Ovechkin teams up with cancer survivor
This is the tale of two hockey players named Alex.
One from Moscow, Russia, the other from Niagara Falls, Canada.
A meeting between the two has grown into a storybook relationship.
It all started when Washington Capitals superstar and captain Alex Ovechkin invited one of his biggest fans, Niagara Falls’ Alex Luey — a 13-year-old cancer survivor and youth hockey player — to a game during an October broadcast of Rogers Hometown Hockey from Luey’s hometown.
Ovechkin scored a hat trick with Luey in attendance as his guest in November when the Capitals defeated the Maple Leafs in Toronto.
Luey, who has overcome osteosarcoma, the same cancer that claimed the life of Terry Fox, also attended a Caps victory against the Sabres in Buffalo in February and another Washington win against the Leafs, this time at the March outdoor game in Annapolis, Maryland.
Ovechkin also scored in those games and did not forget his lucky charm after the Capitals won the Stanley Cup, inviting Luey and his family to this week’s parade.
Luey took some photos with Ovechkin and the Stanley Cup in the team’s locker room.
“He has been excellent, he has been so kind and nice to me,” Luey said of Ovechkin.
“He’s just a great person, as are all the Capitals.”
Luey said he always hoped to see Washington — a team that has long been a contender but until this season had not won the league’s top prize — finally lift Lord Stanley.
“It was awesome to see your team finally win after so many crushing years of defeat. It’s amazing to see my hero do so well and then finally get over the hump of winning a Stanley Cup.”
Luey said he also touched the Prince of Wales Trophy, which was awarded to the Capitals for being Eastern Conference champions, and the Conn Smythe Trophy, which was awarded to Ovechkin for being the most valuable player during the playoffs.
The teen said the team also accommodated his disability during the parade, giving him the space he needed to be comfortable surrounded by such a large crowd.
Meanwhile, Ovechkin said he plans to stay in contact with Luey.
“I was so happy to hear that Alex and his family were coming to Washington for our parade and celebrate with us,” he said.
“It was so great seeing him again and see the smile on his face.
“He is a great kid and I’m just so happy that he is doing well. We will definitely keep in touch and I will see him again when we are in Buffalo next year.”
Luey’s cancer was confined to his right femur, just above the knee.
He went through chemotherapy, and underwent rotationplasty.
With rotationplasty, the leg is removed and a portion of the limb from the upper calf is reattached. It’s rotated 180 degrees and reattached to the hip so the ankle acts as the new knee.
Luey was fitted with a prosthetic leg, and he has been back on the ice.
He said he’s doing well and will be forever grateful to Hometown Hockey and the entire Capitals organization for giving him this experience.