Alex Ovechkin was back with his former club, Dynamo Moscow, to help present the 2024-25 MHC Dynamo Moscow junior team on Tuesday. MHC Dynamo plays in Russia’s MHL where players on rosters can be no older than 20.
Ovechkin was joined by other club legends like former NHL player Maxim Afinogenov, Alexei Kudashov, and Alexander Maltsev to hand out game jerseys to the team’s roster for the upcoming season. Sergey Sushko, Alexei Sopin, and Vasily Kubayev, members of Dynamo’s front office, were also in attendance.
The ceremony took place at the Dynamo Museum in Moscow. Dynamo also announced a partnership with the museum as part of Tuesday’s ceremony.
Ovechkin, who recently held a youth tournament of his own, spoke with Dynamo after the event about the beginning stages of hockey careers. The Great Eight came up through the club’s youth academy before playing parts of four seasons with the senior team ahead of his NHL debut with the Washington Capitals.
“This is a very important period in life and a serious stage — during it, you need to train more and give yourself to the game,” Ovechkin said. “You shouldn’t be distracted by little things that will hinder your development in hockey. Only after achieving certain success can you allow yourself certain things and implement them.”
Dynamo’s most hyped prospect who received a jersey from Ovechkin was 17-year-old center Ivan Ryabkin. EliteProspects’ early consolidated rankings project the Balakovo native as the fifth-best prospect in the 2025 NHL Draft. There is no other Russian player currently slotted in the top 30.
Ryabkin played 44 games in the MHL last year as a 16-year-old and recorded 58 points (24g, 34a). His point output made him the most productive U17 player in the history of the MHL, surpassing Matvei Michkov by two points in 12 fewer games.
He also captained Russia’s U17 national team and was called up by the U18 and U20 teams. Like Michkov in 2024, Ryabkin is expected to cause debate at the next draft due to having signed a contract with Dynamo through the 2026-27 season.
“I just met [Ivan] and have never seen him play,” Ovechkin said. “I was told that he is a talented guy, which is worth a lot at his age. The main thing is that he constantly works on himself and moves forward. It is important to get through this period without injuries and not to get ahead of the locomotive.”
Ovechkin also posed for individual photos with 19-year-old Maxim Pirogov and 17-year-old Kurban Limatov. Limatov has yet to crack EliteProspects’ draft rankings (top 68) but is listed as an “other notable prospect.”
Ovechkin, soon to be 39, has two children, Sergei and Ilya, both making their first forays into the hockey world. The big winger was asked if he plans to enroll his two sons into Dynamo’s academy just as his parents did for him almost three decades ago.
Sergei, 6, is regularly skating with a team in Russia while Ilya, 4, just started skating for the first time last May.
“They are still young,” Ovechkin said. “Yes, they are involved, but it is still unknown what environment the boys will choose. If they want to be hockey players, of course, we will send them to Dynamo.”
