ARLINGTON, VA — With the holidays just around the corner, the Capitals’ last day of practice before the break was a family affair. The Caps welcomed their families onto the ice after the end of the optional skate, setting aside time for some friendly competition and lots of fun.
Alex Ovechkin brought his sons Sergei and Ilya to the family skate, with both kids sporting gear to match their dad. The brothers each bore Ovi’s no. 8 — Sergei on an “Ovi Jr.” Reverse Retro sweater, Ilya on a blue and white jersey — and wore Dynamo Moscow socks, appearing to use a cut-down version of Ovechkin’s signature sticks.
Lucca Carlson and Vivian Carbery both joined in for a half-ice game with some help from Ovi Sr., John Carlson, and Aliaksei Protas. Though Sergei has previously shown his skills as a shooter, he spent time Saturday practicing his game in net.
Ovechkin revealed that his sons take turns minding the net during an interview for this year’s W Magazine.
“One guy wants to be a goalie, one guy wants to be a forward, so they play back and forth all the time,” he said. “They play where each guy takes 10 shots and then they switch.”
While most of Saturday’s skaters played in the half-ice game, Spencer Carbery’s eldest child Hudson took part in an individual coaching session with his father and Capitals skills coach Kenny McCudden, taking shots on Caps practice goalie Parker Milner.
The festivities even featured an appearance from the newest member of the Capitals family. New dad Alex Alexeyev took part in the skate with his son Ivan, born October 30. While it’ll be a while before young Ivan is ready to hit the ice on his own, a beaming Alexeyev carried his son, clad in a teddy bear onesie, for several laps around the rink.
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