Alex Ovechkin makes a bold statement on NHL's new Pride policy

For the first time in a long time, the NHL enters a season with no plans to celebrate special interest groups like the LGBTQ+ community, Armed Forces or law enforcement. This means no Pride Night, no Military Appreciation Night and no To Serve and Protect Night.

The NHL made the decision to axe these special celebrations after the league received some backlash from fans who were disappointed that some players opted not to wear Pride Night pre-game jerseys, citing religious reasons. In particular former Philadelphia Flyers defenseman Ivan Provorov, A Russian Orthodox Christian, seemed to spark outrage from the LGBTQ+ community for his decision not to don a rainbow themed Pride warmup jersey.

This past weekend, Washington Capitals superstar Alex Ovechkin shared his thoughts on the matter and... well... what did you expect? The guy is a warm-blooded Russian male who has grown up in the hyper competitive Russian hockey system to become one of the most "alpha-males" in history of one of the most "alpha-males" sport. Again... what did you expect?

Ovi's words:

The Washington captain also praised NHL leadership for not imposing any sanctions on players like Ivan Provorov of the Philadelphia Flyers and current Red Wings goalie James Reimer over their refusal to participate in NHL-sanctioned Pride Night events in support of the LGBTQ community.

"Well, what can I say here?" Ovechkin asked. "Well done. It should be like this everywhere."

- The Athletic

Again... what did you expect?

Ovi is a family man through and through, it doesn't surprise me to learn of his feelings on this particular matter. What's most interesting to me though is that he feels confident enough to express himself, even if it means alienating some fans. This is something that we haven't really seen from Ovechkin in past seasons, especially when asked about his ties to Russia and Russian President Vladimir Putin. Maybe Ovi is just getting to the stage of his career and in his life, where he's just more open to giving his opinion? Whatever the case, I'd love to see and hear more from Ovechkin as he plays out the Back 9 of his NHL career.