Ovechkin responds to planned protest in Ottawa over his support for Putin

The Ukrainian Canadian Congress (UCC) is planning a protest outside the Canadian Tire Centre (CTC) in Ottawa on Tuesday in objection to Alex Ovechkin's first game on Canadian soil this season.

The captain of the Washington Capitals has long been criticized for his staunch support of Russian President Vladimir Putin.

"I'm not there, I'm not sitting there, I'm not making any decisions," the NHL star told reporters at CBC on Tuesday morning. "As athletes ... we just want to play and that's it."

In September, he defended his decision to appear in a campaign ad for the ruling United Russia party, saying: "I'm Russian, and I support my country."

The UCC has been calling on the Canadian government to deny Ovechkin entry to Canada, pointing to Section 318 of Canada's Criminal Code which states that "every person who advocates or promotes genocide is guilty of an indictable offence and liable to imprisonment for a term of not more than five years."

In a statement posted on its website last month, the organization argued that "by explicitly, continually and publicly endorsing Russian president Putin and his political party, Ovechkin is promoting Russia’s genocide against Ukraine."

Ovechkin appears in Putin campaign ad. NHL says nothing

'He's made it clear': Wayne Gretzky backs PM Carney's call to bar Russia from world juniors

Last week, Prime Minister Mark Carney announced that Russian players will not be allowed to compete at the World Junior Hockey Championship in Alberta this December.

"While Russia and Belorussia [sic] are supporting this illegal, unjustified, horrific war in Ukraine, as long as that's going on, there will be none of those athletes competing for their countries in Canada," Carney said when asked if