Alex Ovechkin has apparently given up his quest to play at the 2018 Olympic Games.
"Our countries are now not allowed to ask us to play in the Olympics," Ovechkin conceded in a statement Thursday night. "Me, my teammates and all players who want to go all lose. So do all the fans of hockey with this decision that we are not allowed to be invited. NHL players in the Olympics (are) good for hockey and good for (the) Olympics. It sucks that (we will) not be there to play!!"
Russian Hockey Federation president Vladislav Tretiak said Wednesday that Ovechkin needed to accept he would not be permitted to play, and the Washington Capitals star appeared to respond directly to that remark Thursday.
"I (saw) the news this week and I am very disappointed that IOC, IIHF and NHL put me and all NHL players in this position (in which) some of the best players in world do not have chance to play in the Olympic Games," he wrote. "This is not just about me but all the NHL players who want to play and have a chance to win gold for their country."
The veteran forward, who's represented Russia many times on the international stage, lamented the fact that he'd never before been forced to choose between his NHL team and his home country.
Capitals owner Ted Leonsis supported Ovechkin's desire to play in the 2018 Olympics, and Ovechkin thanked him for that Thursday, while insisting he planned to go unless his country said he couldn't.
"I said every time I was asked since last Olympics that nobody is going to tell me I can't play because my country was going to be allowed to ask me," Ovechkin wrote. "Now the IIHF and NHL say my country is not allowed to ask anybody in the NHL to play and there is nothing to talk about anymore.
"I talk(ed) to Ted about this last year and he support(ed) me and (had) my back and understand what I want to do if I was allowed to be asked to go. Me and my family thank him for his support."
Ovechkin has long stated his intent to go to South Korea and take part in the Games even if the NHL elected not to, and the league revealed in April that it would forgo the 2018 event in Pyeongchang.
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