- Ovechkin goes through three or four pairs of gloves in a single game
- He wants them new and dry so the stick does not slip in his hands
- Read below for why he cannot understand the guys who cut holes in their palms
Alex Ovechkin does not change his gloves once a game. He does it three or four times.
The NHL’s all-time leading goal scorer explained the routine in a new FONBET interview in Moscow, sitting alongside Dynamo forward Konstantin Tyukavin while former NHL winger Nikita Filatov and ex-soccer star Andrey Arshavin asked the questions. Ovechkin called the glove swap one of the most important parts of his game, per a translation from RMNB.
“[It’s] a very important element, at least for me,” Ovechkin said. “I absolutely love new gloves. If they gave me new gloves every game, I would play only in new gloves. I have about three or four pairs per game. The first pair gets all worn out, so I can say after a shift, ‘That’s it. We’re done with them. Let’s start a new one.’”
Watch the full sit-down here:
He also went into what a soaked pair does to his hands, and it comes down to how the stick sits in them.
“Most of the time, I always have new, dry gloves, because I like it when the stick is in my hands, held right for shooting and passing,” Ovechkin said. “And when it’s wet, even when you have grip on the stick, it still slips for me. I don’t know why. And some people, on the contrary, like them very wet. Some even cut out the whole palms and make holes on purpose. I don’t understand that.”
Anyone who watches Washington regularly has seen the routine play out. Ovechkin waves at the training and equipment staff mid-period, and he usually wants a fresh pair and a fresh stick before a power play, where he sets up in his left circle.
His sticks get the same treatment. Ovechkin cuts and tapes every one himself, and head equipment manager Brock Myles explained last season that Ovechkin brings a pre-cut stick on the road so every replacement ends up at the exact same length.
Check out the Capitals’ close-up of Ovechkin trimming a stick down to size:
None of the worn-out gear gets tossed anymore. Since his 800th goal, Ovechkin has kept the sticks, pucks, jerseys and even the socks from his milestones, and he has the teammates who assisted sign the back of the jersey. All of it is headed for a museum he plans to open in Moscow.
Strong gear opinions are nothing new from him. He recently named Nathan MacKinnon as the one player who could pull off the yellow laces and mirrored visor he wore as a rookie.
Ovechkin turns 41 in September and is signed on for a 22nd season in Washington. That is another 84 games of gloves for the equipment room to keep dry.
