Friend and former teammate plans to travel with Ovechkin when he's close to Gretzky's record

"If that happens, I will definitely be there!" Alexander Semin told Match TV. "When there's a goal or two left before the record, I'll be living in America. I'm going to follow Washington."

Gretzky himself said he intended to do the same as he wanted to be there for the moment. Semin said he expects there will be several more, as well.

"I think there will be a whole delegation following Ovechkin around," he said. It's still a long way off. But God willing, it will happen."

Semin is sixth all-time in scoring for the Washington Capitals, where he played with Ovechkin for several seasons. However, he told Match TV the two first met around the age of 15, and have been good friends ever since. Semin is also the only member of the Washington Capitals to score 40 or more goals in the Ovechkin era besides The Great 8 himself.

If Semin's production in the NHL hadn't dropped so drastically, he might still be playing in the league himself when Ovechkin breaks the record. He had some big years with Washington, hitting 84 points in 2009-10, and broke the 70 point mark two other times. Post 2012 lockout, Semin signed with the Carolina Hurricanes. In his first season, he had 44 points in 44 games. Things gradually went down hill from there. After leaving the NHL for good in 2015, Semin headed back to Russia. He last played pro hockey for Podolsk Vityaz of the KHL in 2020-21. He announced his official retirement in May of 2022.

Source: Match TV