Alexander Ovechkin is said to have picked up his first ice hockey stick when he was just two years old. He can certainly afford expensive equipment now, having signed a contract in 2008 for $124 million – that was the most lucrative contract in the history of the National Hockey League.

“Even though Alexander started playing ice-hockey later than the normal age, he had real dedication and passion. After training sessions he’d stay and keep training, almost to the point where we had to stop him,” recalls Aleksandr Filippov, Ovechkin’s trainer.

The final games are more exciting as the biggest talents in ice hockey compete against one another, including Alexander Ovechkin for Russia and Sidney Crosby for Canada.

“Qualifying for a quarter final, for a semi final is still the same – if you lose, you are out,” Ovechkin himself states. “So, this is going to be, probably, the most interesting thing for us.”