Who is Alex Ovechkin? Donald Trump makes major blunder during meeting with Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney

The relationship between the two countries has been frosty in recent months after Trump launched a trade war earlier this year, and later touted the benefits of the US annexing parts of Canada.

Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney met with the US leader t the White House on Tuesday afternoon but a major blunder from Trump may have just soured relation even further.

The US President attempted to share his love for the Great White North, saying: “I love Canada.”

He references some of the country’s biggest sport stars, adding: “I have a lot of respect for the Canadians. Wayne Gretzky, the Great One.”

He went on to reference Alex Ovechkin, who recently surpassed Gretzky as the NHL’s all-time goal scorer. Trump said: “You happen to have a very, very good hockey player right here on the [Washington] Capitals, who I have a lot of… He is a big, tough cookie, too. Just broke the record. And he’s a great guy.”

The only issue with Trump’s declaration of love for Canada’s homegrown hockey talent is that Alexis Ovechkin isn’t actually Canadian...

Who is Alex Ovechkin?

Alex Ovechkin is a Russian hockey player who currently plays for the Washington Capitals. The 39-year-old is captain of the team and plays in the left wing position.

Ovechkin, who was born and raised in Moscow, is considered by many to be one of the greatest hockey players of all time. He began his professional career at Dynamo Moscow, playing at the team for four season from 2001, before being selected first overall by the Washington Capitals in the 2004 NHL Entry Draft.

Off of the ice, Ovechkin lent his support to Russian president Vladimir Putin. In 2017, he launched a social movement called ‘PutinTeam’, which supported the Russian president’s re-election in the 2018 presidential election. While Ovechkin maintained that the idea behind the movement was non-political, Russian financial newspaper Vedomosti reported that Kremlin-supported PR firm IMA-Consulting were behind the idea for PutinTeam.

Ovechkin is also said to have a personal relationship with Putin. The Washington Post reports that he has the personal phone number of the Russian leader, and received a gift from him at his wedding in 2016. Ovechkin said at the time: "We talk about hockey and all that stuff. That's it."

Following the Russian invasion of Ukraine in 2022, Ovechkin shared a message of peace on his social media, saying: "I have family back in Russia. It's scary moments. We can't do anything. We just hope it's going to end soon and everyone's going to be all right.”

Trump’s blunder in saying Ovechkin is Canadian instead of Russian is not the first time that the US leader has mentioned the hockey star. He gave Ovechkin a special shoutout after his win with the Capitals in the Stanley Cup in 2018.

Trump said on X (formerly Twitter) at the time: “Congratulations to the Washington Capitals on their GREAT play and winning the Stanley Cup Championship, Alex Ovechkin, the team captain, was spectacular - a true Superstar! D.C. is popping, in many ways. What a time!”