Popular former Washington Capitals and Hershey Bears defenseman, Steve Oleksy, is making a move into politics.
The 2016 Stanley Cup winner with the Pittsburgh Penguins is running for mayor of Edgewater, Florida, with the campaign slogan: Even Steven — a voice for everyone.
A regular fighter and enforcer during his hockey career, Oleksy made the announcement on his Instagram and Facebook accounts, which featured both an open letter introducing himself and a graphic focusing on his platform.
I’m Steven Oleksy, and I’m excited to officially announce that I’m running for Mayor.
After getting to know so many of you over the last few years, I felt encouraged to step up and serve our community.
The more conversations I had with neighbors, the more I realized we all want many of the same things for Edgewater.
My wife Brooke and I moved here because we fell in love with this town long before we ever called it home. We’ve lived here for two years now, but we’d been visiting for close to a decade before that, dreaming of raising our family here. Today, you’ll usually find us chasing our twin toddlers around town, walking the beach, grabbing lunch, or enjoying the parks.
If you see us out, please come say hello. We’d truly love to meet you. Like many of you, we’ve experienced the flooding, talked about protecting our waterways, worried about growth, and hoped we can preserve the charm and natural beauty that make Edgewater so special.
My background is in business management and marketing, with additional studies in sports law and risk management. As a former professional athlete, I’ve learned that good leadership starts with listening, working together, and always putting the team first. That’s exactly how I would serve as your mayor.
We chose Edgewater because we wanted a quieter life, a safe place to raise our children, and a community where people genuinely care about one another.
Over the coming weeks, I hope to meet as many of you as possible, hear your ideas, and earn your trust. I promise to work hard every day to make decisions that put the people of Edgewater first.
Thank you for welcoming my family into this incredible community. I hope to earn the opportunity to give back by serving it.
And if you happen to catch us at lunch… just know our toddlers may try to share their mac and cheese with you. 😂
I look forward to meeting you all.
Steven Oleksy
Oleksy entered the race at the end of June and will challenge right-wing incumbent Mayor Diezel DePew, whose campaign slogan is “Edgewater Runs on Diezel.”
DePew was first elected as mayor in 2022, when he was 18. He later faced controversy in 2024 when a video shared with news outlets appeared to show the then-20-year-old using a racial slur while holding a hard selzer, with another video featuring the mayor yelling, “I need alcohol.”
Jimmy Kimmel Live poked fun at DePew in a feature it aired on its late-night show.
The other challenger in the three-man Edgewater mayoral race is retired businessman Wayne McCloskey, a former school crossing guard and police department volunteer, who has been running for the past year, per the Daytona Beach News-Journal.
The 40-year-old Oleksy grew up in Macomb County, Michigan. His first endorsement came from his wife Brooke, the daughter of the late Hulk Hogan.
On July 1, Brooke wrote on the Anything Port Orange, New Smyrna, Daytona, Edgewater Facebook page:
Hi everyone in Edgewater! We’re your new neighbors! Proud to be in beautiful Edgewater!
My sweet hubby is running for mayor and I hope you can take a little time to get to know him, and find in your heart to support him. I call him my “Saint Steven” because he is such a good man, great father to our twin babies, with a wonderful moral compass and so much compassion, empathy and patience. But most of all-He loves our city! Plus he’s sharp as a tack! He’s a former NHL Stanley Cup winner and an all around great guy!
Thank you in advance for your time and consideration!
The Oleksys have two children, fraternal twins, Oliver and Molly, who were born on January 15, 2025.
Oleksy spent four seasons in the NHL, all but one with the Capitals, between 2012 and 2017. He last played professional hockey in the ECHL, spending eight games for the Jacksonville Icemen in 2025-26.
Oleksy was a teammate of Alex Ovechkin, the NHL’s greatest goal-scorer, who owns a home near Miami, Florida.
