Fatima | RMNB

The UAE women’s national hockey team is coming back to DC. This time to give back to the community.

The Washington Capitals will be hosting the United Arab Emirates women’s national hockey team in Washington, DC from Saturday, Feb. 2 to Wednesday, Feb. 6, continuing a relationship that originally started in 2016.

During a coaching session in Abu Dhabi, Capitals legend Peter Bondra met super-talented hockey player Fatima Al Ali. Bondra shared video of Fatima’s mind-blowing stickhandling wizardry on Twitter. It went viral. The Capitals would surprise Fatima a month later with a trip to the United States to meet Alex Ovechkin and the rest of the team. Fatima’s skate with the team, the ceremonial puck drop, and selfies were all inspiring moments.

The Capitals’ support of Fatima and the rest of the UAE women’s hockey team has continued since then. This year, the women’s team, according to the Capitals, is “#comingbacktogiveback.”

Part of the news was originally announced by the Capitals PR on Wednesday as part of the team’s plans for Hockey Is For Everyone month.

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By Ian Oland 4 years ago

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United Arab Emirates women’s hockey team drops ceremonial first puck before Capitals game

Viral stick-handling sensation Fatima Al Ali returned to Washington DC this week to participate in Hockey Is For Everyone month. And this year, she brought along a few of her closest friends.

Friday, Al Ali was flanked by her teammates of the United Arab Emirates women’s national hockey team as the group participated together in the ceremonial puck drop before the Caps-Jackets game.

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By Ian Oland 5 years ago

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Fatima Al Ali on her trip to Washington: ‘Literally every day I was freaking out’

United Arab Emirates’ national team player and talented stickhandler Fatima Al Ali returned home to Abu Dhabi a week ago after a whirlwind trip to Washington DC.

In an interview, I conducted with Fatima Thursday, the inspiring female hockey player was still clearly in the afterglow of meeting her favorite NHL player, Alex Ovechkin, and skating with her favorite NHL team, the Washington Capitals.

“Literally every day I was freaking out,” Fatima said.

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By Ian Oland 6 years ago

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Fatima Al Ali’s selfie with Alex Ovechkin and Henrik Zetterberg

To conclude her trip in Washington DC, the Capitals had Fatima Al Ali drop the puck during the team’s ceremonial faceoff Thursday against the Red Wings. After Fatima dropped the puck, she asked Alex Ovechkin and Henrik Zetterberg to take a selfie. The two players obliged.

This is the incredible result.

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By Ian Oland 6 years ago

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Fatima Al Ali drops puck during ceremonial faceoff, takes selfie with Alex Ovechkin and Henrik Zetterberg

About an hour after a three-judge federal appeals panel unanimously refused to reinstate President Trump’s travel ban, UAE hockey player and media sensation Fatima Al Ali dropped the puck during a ceremonial faceoff between Capitals captain Alex Ovechkin and Red Wings captain Henrik Zetterberg. The Verizon Center is 1.2 miles away from The White House.

Fatima was given a free trip to Washington DC after impressing Peter Bondra with her unbelievable stickhandling skills. Thursday night, Fatima concluded her dream trip in style by dropping the puck in front of approximately 18,000 fans.

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By Ian Oland 6 years ago

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Fatima Al Ali meets the Capitals (Photos)

The Washington Capitals hosted Fatima Al Ali at Kettler Capitals Iceplex on Wednesday. According to the AP’s Stephen Whyno, Al Ali called the experience the “best thing” to ever happen to her in her life.

Al Ali took the ice with the Capitals after practice, getting to learn from and play with her favorite hockey player, Alex Ovechkin. Her brother, Mohamed, joined her on the trip to DC and watched practice with her from the bench. He later joined the media on the ice and filmed her experience with the Caps on his phone.

Several other players including Tom Wilson, Nicklas Backstrom, and Justin Williams chatted with Al Ali on the ice and offered further tips on playing the game. Before heading back to the locker room, Ovechkin gave her a game-used stick and signed it for her. Evgeny Kuznetsov spent the latter half of the post-practice-play going one-on-one with Al Ali. They passed the puck and took shots every few passes before getting into a game of juggling the puck.

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By Amanda Bowen 6 years ago

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Fatima Al Ali joins Capitals on the ice after practice, Alex Ovechkin gives her game-used stick

In December, Peter Bondra surprised UAE hockey player Fatima Al Ali with a free trip to Washington in honor of her unreal stickhandling skills. Fatima arrived in DC this past Sunday, and on Monday night, she sat courtside as the Wizards and Cavaliers went back and forth in the most entertaining regular-season basketball game of the season. Tuesday, her dream trip continued as she went to her first Caps game and met her favorite player, Alex Ovechkin, in the locker room.

Wednesday, things got even better. In front of a large throng of local and national media, Fatima took the ice with the team after Capitals practice.

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By Ian Oland 6 years ago

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Fatima Al Ali freaks out meeting Alex Ovechkin (Photos)

While our president focuses on trying to close down the borders, the NHL has been opening its own, celebrating Hockey Is For Everyone month during February.

On Sunday, the Washington Capitals flew in amazing stickhandler, Fatima Al Ali, from the UAE. Monday night, Fatima watched an instant classic between the Washington Wizards and Cleveland Cavaliers at Verizon Center. After meeting with the UAE’s ambassador Tuesday afternoon, Fatima took in the Caps-Canes game that night from her glass-side tickets. She’d even joined Ted Leonsis in the Owner’s Box for a bit.

After the game, Fatima would meet her favorite player Alex Ovechkin in the locker room. She was very excited.

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By Ian Oland 6 years ago

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John Carlson, Brooks Orpik, and Andre Burakovsky attend classic Cavaliers-Wizards game

In what Steve Buckhantz called “one of the best regular season games” he’s ever seen, the Cleveland Cavaliers defeated the Washington Wizards 140-135 in overtime, snapping Washington’s 17-game home winning streak.

With three seconds left and the Cavaliers down 120-117, LeBron James caught a three-quarters of the court inbounds pass and nailed a fadeaway three over Bradley Beal, while Caps owner Ted Leonsis looked on. In overtime, Kyrie Irving nailed another three over Beal to seal the win for the defending champions. Capitals’ skaters John Carlson, Brooks Orpik, and Andre Burakovsky were all in attendance during their off day to support the Wizards.

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By Ian Oland 6 years ago

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Super stickhandling girl from UAE, Fatima Al Ali, gets huge surprise from Peter Bondra

Etihad Airways and Monumental Sports & Entertainment came together in a big way to help surprise a fellow Caps fan and famed badass hockey stick handler, Fatima Al Ali.

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By Elyse Bailey 6 years ago

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