Alex Ovechkin was such a voracious eater of Mamma Lucia that the Capitals had to clean the pillar beside him 'because there's tomato sauce everywhere'

"“He gets two big bags dropped off,” Wilson told Kaplan. “There's the team meal, and then there's, like, the Ovi station of Mamma Lucia. Bunch of different sauces, bunch of different stuff. He's very specific on toasting his garlic bread and making sure the sauces are right in what he's eating. It's a spectacle. I think at one point, we had to clean the pillar beside where he sits because there's tomato sauce everywhere.”"

"The Capitals captain drinks Coca-Cola out of water bottles on the team's bench, grabs a sub and a bag of Flamin' Hot Cheetos from Subway before every road trip, and devours the same chicken parm ahead of home games. According to longtime teammate Tom Wilson, the ferocity with which the Big Man takes down his grub can apparently even be dangerous for anyone or any surface in the splash zone."

"Ovechkin, who once asked John Carlson's aunt to put ketchup on his pasta, started ordering from Mamma Lucia, a local Italian restaurant with multiple locations in the DMV, very early in his career with the Capitals. According to a 2018 report from Kaplan, Ovechkin's order always included chicken parm, spaghetti, four special sauces, and two slices of bread."

"“Everybody's different,” Ovechkin said. “Some people love Subway, McDonald's, whatever, and they're still playing hockey. Maybe it's not right for young generation, but you know, I grow up differently.”"

Alex Ovechkin maintains a consistent, highly specific routine for meals during the Washington Capitals’ season. He drinks Coca-Cola from water bottles on the bench, eats a Subway sub and Flamin’ Hot Cheetos before road trips, and eats the same chicken parm before home games. Teammates describe his meal setup as an “Ovi station” with multiple sauces and careful preparation, including specific toasting of garlic bread and sauce accuracy. The mess from his eating has even required cleaning around his seat. Early in his Capitals career, he ordered from Mamma Lucia, with orders that included chicken parm, spaghetti, special sauces, and bread, later prompting the team to recreate the meal internally. Ovechkin frames his habits as personal and tied to how he grew up.

Read at RMNB