He was in "Putin's team", he has fans in Russia and the US. The Kremlin is counting on hockey diplomacy

More than half a century ago, there was ping-pong diplomacy that helped bring America and China closer together - now, perhaps, there will be hockey diplomacy in relations with Russia. Russian hockey player Alexander Ovechkin has broken the all-time evidence for the number of goals in the American NHL. Just 2 years ago, questions were being asked in America whether Russians should play in the NHL at all. Now the climate has changed and Ovechkin may become an "ambassador of peace."