It’s been nearly a decade since former Montreal Canadiens forward Alex Kovalev retired from the NHL. But Father Time has not caught up with his skill set.
In a recent video shared by the KHL, Kovalev, who is currently serving as the assistant coach for HC Kunlun Red Star, could be seen running a scrimmage during a team practice.
And despite being dressed in a coach’s tracksuit, the 50-year-old couldn’t resist getting in on some of the action. Just like in his NHL glory days, Kovalev deked through opponents with ease, making passes and taking shots along the way.
He even scored a goal with a nifty wrist shot from the slot.
When your coach is Alexei Kovalev š“āŖ pic.twitter.com/dwJ85Sxc45
— KHL (@khl_eng) October 16, 2023
As it turns out, after hanging up his NHL skates in 2014, Kovalev never strayed too far from hockey, working as a coach in China and across Europe. Most recently, heās been mentoring Carolina Hurricanes forwards Martin Necas and Andrei Svechnikov on a personal level, which has likely kept him in game shape.
Over the summer, the Tolyatti, Russia, native published a letter directed at Canadiens fans, detailing both regrets and memories from his five-year tenure in Montreal. He even admitted to regretting his decision to leave in 2009, crediting Habs fans with a lot of his career success.
āI felt good in Montreal with the organization, with the fans,” he wrote. “I think itās thanks to them that Iāve had so much success.ā
As for whether he could end up back in Montreal in a personal role, Kovalev said it is unlikely that he would say no.
āIf anyone else raises their hand, Iāll be happy to help,ā he wrote.
In the meantime, though, Montreal’s head coach Martin St. Louis has proven on multiple occasions that he could also probably still keep up at the NHL level if needed.
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