Known for assists on the ice, Washington Capitals star Alex Ovechkin notched an assist off the ice Friday when he bought a coat, sweat and hat for an Edmontonian in need.
Ovechkin, in town for a game against the Oilers on Saturday night, was out downtown Friday when he came across a shirtless man.
The Russian superstar told reporters in a scrum Saturday morning that when he saw the man, he “just went to the store and bought him a sweater, coat and hat.
“If you see a guy almost naked out there with the current temperature, I think every human can do something,” he said.
#Caps captain @Ovi8 answers questions from reporters after being spotted buying clothes for a homeless man in Edmonton. #ALLCAPS pic.twitter.com/JxD6A9l3sb
Abdul Qureshi, a crisis diversion worker with Boyle Street Community Services, said the gesture turned the man’s day around.
Qureshi had been called around 2 p.m. on Friday to 100th Street and 102nd Street, near The Sequel Cafe, where a disoriented man without a shirt on — who was surrounded by articles of clothing — was coming dangerously close to traffic.
We saw The Alex Ovechkin take off his winter jacket and hat and give it to a homeless man he passed on the street. Wow! #gooddeeds
When Qureshi got there, he found the man, still without a shirt on, sorting out his garments.
“He was totally fine and coherent,” Qureshi said of the man.
Qureshi said when he asked the man how he was doing, he replied that he was having a great day because someone had given him a jacket.
There was a puffy, blue jacket laying on top of the pile of clothing, “as like, kind of, his prize,” Qureshi said.
“I was happy that someone was looking out for him, because not many people do that,” he said.
Abdul Qureshi, a crisis diversion worker with Boyle Street Community Services, got a call on Friday about a shirtless man in distress downtown. When Quereshi got there, he said the man had just received a coat and was doing fine. (Scott Neufeld/CBC)
Harlan Blyan, who attended a clothing drive at Boyle Street Community Services on Saturday, said that he, too, once received a coat.
“When you’re cold — and I’ve been cold, and it’s cold — it means lots,” he said.
Quershi, who has been doing street outreach for the past two years, said it was reassuring to know “there are people out there who do have a heart.
“Not many people are exposed to this type of lifestyle, to the homelessness that’s going on in Edmonton.”