The 30-year-old has played for Russia for 14 years now, including two U18 tournaments (silver, bronze), three U20s (gold, silver), and three Olympics (no medals). This will be his 12^th World Championship. The first eleven have seen him haul away seven medals (three gold, two silver, two bronze).

12 April 2002 - Ovechkin scores four goals in a 6-1 win over Slovakia in his second-ever U18 game.

26 December 2002 - Ovechkin scores three goals in Russia’s 5-1 win over the United States to open the 2003 IIHF World Junior Championship. All goals are assisted by Yuri Trubachyov.

31 December 2002 - Five days later, Ovi does it again. He scores a hat trick in a 7-5 win over Switzerland. Again, Trubachyov has a hand in each one.

22 February 2006 - The Turin Olympics came down to a massive showdown between Canada and Russia in the quarter-finals. Ovechkin scored a power-play goal early in the third period to stake Russia to a 1-0 lead. Infamously, Todd Bertuzzi was in the penalty box. Russia went on to win, 2-0.

18 May 2008 - In the IIHF’s centennial year and the World Championship in Canada for the first time, Ovechkin set up Ilya Kovalchuk for the overtime winner on the power play, giving Russia its first World Championship gold in 15 years.

20 May 2012 - A late arrival at the World Championship in Helsinki, Ovechkin played only the final three games of the 2012 Worlds, but he had two assists in the gold-medal game to help Russia defeat Slovakia, 6-2.

13 February 2014 - Sochi and a home-country Olympics. In a blaze of speed, Ovechkin tears down the left wing and fires a bullet shot over Slovenian goalie Robert Kristan to score the first goal of the tournament for Russia. The team won, 5-2.

25 May 2014 - In another World Championship gold-medal game, this time against Finland, Ovi scored early in the second period to tie the game, 2-2. Russia went on to win, 5-2.