If you recall, last September Alex Ovechkin turned 27 years old, and — in a tradition as old as time– our readers made birthday cards for the Russian machine. Among them was one submission that was particularly special to me. Abbie, an adorable little girl, sang “Happy Birthday” for Ovi and then punctuated it by scoring a goal. There’s a few things special going on here: 1) Abbie knows the players by name at her age; 2) Abbie loves the Capitals; and 3) Abbie plays hockey, a sport not so popular with younger girls. As a fogie 28-year-old, I want to encourage more of this. So I contacted the family, and I bought a shirt for Abbie to show my appreciation.

On Saturday, Abbie’s dad Chris sent me a picture of Abbie (in her new Holtbeast t-shirt) and her twin brother Aidan. Adorable and ferocious. Beat the Bolts indeed.

Thanks to everybody who has helped make hockey such a big sport in this area. I remember wearing my black Capitals jersey during the playoffs in middle school. Not only was I the only kid who would do that, everybody would make fun of me in general for liking the sport. Times have changed, and that’s because of you guys.