Washington Capitals star Alex Ovechkin’s career is legendary in a few ways, but one of the stranger parts of it is his mid-game beverage choice.
While most players who have ever laced them up in the National Hockey League have opted for water or sports drinks while on the bench, the Great 8 has famously opted for Coca-Cola.
On Wednesday night, Ovechkin played in the final home-opener of his career, and after the Caps’ 5-3 win over Sidney Crosby and the Pittsburgh Penguins, he explained the origins of his high-sugar drinking habit.
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The question came from TNT’s Paul Bissonette, and Ovechkin said it was a long story, but it started with a trainer in his native Russia.
“A long story, but one of my trainers who I work with back in Russia told me — he was a marathon runner — and he said, like, ‘When you’re tired, you’re exhausted, you need some sugar in your body or some energy, (and) we always drink Coca-Cola.’
“So, I started drinking (Coke), and I think it worked.”
Yeah, I’d say it probably did.
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Ovechkin is known for some unusual dietary habits for someone who has played at such a high level for as long as he has. I mean, there are countless photos of him getting on the team plane with a Subway sandwich and a bag of Flamin’ Hot Cheetos in his hand.
It’s so unusual to see this kind of old-school way of operating in an age when most athletes are walking science fair projects with highly structured diets and eating schedules.
And what’s wild is that the Coke drinking habit has another notable adherent. Phil Kessel, who holds the NHL’s current record for 1,064 consecutive regular-season games played, was also known to favor Coke during games instead of good ol’ H20.
