As fans watch Alex Ovechkin's career wind down and the intense chase Wayne Gretzky's all-time goal scoring record, it's likely that not many of them know how Ovechkin got to this point. It goes back to his childhood when his brother, Sergei, introduced him to hockey at a young age.
Ovechkin's brother was his idol, but sadly and tragically, Sergei passed away at the age of 24 following a car accident. At the time, Ovechkin had promised his brother that he would make the NHL in his honour. Not many could have predicted that in the process of keeping his promise to his brother, Ovechkin would become one of the most entertaining and electric NHLers of all time and end up where is now, just 74 goals shy of becoming the greatest goal-scorer of all-time, or win a Stanley Cup, but Ovi has certainly done his brother proud and then some.
We have all seen Ovechkin kissing his glove and pointing to the sky when he scores, which he does in honour of his brother, and when the Caps won the Cup, Ovechkin and his family took it to his brother's grave and said, "We did it brother." Ovechkin's memory of his brother doesn't stop there, though, as he and his wife named their first son Sergei in honour of him.
It is truly remarkable that Ovechkin's motivation throughout his career was to keep his promise to his brother and make him proud. That goal has helped him accomplish so much. If Sergei was still here today, there's no doubt that he would be extremely proud of what Alex was able to accomplish throughout his career.
