Alexander Ovechkin isn’t exactly a slave to fashion. He famously wore flip flops on the red carpet at the MuchMusic (basically Canadian MTV) Video Awards earlier this year. He was even denied entry into a Las Vegas club due to his love of wearing flip flops. He’s also dressed up like this before. So it’s no surprise that Ovie wants to set his own trends at the 2010 Olympics.
Teammate Tomas Fleischmann started the buzz about Ovechkin’s skates by spreading the initial rumors about his footwear. Some reporters believed that Ovie would wear all red skates for the Olympics. To that, he replied, “I will have a twist of my own. It’s a secret. You will see it for yourself.”
That twist was unveiled yesterday in Russia’s practice in Vancouver. Ovechkin was sporting a new set of CCM skates decked out with yellow laces and custom-painted chassis. The design includes Ovechkin’s #8 and some sort of demon or goat man on the back of the chassis. Maybe it’s just Satan… and I don’t mean Miroslav. In addition to the skates, I noticed that Alex tapes the handle of his stick in a very particular fashion. The configuration up top allows Ovechkin to get superior grip on his shaft.
The Russian winger is currently skating with Capitals’ teammate Alexander Semin and the two are centered by the Red Wings’ Pavel Datsyuk. Ovechkin and company are currently favored to win the tournament. Olympic hockey opens up today when the USA takes on Switzerland. Russia plays their first game tomorrow against the Czech Republic.
