Washington Capitals captain Alex Ovechkin will don the 'C' for his home country Russian team at the 2014 Winter Olympics in Sochi, and he spoke with NBC's Today Show live from Rockefeller Center in New York City Monday to discuss his excitement for the honor.
"I'm very excited," Ovechkin told NBC's Carson Daly, according to NHL.com. "It's a big honor for me, for my country."
Ovechkin will become a three-time Olympian when he hits the ice representing Russia in February. Russia lost the bronze medal game to the Czech Republic in Turin during Ovechkin's first time on the team and then fell to eventual gold-medal winners Canada in 2010 at the Vancouver Games in the quarterfinals. Ovechkin became the first Russian ever to carry the Olympic torch in a ceremony at Olympia, Greece in September.
With the 2014 Olympics in Russia, Ovechkin notes that there is more incentive to win than ever before.
"Everybody wants to win a gold medal, especially when playing at home," Ovechkin said per NHL.com. "I'm sure every hockey player, every fan in Russia, wants us to win. But it's going to be hard because every team has a strong team. It's going to be a battle."
With the threat of terrorism in Russia at a high level and the Olympics being seen as a possible target, Ovechkin said he didn't believe the Games would be dangerous.
Ovechkin has represented Russia in three World Junior Championships, nine World Championships and the World Cup of Hockey. According to NHL.com, his mother Tatyana Ovechkina was a two-time gold medal winner with the Soviet Union in women's basketball in 1976 and 1980 but Ovechkin noted they don't discuss it much.
"It's a situation where you just leave it alone," Ovechkin said per NHL.com. "She's an Olympian, but we don't talk about it a lot."
Ovechkin leads the league with 35 goals and has added 14 assists for 49 points thus far this season, but come February it'll be all about winning the gold medal in the Olympics for Team Russia.
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