Braden Holtby backed up rookie goaltender Ilya Samsonov in Friday night’s 2-1 win over the NY Islanders. Samsonov put in a strong 25-save debut performance, so there was little for Holtby to worry about from the sidelines.
So he took selfies with fans during the game.
By Elizabeth Kong 1 year ago
Capitals anthem singer Caleb Green may be used to singing the Star Spangled Banner in an icy rink in front of thousands of hockey fans, but on Sunday afternoon Green and his group Voices of Service were singing on a football field, where the group was invited to perform during the halftime show between the Kansas City Chiefs and the Baltimore Ravens.
Earlier this summer, Voices of Service captured the hearts of the nation on the television show America’s Got Talent. The quartet, who are veterans and active-duty service members, shined through the competition and progressed into the finale, where the group performed with Billy Ray Cyrus. Voices of Service finished in the top five of the competition and helped spread their message of using music to heal and bring hope to veterans struggling with post-traumatic stress disorder and other mental health challenges.
By Elizabeth Kong 1 year ago
The Capitals have made their latest round of cuts to their Training Camp roster as the start of hockey season approaches. After releasing 18 players last Thursday, on Sunday the team further narrowed down their roster by sending nine players to AHL’s Hershey Bears.
Capitals 2019 second-round pick Brett Leason, who scored his first preseason goal as a Capital in Saturday night’s 3-2 win over the Carolina Hurricanes, will have a chance to bring his scoring touch to the Bears.
Axel Jonsson-Fjallby is also making a return to Hershey, after he abruptly returned to his SHL team in Sweden on a loan in November of last season after less than 20 games.
Also among the cuts was Northern Virginia-native and former Little Cap, Joe Snively, who played a handful of games for the Bears last season on an ATO contract. While Snively was with the Bears, he scored his first professional goal in his first game with the team, a game-winning goal.
By Elizabeth Kong 1 year ago
Capitals fans will have a chance to see Martin Fehervary in action in Wednesday night’s preseason game between the Capitals and the St. Louis Blues. The 19-year-old defenseman is considered by the Capitals front office as having a good shot at cracking the Capitals roster this season.
During July’s Development Camp, Capitals’ Director of Player Development Steve Richmond pointed out Fehervary as being very close to making the team soon.
“We’re all big fans of [Fehervary]. I think he has a chance to play in the NHL this year,” said Richmond. “He does everything well. He’s a great skater. […] He’s smart. He’s really close.”
Head Coach Todd Reirden called Fehervary a “sharp kid” and sang his praises after the first day of Training Camp. “He’s a guy who we’ve liked since we got him,” Reirden said. “With his ability to skate, he’s really today’s style of defenseman.”
By Elizabeth Kong 1 year ago
Alex Ovechkin went on a surprise promotional tour on Tuesday to promote his new cereal, Ovi O’s. The cereal will be exclusively sold at Giant Food stores in Maryland, Virginia, Washington DC, and Delaware on September 17th – Ovi’s birthday.
But on this day, the future Hall of Famer gave local elementary schoolers, children at Georgetown University Hospital, and lucky shoppers at a DC Giant the opportunity to try the honey-nut cereal for the first time.
By Elizabeth Kong 1 year ago
After an eventful Monday morning practice which featured an apparent injury, then a machine-like recovery, Alex Ovechkin proved he was feeling fine by returning to the rink just a few hours later to do some off-ice workouts with his personal trainer, Pavel.
He also brought along his one-year-old son, Sergei, for a tour of MedStar Capitals Iceplex. As documented by wife Nastya, Alex stopped and pointed at a photo of himself and Nicklas Backstrom holding up the Stanley Cup.
“Papa, Backy, and Stanley Cup,” Ovechkin said as he twirled his son towards the poster
By Elizabeth Kong 1 year ago
Last year, Nicklas Backstrom, Tom Wilson, and Braden Holtby delivered laptops and tablets to the students of Hendley Elementary, a public school in DC’s Ward 8, on behalf of So Kids Can. But that wasn’t the end of their visit to the school.
On Friday, the trio returned to Hendley to surprise the students with something that will have a vital impact on its young students: a completely renovated gym.
Prior to this year, the school’s gym was an empty room with no speakers, scoreboard, or bleachers. They weren’t able to host sporting events and the school’s basketball team had to play every game on the road. But now, with their new gym, the Hendley basketball team can feel what it’s like to have home court advantage and to have a home crowd cheering for them.
“It wasn’t really a gym before,” said one of the young students. “Now I see you can turn nothing into something.”
By Elizabeth Kong 1 year ago
After the USWNT’s gold-medal triumph during the 2019 World Cup, the question that remained was whether women’s soccer would be able to capitalize on the huge popularity it saw this summer. On Saturday, August 24, the Washington Spirit answered the question of what that success could look like in the NWSL.
The Washington Spirit sold out every seat in DC’s Audi Field, with 19,871 in attendance, smashing their previous franchise record for attendance (7,976) by over double. The team’s usual home stadium, Maryland SoccerPlex in Boyds, Maryland, tops out at around 5,500.
By Elizabeth Kong 1 year ago
Braden Holtby returned to DC last week to start gearing up early for the upcoming hockey season, and that includes getting some new art on his goalie mask.
On Wednesday, the Capitals posted photos from the Capitals’ informal practice, which contained a sneak peek at Braden’s new bucket.
By Elizabeth Kong 1 year ago
On Sunday, MedStar Capitals Iceplex played host to 27 of the NHL’s top rookies and prospects for the eleventh annual NHLPA Rookie Showcase. It made for a strange scene, with future Pittsburgh Penguins and New York Rangers players skating on the Capitals practice rink alongside Capitals prospect Alex Alexeyev.
The future stars, which included 2019 first-overall draft pick Jack Hughes, spent the day shooting promotional photos, videos, and interviews. Trading card company Upper Deck uses the event to take the photos for the players’ collectible rookie cards.
“It’s fun, actually, I’m really happy,” Alexeyev said of the jam-packed day and the impressive caliber of his fellow prospects at the event. “There’s all these players, some I played with, some against. One Russian guy [Rangers’ Igor Shesterkin], he played in KHL already and won a Gagarin Cup. It’s amazing to be here.”
By Elizabeth Kong 1 year ago
