Ryan Leibold grew up a Washington Capitals fan. Now he’s playing in the team’s organization. His ‘OMG’ moment was meeting Nicklas Backstrom.
Plenty of kids dream about joining their favorite NHL team, but far fewer actually make it happen.
Ashburn, Virginia native Ryan Leibold was one of the lucky ones on Saturday, donning the crest of his hometown team at the start of Capitals’ Rookie Camp
Leibold, 24, grew up a huge Washington Capitals fan during the Alex Ovechkin era and played on the team’s Little Caps program as a teenager.
Even as he pursues a pro career of his own, Leibold admitted he was still in awe upon meeting one of his childhood idols. The forward prospect spent much of the summer in the area, participating in Development Camp in July and training at MedStar Capitals Iceplex during the summer. After so much time around the team, most of the jitters had gone away.
By Katie Adler 2 weeks ago
