- Connor McDavid had a funny confession about watching Alex Ovechkin as a kid
- The Oilers captain still had plenty of praise for the retiring Capitals star
- Read below for the video and what Mike Babcock and Vasily Podkolzin said
Connor McDavid didn’t grow up cheering for Alex Ovechkin. Not even close.
The Oilers captain was asked Tuesday what he remembered about watching Ovechkin when he was younger, one day after the Capitals star announced the 2026-27 season will be his last in the NHL. McDavid laughed and gave an honest answer.
“Well, I was a Sid fan, so I didn’t love him,” McDavid said. “But obviously amazing for what he’s done in this game.”
Watch McDavid’s answer:
McDavid was eight when Ovechkin broke into the league in 2005-06, the same season Sidney Crosby showed up in Pittsburgh. Growing up in Newmarket, Ont., he had a Crosby poster on his wall, so he picked his side of that rivalry early.
That was where the jokes stopped. McDavid ran through the resume and wished Ovechkin a strong finish.
“Amazing career, longevity, points, winning. You name it, he’s done all of it,” he said. “So really happy for him, and you want him to have a good last year to go out on a high note.”
Ovechkin’s ability to keep reinventing himself came up too.
“He’s found a way to score throughout his career in many different ways,” McDavid said. “You know, obviously the one-timer is one thing, but he scored 900 goals. He scored in so many different ways, so it’s an impressive, impressive thing he’s got.”
Their numbers tell two different stories. Ovechkin enters his final season with 929 goals and 1,688 points in 1,575 games. McDavid sits at 1,229 points in 797 games, and he already has more career assists (818) than Ovechkin (759).
Oilers head coach Mike Babcock was asked about Ovechkin as well. His focus was the 2018 Stanley Cup.
“I mean, who believed you could ever score that many goals anyway?” Babcock said. “But he also won a championship, and in the end, to me, that’s what it’s all about.”
Vasily Podkolzin had the opposite childhood experience. The Oilers forward grew up in Moscow idolizing Ovechkin and talked about what it meant to eventually get to know him.
“For guys from my generation, he was an idol always,” Podkolzin said. “I’m super happy that I played against him and I met him personally. I have his stick, obviously. So it’s memories for life.”
Crosby, the guy McDavid was rooting for, ended up close with Ovechkin himself. He said the two have had some great battles and that he has developed a friendship with Ovechkin built on “a ton of respect.” Crosby has been praising Ovechkin all fall.
The Penguins visit Washington for the Capitals’ home opener on Wednesday night, the first Crosby-Ovechkin meeting since the retirement news. McDavid already told everyone which side he grew up on.
