Ovechkin Upset After NHL Stops Him From Playing At PyeongChang 2018

Just about every sportsman’s dream is to represent their country at the Olympics and walk away with a gold medal around their neck.

Russian ice hockey player Alex Ovechkin is one of these players who as a kid used to dream about representing his country in the Olympics. He has a great pedigree as his mother is a two time Olympic champion and Ovechkin has turned out to be one of the top players in Russia. He currently plays in the NHL and is a key member of the Washington Capitals.

The International Ice Hockey Federation (IIHF) announced earlier this week that the NHL will not be a part of the 2018 Winter Olympics in Pyeongchang, South Korea. The announcement does not come as a surprise as the NHL had earlier stated that it would not be a part of the 2018 Winter Olympics due to logistical issues.

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The Winter Games takes place in February 2018 and the NHL would have to take a three week break from its season to allow its players to participate in the games. The NHL wasn’t willing to work with this schedule and as a result decided to drop out. There were reports that a number of NHL players wanted to be a part of the 2018 Olympics and were disappointed with the IIHF and NHL’s decision.

Alex Ovechkin had said earlier this year that he would not let anything stand in his way of representing Team Russia at the Olympics. However the IIHF and the NHL have worked out an agreement where the respective countries are not allowed to ask their players to leave the NHL and participate in the 2018 Olympics.

Ovechkin stated that he was very disappointed with the IIHF, NHL and the International Olympics Committee. He said his earlier statement of not letting anything stand in his way did not matter anymore as his country was not in a position to ask him to be a part of the team
anymore.

In a statement, Ovechkin said

This is not just about me but all the NHL players who want to play and have a chance to win Gold for their country. Our countries are now not allowed to ask us to play in the Olympics. Me, my teammates and all players who want to go all lose. So do all the fans of hockey with this decision that we are not allowed to be invited