Alex Ovechkin’s adorable surprise sushi date with 10-year-old fan (Video)
Ann Schaab is 10 years old, and bolder than most of us.
She was skating at a camp for the Washington Ice Dogs, a hockey team for developmentally disabled individuals, where Alex Ovechkin of the Washington Capitals was a guest coach. While other young players might be intimidated by one of the NHL’s biggest stars, Ann not only spoke with him, but invited Ovechkin on a date.
For sushi.
Ovechkin had interacted with her family before, giving a signed stick her brother, Louie, back when the Russian was first breaking in with the Capitals. Louie has spina bifida; Ann has Down Syndrome. Their family became Ovechkin super fans from that moment on.
To the point where Ann now wanted a sushi date with her favorite player.
Ovechkin accepted, although being the debonair guy that he is, that fact wasn’t shared with Ann. Instead, the team invited her to tour their practice facility hours before the Capitals’ preseason home game against the Carolina Hurricanes on Sunday.
She was in the locker room when Ovechkin surprised her, carrying a bouquet of roses, three tickets to their game and a ride to Verizon Center in his car.
After the game, the duo walked through the Capitals locker room, speaking with players and eventually with coach Barry Trotz, whom she asked if Ovechkin could visit her on her birthday, according to the Washington Post.
Then Ann and Alex had their date in one of Verizon Center’s lounges, sharing sushi with her parents – sorry, chaperones – and talking hockey. To call it a once-in-a-lifetime moment for a hockey fan is probably underselling it. Ditto calling it an unforgettable moment for a star athlete.
And all she had to do was ask.
