Since his arrival in 2023, Spencer Carbery has wowed with his communication skills and player development — both with veterans and rookies. He’s also gone viral for his post-game victory speeches.
After every win, Carbery will highlight Washington Capitals players (or even staff members) to celebrate personal milestones or highlight individual plays in the game, both big and small, that he believes are important. Sometimes there are even rewards, like sweaty hugs, milestone game pucks, barking, poorly sung songs, random ovations, or days off from practice (which is the team’s clear favorite).
The videos offer an authentic look at the team behind the scenes, often capturing the fun and ridiculousness of professional hockey, as well as the personalities of everyone involved.
In a podcast interview with Missin’ Curfew, Carbery discussed why he’s made those speeches a staple of the Capitals’ locker room culture, explaining that it’s both a great motivational tactic and a way to keep things lively during what can be a long season.
“I’ve always just been a believer in, after games, to try to celebrate the little things that went on in the game,” Carbery said. “(I) highlight, not just who scored the game-winning goal or not just the goaltender that got the shutout — although a lot of times the goalie, when you win a hockey game, has a strong performance — but try to highlight as you go through an 82-game schedule, like it is a grind, so it’s like next game, next game, next game.
“So can you take one, two minutes post-game, to just try to highlight a few things and get the guys fired up about what went on for those 60 minutes? And so, I think it’s just a great thing to be able to celebrate individual achievements. And I’ll tell you what, we do [some] through the season, too, that you don’t see on camera. Like when guys have, whether it’s a birthday, whether they have a child born, whether they sign a long-term contract, like we try to make a big deal about it because as you know, going through a long grind of a season, it’s nice to be able to take a deep breath, smile, laugh, and celebrate all the achievements, and things that happen along the way.”
Notable Carbery speeches in the past have shouted out Charlie Lindgren’s “zero legs” performance in a shootout victory, fights by Brandon Duhaime and Dylan McIlrath after Jacob Trouba injured Ryan Leonard, a shot block from Alex Ovechkin (Ovi then declared he deserves the Selke), and Tom Wilson’s heroic return from a Jakob Chychrun shot to the face (Wilson’s left cheek swelled grotesquely yet he still ended up scoring two goals, including the game-winner).
The players certainly seem to enjoy the tactic and it appears to be another reason why the Capitals’ locker room is so notoriously close.
Now let’s just hope the Capitals continue airing them, as Carbs’ speeches can be just as entertaining as the games themselves.
