Becker Private Equity & Business Podcast
Alexander Ovechkin, Divorce, & Midlife Crisis 4-7-25
Mon, 07 Apr 2025
In this episode, Scott Becker shares how a divorce and midlife crisis led him back to hockey and Alexander Ovechkin’s chase to break Wayne Gretzky’s goal record.
Chapter 1: Who is Scott Becker and what is this episode about?
Chapter 2: How did divorce influence Scott Becker's return to hockey?
This is Scott Becker with the Becker Private Equity and Business Podcast. Today's discussion is Alexander Ovechkin in divorce and midlife crises. So here is the story and bear with me. So a long, long time ago, I went through a divorce. Anybody who's gone through a divorce knows that this is a hard period of life. And I was certainly quite lost for a period of time.
So in that period of being lost, I started playing hockey again, you know, in adult hockey leagues. I played a lot as a kid, started playing again, was never that great at it. But it was really one of the best things I could ever do and enjoyed it tremendously. I got so excited about the hockey I was playing. I started to also go to hockey camps.
Chapter 3: What role did hockey camps play in Scott's midlife crisis recovery?
When you went to these hockey camps, everybody would sort of go around the room at the start of the hockey camp and talk about why they're there. And it was fascinating. It was like a 12-step program for all kinds of people in a midlife crisis and midlife issues. Just absolutely fascinating. So we're going to tie this back to Ovechkin in a second.
Chapter 4: Who is Alexander Ovechkin and why is he significant in hockey?
And Ovechkin, for those that aren't hockey fans, just broke Wayne Gretzky's record, the all-time great one for the most goals scored in the NHL. So I go to hockey camps. One of them I go to is in D.C. And we play at the Capital Center where the Washington Capitals play. And part of this, it's like a fantasy camp. And one of these days, and there's a lot of guys like me. There's some women.
Chapter 5: What was the experience like at the Washington Capitals fantasy hockey camp?
There's some people that are great skaters. And there's a lot of us like me that are very average skaters, average hockey players. But at one of these things, Ovechkin is here. And this is about 15 years ago. And he's already no longer a total kid because he's already been in the NHL at that point for five, seven years. He's already a total star.
Chapter 6: How did Ovechkin's career progress by the time of the camp?
So what I find so fascinating is I really start again this year watching this great chase. His chase to overtake Gretzky is the greatest of all time. And I'm thinking he's already a great star. And I can't believe now it's 15 years since that midlife crisis. You know, Vetchkin is still playing. It's still out there breaking the record. And he's finally done so. And so God bless him for doing it.
It really is. It's a fascinating concept. You see him in the locker room and he looks like an older guy for sure, but still has explosive speed and explosive shot and still lights it up. So all these years later, I can't believe he's still at it. I'm still lost. I'm still in a constant midlife crisis, and he's still playing hockey, so God bless him. The other person that I bless is Wayne Gretzky.
I mean, this is a guy who had a record people thought would never be beaten, 894 goals in the NHL. He shows up to every of the last few games that Ovechkin's played to make sure he's on site to congratulate him. He says that when he broke Gordie Howe's record, which people thought would never be broken, Gordie Howe showed up and passed the torch. How classy a thing is this?
And it's really only in the NHL that you see this. You don't see Michael Jordan and LeBron James congratulating each other at all. And God bless them. I mean, it is what it is. I love Jordan. I'm not as big a LeBron fan, but God bless. But LeBron's got a lot to be blessed for, too.
He seems like a tremendous family person and a lot of positive about LeBron, too, even though I don't love him the way that I love MJ. But how classy is Wayne Gretzky? How incredible is Alexander Ovechkin? You know, all of these sports stories, these music stories, one can tie to their own lives. I know it's so narcissistic and anecdotal, but it is fascinating to watch.
I just cannot believe Ovechkin now is breaking the record. You know, I am not making a comeback. Even though I said so in print, I'm making a hockey comeback. There is no way that is happening. But I am amazed at what Ovechkin's done in Ovechkin's class. Thank you for listening to the Becker Private Equity and Business Podcast. Thank you very, very much.
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