Alex Ovechkin of the Washington Capitals has expressed interest to play at the 2026 Winter Olympics in Italy and win it all, taking home the gold medal. Ovechkin was recently interviewed in Russia, where he was asked about the 2026 Winter Olympics. <a href='https://russianmachineneverbreaks.com/2024/07/28/alex-ovechkin-would-like-to-compete-for-russia-again-on-an-international-stage-but-knows-thats-unlikely/#:~:text=Ovechkin%20has%20played%20in%20three,Soviet%20Union's%20women's%20basketball%20team.' class='lien_marqueur' target='_blank' rel='noopener'>Ovi said he really wants to play</a>, and hopes to be able to bring home the gold medal. The problem is that Russia is still banned from international ice hockey competitions due to the ongoing war with Ukraine, so it may be unlikely we see Ovechkin compete in two years from now, barring a major change in this war. <q>In theory, yes, but you see what is happening with our team now. They are not allowing us to participate in the World Championships or the Olympics, so I don't know how this will all happen. Ovechkin said.</q> <q>The last time the Olympics were in Italy, an 18-year-old NHL rookie Sidney Crosby did not make the Canadian team (and there were headlines about it, despite the fact a teenage NHL player has never made a Canadian Olympic team). Alex Ovechkin will be 40 in 2026.</q> <div align='center'><blockquote class='twitter-tweet' data-lang='en'><a href='https://twitter.com/nzaccardi/status/1753488570004959300'> </a></blockquote></div> Despite Russia being banned, Ovechkin and other Russians may still have a way to compete at the 2026 Olympics. Ovi would need to participate as an Individual Neutral Athlete. That would be the only way he can be involved should Russia still be banned by then, however no one knows for sure if that is something he would be interested in doing. Alex Ovechkin of the Washington Capitals has played in a total of 1,426 NHL games and is only 41 goals shy of tying the all-time NHL goals record, having scored 853 goals and adding 697 assists. Source: Blades of Steel <a href='https://www.bladeofsteel.com/nhl-team/washington-capitals/alexander-ovechkin-expresses-desire-to-play-at-2026-winter-olympics-win-gold' class='lien_marqueur' target='_blank' rel='noopener'>Alexander Ovechkin expresses desire to play at 2026 Winter Olympics & win gold</a> Source: HockeyDB <a href='https://www.hockeydb.com/ihdb/stats/pdisplay.php?pid=63735' class='lien_marqueur' target='_blank' rel='noopener'>Alex Ovechkin Statistics</a>