Alexander Ovechkin grew up on the outskirts of Moscow in a family full of athletes. His olympian mother and pro soccer playing father set the foundations of a great leader and athlete but were too busy to invest time in their son’s hockey. It was his older brother Sergei that spotted real talent in his young brother and would make sure he did everything he could to encourage it. Proving his skill early on for the Moscow Dynamo’s Alex was set to move up a tier in their system in 2000 when tragedy struck. Sergei had died in a car accident, leaving Alex without his greatest supporter and mentor.