I've read an article where Sergei Kovalev said Alex Kovalev was his idol.
In french:
http://www.tvasports.ca/2015/03/10/un-cadeau-special-pour-kovalev
Alex Kovalev is very often in Montreal so it's not surprising that he was there.Alex Kovalev's love for Montreal was not some pseudo-cliche response that most players will say when they're playing in x or y city.He's still quite active in the community here, even taking part in comedy shows and stuff like that.Basically he should've retired with Montreal as it was a good fit.He loved the pressure and the attention, and the crowd loved his skills.
Maybe I'm just making assumptions here but most Russians seem to appreciate Montreal.Markov is another exemple.Maybe it's the similar weather or I don't know.