It must have been one crazy sight to walk into the Boston College locker room Monday afternoon and see Washington Capitals forward Alex Ovechkin wearing a BC hat, goofing around and posing for pictures with any and everyone.

The Caps, who were in town for Tuesday night’s game against the Bruins, had just finished up a practice at Conte Forum and invited their hosts to hang out afterward, an experience of a lifetime for the Eagles.

“It was just neat to see all those guys,” BC senior forward Andrew Orpik said. “Ultimately, you want to play in the NHL some day, so you got to kind of see what their everyday life is. They flew in as a team, had practice, had a meal afterwards and they invited us to the locker room. It was pretty cool.”

“He was asking what the college life is like, what it’s like living in dorms, what Boston is like as a city,” BC senior defenseman Anthony Aiello said of Ovechkin, who never attended college. “He seemed like a great guy.”

Eagles coach Jerry York set up the practice with Capitals general manager George McPhee, who played for York at Bowling Green some three decades ago. York also made sure to dig up a new hat for one of the NHL’s brightest stars.

“Hopefully he wears it in an interview to give BC some exposure,” BC senior forward Brock Bradford said. “[Ovechkin] is a pretty friendly guy. They were all really friendly, though. They really embraced us.

“I think they enjoyed it because it’s a change in their schedule, too. Ovechkin is everything you see on TV. He doesn’t put on an act. He’s just a fun-loving guy.”

The visit might provide some good karma for the Capitals. The Pittsburgh Penguins held a practice session last season at Conte and wound up in the Stanley Cup Finals a few months later. There’s another trophy Ovechkin was more interested in, though, at least in the short term. Ovechkin, who had an NHL-best 31 goals entering Thursday, wanted to know how he could play in the Beanpot.

“We figured he still has four years of college eligibility, so I’ll let him throw on my jersey if he wants,” Bradford said.

While York said his players were “star struck” after hanging out with the Capitals, Ovechkin was equally impressed with what he saw on campus.

“Those guys were great to me,” Ovechkin told Inside College Hockey. “I liked talking to them, talking about college hockey, about school. That rink they have is sick, especially the locker room. It’s like the NHL there.”