Sunday night, the Pittsburgh Penguins won the Stanley Cup for the second-straight season. Both years, the Penguins defeated the Washington Capitals in the second round. It was the most-watched Stanley Cup Final on record without an Original Six team.
One person who didn’t watch the Penguins fifth career Stanley Cup win however was Braden Holtby. The Caps goaltender was in Columbia, Maryland, to see one of his favorite musicians in concert: Jack Johnson.
Holtby’s love for the surfing, acoustic guitar-playing singer has been well documented. According to Sports Illustrated’s Alex Prewitt, Holtby will jam to Jack Johnson songs on guitar during game days.
The guitar lives inside a small office at the Washington Capitals’ practice facility, removed from its leathery case only for the game-day jam sessions. Showtime typically comes around noon, squeezed into the window after the morning skate and team meeting, once the artist finishes getting rubbed down by the team masseuse. The setlist trends heavy on Indie and modern rock, particularly Jack Johnson, but requests are taken too. The crowd comes and goes, mostly other players visiting manager of team operations Rob Tillotson, who works behind his desk while songs flow from the chair near the door. But every so often, someone will stop and listen to the acoustic stylings of goaltender-turned-jukebox Braden Holtby.
Holtby was first spotted at Merriweather Post Pavillion by reader Alex Jeffrey. Alex was there with his girlfriend Laura.
Alex writes:
Last night at Merriweather Post Pavilion, my girlfriend and I noticed a man wearing a very large hat waiting in line for concessions. He was super nice and seemed to be having a great time
The two Caps fans both snapped pictures with Holtby.
Photos: Alex Jeffrey
Sometime during the evening, Holtby got a backstage pass and met the singer. The hookup appears to have been made by local legend and co-owner of the 9:30 Club, Seth Hurwitz. Hurwitz’s son Sam posted a photo of all four of them together.
Seth Hurwitz is a friend of Ted Leonsis and a huge Capitals fan. Last year during the playoffs, Hurwitz had the famous venue turn its lights red in support of the Caps.
Headline photo: @therealsmh7
Share On