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Ovechkin's record is a unique achievement which we're incredibly proud of!

I sincerely congratulate Alexander Ovechkin with beating Wayne Gretzky's NHL scoring record!

This is a quite incredible achievement, and I know that he had long dreamt of smashing the goalscoring record and setting his own. Last summer, I met with Alexander and saw just how seriously he was preparing for the campaign. I had no doubt whatsoever that he was going to beat Gretzky's record! His path to the top is a fantastic story of determination, courage and talent. Alexander set this record while competing against the world's best goalkeepers.

In order to remain at the top, you need to have immense talent and work ethic. Alexander has managed to remain one of the league's best players across his entire 20-year NHL career! We're really proud of what he's achieving. Furthermore, Alexander is always only too happy to play for Russia on the international stage, he loves defending his country's honour on the ice. I will never forget the 2013 World Championship, where he represented our national team despite having a serious leg injury. He's already a three-time world champion, but I do hope that he will receive the opportunity to win the competition for a fourth time in the future. Overall, Alexander has scored 45 goals at senior international level, with a further 18 having been netted for our U20 side and 23 for our U18s. Even when he was young, it was clear that Alexander was going to become a star of our sport.

We're proud of how Alexander is representing Russian ice hockey in the NHL. Furthermore, he's also a great guy off the ice! We have always been in warm relations, and I would like to wish him more success in the future. Displaying such wonderful ice hockey at the age of 39 is a unique achievement.

I wish you health, happiness and more success!

President of the Russian Ice Hockey Federation,

Vladislav Tretiak
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