TJ Oshie attended Caps’ practice at MedStar Capitals Iceplex on Friday morning.
The fan-favorite winger did some light stick-handling and passing in sneakers from the team’s bench as he took in the skate. RMNB’s Katie Adler noticed Oshie and got video of the winger shooting pucks around the rink.
Oshie’s attendance at the practice comes just days after ESPN’s Emily Kaplan reported that the 37-year-old winger stays involved as much as he can with the team’s day-to-day despite not being on the active roster. Head coach Spencer Carbery told Kaplan that Oshie is always texting him about different practice drills and his observations about the team.
Carbery believes that Oshie may have a successful future behind the bench as a coach if he eventually wants to pursue that stage of his career. Oshie’s father, Tim Oshie, was a coach in Warroad, Minnesota, where TJ lived during his teen years as a high school hockey player.
Oshie, on long-term injured reserve and in the final year of his contract with the Capitals, is still seeking answers to his chronic back injury issues.
The veteran forward has missed 92 games due to injury over the last three seasons, battling issues with his back, foot, and hand. He suited up in 154 of 246 possible games, needing constant physical therapy to make it onto the ice.
— TJ Oshie (@TJOshie77) October 25, 2024
Before Friday’s skate, Oshie joined the team for their 50th-anniversary celebrations to open the season and went on their team bonding trip to Columbus at the end of the preseason. He then appeared at Nicklas Backstrom’s Pucks & Putts event last week and recently golfed with Ryan Zimmerman to help support a UVA baseball event.
The Capitals organization also recently showed its support and appreciation for Oshie, gifting him his three goal pucks from his 2021 hat trick against the New York Ranger. The game was the first after his father’s death.
