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Ovechkin takes part in a motion-capture session outside Caesars Palace in Las Vegas.

Alex Ovechkin walks through Caesars Palace in spandex and flip-flops.

Just another night in the life of the NHL's reigning rock star.

As fans see him, they start to chant "Ovie! Ovie!" and he flashes them the grin of a hockey player who takes pride in missing his front tooth.

He's the face of the league, the LeBron James of hockey, and the cover boy of the upcoming video game "NHL 2K10."

And it's his spokesman duties for the game that find Ovechkin doing something a little unfamiliar on the Vegas strip. Ovie was ice-skating outdoors in the desert.

That's right, ice-skating outside in the Las Vegas heat.

Only thing is, the ice 2K Sports set up outside wasn't real ice, it was synthetic, and the 2K Sports folks had to spray the surface with lubricant periodically so they could capture Ovie's signature style into the video game, using motion-capture cameras that are said to be four times more powerful than the ones used just a year ago for "NHL 2K9."

As Ovechkin took to the synthetic ice, he couldn't help noticing his mug and the 2K10 cover plastered all over the plaza outside of Caesars.

"It's a pretty cool cover," Ovechkin tells me. "I like the personality. You can see emotion. You can see fun."

And it didn't take long for Ovechkin to display that emotion and what he refers to as his "very aggressive style" for the cameras, even busting out some of his celebrations for the game. As for the celebration he wants to see in "NHL 2K10" the most? "Stick on fire," he laughs, telling me that when he plays hockey video games, he actually likes to play the role of GM and build his own team from scratch (he also claims to be a champ at Wii bowling and boxing).

2K Sports

Back on the fake ice, Ovechkin worked himself into a fierce sweat as the night heat, even after 10, never let up. Then again, maybe it had to do with the fact that he was wearing a skintight black spandex motion-capture suit along with these crazy-looking white shin guards that could've been stolen from a stormtrooper's closet.

"I look like robber," Ovechkin says of his outfit, wiping the sweat off his forehead.

But the desert heat didn't slow Ovechkin or stop his fans from lining up to watch Washington's marquee athlete skate, shoot, and one-time his way into polygons, thanks to some great passes by Ryan Kesler of the Vancouver Canucks.

Although, as Ovie puts it: "I'd rather be in casino."

2K Sports even handed out commemorative red T-shirts to fans that sported a picture of Ovechkin on the front and the quote "Russian Train Not Break" on the back.

"Never breaks," Ovechkin laughs when I ask him about the Russian machine.

Fitting slogan for a man who can fill up a stat sheet with four goals and a broken nose on the same night.

Now if only someone would come up with a stat for missing teeth.

Ovechkin swims with Sharks

The host and emcee of the Vegas mo-cap event was San Jose Sharks play-by-play commentator Randy Hahn, who also just happens to handle the announcing duties in "NHL 2K10."

While at the event, Hahn told me a story about Ovechkin and how he actually used to follow the Sharks back in Russia.

"The Sharks were Ovechkin's favorite team when he was growing up," Hahn says. "Back in the day, we had two of the best Russian players, Igor Larionov and Sergei Makarov. Both these guys were stars back in Russia, they were like legends there, so when they came to the Sharks, a lot of young boys back in Russia all followed the Sharks, and Alex was one of them. When he was, like, 8 years old, his mother bought him a Sharks jersey, and he wore it until he wore it out."

When I asked Ovechkin about the story later that night, he flashed that grin one last time.

"I still have the jersey."