NHL star Alex Ovechkin appears in campaign ad for pro-Putin United Russia party

• Capitals star is long-time supporter of Russian leader

• Ovechkin is NHL's all-time leading goalscorer

Alex Ovechkin, the NHL's all-time leading goalscorer, has appeared in a campaign ad for the United Russia party, which supports Vladimir Putin, as he prepares for the new hockey season.

The Russian business newspaper Vedomosti published images of the Washington Capitals star alongside pro-Putin figures such as Russia's foreign minister, Sergey Lavrov, the leading parliamentary candidate on United Russia's list, and Margarita Simonyan, the editor-in-chief of the propaganda network RT.