past, it has drawn criticism as Russia\u2019s war in Ukraine<\/a> drags through its fifth year.<\/p>\n

Putin\u2019s United Russia is widely expected to retain its majority in the State Duma following this week\u2019s tightly controlled parliamentary elections, but the vote is seen by the Kremlin as a barometer of public opinion on the war with Ukraine, which killed hundreds of thousands of people.<\/p>\n

Ovechkin founded the \u201cPutinTeam\u201d social movement in 2017 to support the Russian president in the following year\u2019s election and uses a photo of himself with Putin on his official Instagram page.<\/p>\n

But following Russia\u2019s invasion of Ukraine, Ovechkin issued a plea for \u201cno more war\u201d, adding: \u201cHe\u2019s my president, but \u2026 I\u2019m not in politics.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"Russia's
Russia\u2019s President Vladimir Putin greets captain Alex Ovechkin during an award ceremony at the Kremlin in Moscow on May 27, 2014 [File: Alexei Druzhinin\/Ria Novosti\/Kremlin\/Reuters]<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

As the war escalated in 2023, a group of Capitals fans protested outside the team\u2019s Capital One Arena, calling for Ovechkin to remove photos of Putin from his Instagram profile.<\/p>\n

Czech former ice hockey star Dominik Hasek, a longtime Putin critic, commented on X that the statement \u201cignores the hundreds of thousands, if not millions, of Ukrainians and Russians killed or maimed \u2013 casualties for which Ovechkin bears a significant share of responsibility through his public stance\u201d.<\/p>\n

Ovechkin, who turns 41 on Thursday, has scored an NHL record 929 goals in 1,573 games.<\/p>\n

In July, he signed a one-year contract worth $4.25m to return for a 22nd season with the Washington Capitals and has refused to commit to this being his final campaign.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n


\n
Source link <\/a><\/p>\n

\n
\n \n
\n \n \"Happy\"\n <\/a>\n
\n Happy <\/div>\n
\n 0<\/span>\n \n 0<\/span> %<\/span>\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n\n
\n \n \"Sad\"\n <\/a>\n
\n Sad <\/div>\n
\n 0<\/span>\n 0<\/span> %<\/span>\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n\n
\n \n \"Excited\"\n <\/a>\n
\n Excited <\/div>\n
\n 0<\/span>\n 0<\/span> %<\/span>\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n\n
\n \n \"Sleepy\"\n <\/a>\n
\n Sleepy <\/div>\n
\n 0<\/span>\n \n 0<\/span> %<\/span>\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n\n
\n \n \"Angry\"\n <\/a>\n
Angry<\/div>\n
\n 0<\/span>\n 0<\/span> %<\/span>\n \n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n\n
\n \n \"Surprise\"\n <\/a>\n
Surprise<\/div>\n
\n 0<\/span>\n 0<\/span> %<\/span>\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n\n ","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Russian sports icon joins prominent domestic figures promoting the ruling United Russia party ahead of elections. Published On 17 Sep 202617 Sep 2026 The Washington Capitals ice hockey team has deflected criticism of star Alex Ovechkin\u2019s appearance in a campaign video for Russian President Vladimir Putin\u2019s United Russia party. A spokesperson for the Capitals said…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":4280,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"rop_custom_images_group":[],"rop_custom_messages_group":[],"rop_publish_now":"initial","rop_publish_now_accounts":{"facebook_2277560469115098_106292521332774":"","twitter_aToxNzczMzI3Njk4OTg4ODUxMjAxOw==_1773327698988851200":""},"rop_publish_now_history":[],"rop_publish_now_status":"pending","_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[11],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-4279","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-international-news"],"aioseo_notices":[],"aioseo_head":"\n\t\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t