The Washington Capitals open their season on Saturday night against the New Jersey Devils. And in case you want to feel ancient today, we regret to inform you that it’s Alex Ovechkin’s 11th (!!!) season in the National Hockey League.

Doesn’t it seem like it was yesterday when a Russian goofball with the Moe Howard haircut rocked that Caps jersey with the giant eagle on it, rocketing around the offensive zone like a comet?

Graham Bensinger sat down with Ovechkin to reminisce about his life so far, including the clip above that chronicles how Ovechkin dealt with the death of his brother Sergei, who died from a blood clot following a car accident at 25 when Alex Ovechkin was 10, and how that informed his hockey career and his character.

That included this exchange:

Bensinger: “After [your brother] passed away, next day your parents make you play a hockey game. Why did they do that and how hard was that for you at the time?”

Ovechkin: “It was hard, I was crying… I was on the bench, I was crying. But my shift coach said okay, go play. And I play and I’m crying. It was hard but at 10 years old, you obviously [don’t] realize what’s happening.”

The interviews also featured some lighter fare:

This is a clip about when Ovechkin first arrived in America and living with then-GM George McPhee’s family for about 10 days. He didn’t know much English, and Ovechkin recalls his early struggles with attempting the acquire some Corn Flakes.

Finally, here’s Graham and Ovechkin touring his Russian home; he totally stole his nameplate from the NHL Draft!

Good stuff. See all the interview videos here.