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John Carlson’s children join Capitals warmup ahead of his 1,000th game celebration

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John Carlson and his kids take the ice for warmups
📸: @kurly/RMNB Crashers

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The Washington Capitals honored John Carlson’s 1,000th NHL game on Sunday, holding a ceremony ahead of puck drop against the Ottawa Senators. Carlson became the 392nd player in league history to reach the milestone and just the 80th to play 1,000 games for a single franchise.

But the best moment of the night might have come before the ceremony even began, when Carlson’s sons Lucca, Rudy, and Sawyer all joined their dad on the ice after warmups. Though the trio have skated with their father after several Capitals practices this season, this time they got to play on the big stage.

The kids wore custom no. 74 “Daddy” jerseys and shot pucks alongside Carlson’s Capitals teammates, though Sawyer, age 3, still needed a little help from his dad. They then returned the rest of the Carlson family for the pregame festivities.

Carlson’s wife Gina and daughter Bella joined the group on the red carpet, as did his brother Andrew, his parents, and his parents’ respective partners.

Longtime Capitals play-by-play announcer Joe Beninati emceed the ceremony, which featured a video with well-wishers from throughout Carlson’s NHL career.

“You’re an awesome friend and you’re a great teammate — great hockey player as well,” Nicklas Backstrom said. “We shared so many memories together. I hope you have a great night tonight, a special night with your family, friends. Wish you good luck for the rest of the season. Love you, man.”

“Super proud of you, man,” said TJ Oshie, who celebrated his own 1,000th game last month. “I’m so honored that I was able to be here. You’re a phenomenal teammate, someone I love going to war with every night, and hopefully here’s to many more, brother. XOXO.”

The video also included congratulations from Tom Wilson, Karl Alzner, Braden Holtby (“Thank you for letting me be a part of [your journey] since our Hershey days together”) and Alex Ovechkin before Carlson’s family closed out the pre-recorded part of the night.

“Congratulations Daddy! We love you very much,” Lucca said.

Gina added, “So proud of you, most of all for being an amazing dad, husband, and teammate.”

Carlson then received gifts from Capitals players and management. General manager Brian MacLellan presented him with a commemorative Tiffany Crystal (from the NHL) and a silver stick (from the Capitals organization), as well as silver mini sticks for his children. Ted Leonsis gave Carlson a portrait of key moments from his career painted on a canvas made of his hockey sticks.

Ovechkin, Backstrom, Oshie, and Wilson presented Carlson’s gift from the team — a personalized Toulon putter and a golf trip to Ireland. The rest of the team then joined the crew on the ice for a group photo before the ceremony concluded with “Johnny B. Goode” by Chuck Berry, Carlson’s longtime goal song.

Washington Capitals team photo during John Carlson 1,000 game pregame ceremony
📸: @kurly/RMNB Crashers

Outside of the ceremony itself, the Capitals honored Carlson’s achievement throughout the night.

The Capitals arrived in Carly1k shirts

Fans also received shirts to commemorate the occasion

Carlson repeated his rookie lap 15 years later

The team warmed up in #74 jerseys

Carlson’s father Dick and brother Andrew announced the starting lineup

After reading the night’s starters, the pair received hugs from Carlson and Ovechkin.

Former Hershey teammates reminisce on Carlson’s time with the Bears

Alzner, Holtby, Jay Beagle, Eric Fehr, and Mathieu Perreault all reflected on playing on the Hershey Bears with Carlson, where they formed a group of friends affectionately called the “chums.”

“We would spend so much time together, and so then it became a thing where we’d just look out for each other, right?” Alzner said. “It was rule no. 1 — like an actual rule in the ‘chum’ group — was ‘never leave a chum behind.'”

Dmitry Orlov got in on the celebrations, too

Now with the Carolina Hurricanes, Orlov took the chance to congratulate his former D partner on his accomplishment.

“Hey Carly, congrats on the 1000th game. Well deserved. Great accomplishments for you, for your family. Wish you all the best,” he said.

He couldn’t resist the chance to chirp his old teammate, though.

“Make sure you keep your routine, enjoy the soft couch before practice and not warming up,” he said. “Just do your crosswords and give s— to all the old medical staff like you always do. It was nice to play with you, especially play one game and next day, you just come to the coach and say, ‘okay, I don’t want to play with this guy.’

“You’re a great player, great teammate. So wish you best of luck. Stay healthy and I’ll see you on the ice.”

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