On Sunday night, the Capitals swapped their hockey sticks out for golf clubs as they helped raise funds for Make-A-Wish Mid-Atlantic.
Alex Ovechkin and his teammates joined fans at TopGolf in National Harbor for the 4th annual Wish Upon A Par event founded by former Capital Brooks Orpik and wife Erin Orpik. Fans had the option of buying tickets to the event, which included a meet and greet with the team, or they could bid on the opportunity to play a round of TopGolf with a Capitals player. The funds raised benefit local children who are battling critical illnesses.
“It’s my first time being here, being a part of it,” said head coach Todd Reirden, who joined his team at TopGolf on Sunday. “Happy to see what Brooks and Erin have created here and their legacy is living on.”
Some players’ golf experience was more vast than others and it showed.
Like all of us, Dmitry Orlov is just trying his best out there. pic.twitter.com/f3w5gU1BX0
— elizabeth (@of_elk) January 13, 2020
Ilya Samsonov’s golf swing. His previous attempt hit the netting above him. pic.twitter.com/XhbrO8NOxu
— Ian Oland (@ianoland) January 13, 2020
On the flip side, Braden Holtby, despite stating last week that he had “given up on the dream” of scoring a goal, had a swing so smooth that we could watch it on loop for days.
It should be no surprise to you that Braden Holtby’s golf swing is phenomenal pic.twitter.com/0rbMqecrnC
— elizabeth (@of_elk) January 12, 2020
Also, wow. Carl Hagelin.
@russianmachine I gotta say that @CarlHagelin has a clean swing. pic.twitter.com/lqKbHqh4P0
— VJ (@vicjain) January 13, 2020
Throughout the evening, there were multiple memorable moments between fans and players. One family, the Harrowers, presented Jakub Vrana and Radko Gudas with a home-cooked Czech meal.
At Wish Upon A Par, one fan wearing a Czech Republic jersey served up a homemade meal to Jakub Vrana and Radko Gudas. Ovi also sampled the soup! pic.twitter.com/0k6y0cw7RR
— elizabeth (@of_elk) January 13, 2020
At the conclusion of the event, a trio of local Wish Kids handed out gift bags to the Capitals and thanked them for their support.
The @WishMidAtlantic kids deliver thank you gifts to the Capitals players. Here’s Braden Holtby: pic.twitter.com/lglYstuVhg
— elizabeth (@of_elk) January 12, 2020
All in all, Caps fans helped raise $110k for charity on the night.
Thanks to #Caps fans for helping us raise more than $110,000 for @WishMidAtlantic! Because of you, more kids will have their wishes come true. https://t.co/v25gyorxkP
— Washington Capitals (@Capitals) January 13, 2020
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