Alex Ovechkin could be denied last chance to earn Olympic Gold medal

Notably, Russia's future in the Olympics is still uncertain. For many years now, Russian athletes have been allowed to participate in the games without properly representing their country. The Olympic committee allowed them to participate, but revoked their right to properly represent their country after years of cheating scandals across several sports. For Hockey, things have been even worse as the IIHF independently decided to ban Russia and Belarus from all international events back in 2019 after Russia invaded Ukraine with the aid of Belarus. Ovechkin revealed how disappointed he was back then to learn that he and his countrymen had been banned from IIHF events.

Since then, the IIHF has upheld the ban after a meeting every year. The two nations continue to be banned next season after the organization upheld the decision for another year.

With the next winter games coming in the 2025-26 season, this does potentially give Russians the chance to compete should the IIHF decide to rescind the ban. However, the geopolitical situation Russia find itself in is largely unchanged, so there is still a great amount of uncertainty with regards to their IIHF eligibility for the foreseeable future. Ovechkin himself admitted that he would love to play at the Olympics, but is not sure if he will actually get that chance.

Olympic gold is just about the only achievement Ovechkin has yet to earn in his historic career. He has over a dozen international medals, including four golds, but they have all come from world champions or junior champions. Time is running out for the 38-year-old when it comes to his Olympic dreams. Will they come true? At this point, it seems unlikely, but anything can happen.

Source: PuckReporter
Alex Ovechkin sounds off after getting banned from the Olympics

Source: EliteProspects
Alex Ovechkin career Statistics