WASHINGTON — The Washington Capitals will celebrate Youth Hockey Day during their game against the San Jose Sharks at Capital One Arena at 1:30 p.m. on Sunday.
Officials say the first 5,000 youth hockey players who wear their jersey will get a Capitals bag tag. The young players will also get a team hat included in the price of their tickets.
During pregame arrivals, each Washington Capitals player will be paired with a local youth player to walk to the locker room. Both will be wearing the youth player's team jersey.
Programs represented include:
- ALL CAPS ALL HER
- Ashburn Ice House
- Baltimore Banners
- Calvert Hall High School
- Caps Academy
- Fort Dupont Cannons
- Langley High School
- Montgomery Ice Devils
- Navy Youth Hockey
- Northeastern Co-Op
- NOVA Cool Cats
- Piedmont Predators
- Potomac Lady Patriots
- Reston Raiders
- The St. James
- St. Johns College High School
- Tucker Road Ducks
- Washington Ice Dogs
- Washington-Liberty High School
- Washington Pride
- Winston Churchill High School.
Officials say six participants from the Capitals Future Caps Learn to Play program will take the ice with the Capitals starting lineup.
In addition, the jumbotron will show images of Capitals players from their own youth hockey careers, with the team's youth hockey programming expected to be highlighted throughout the game.
Activities during the hockey game will also feature youth players. Officials say during the first intermission, mites on ice will be comprised of players from the Baltimore Stars girls team. The second intermission mites on ice will be comprised of players from The St. James.
Two local amateur referees will also attend the game and meet with NHL officials beforehand.
Currently, officials say there are 19,877 USA Hockey Youth and Adult players across Maryland, Washington, D.C., and Virginia. This is a 36% increase from the 2020-21 season.
Officials claim the number reflects a 57% growth in Washington, D.C. The region has also seen a 37% growth in female youth and adult players, including a 53% growth in Washington, D.C.
The Washington Capitals offer a full lineup of on-and off-ice youth hockey programming. In partnership with the NHL and NHLPA, the team offers a Future Caps Learn to Play program presented by World Wide Technology. The program offers kids, ages 5-9, free, Capitals-branded equipment and eight weeks of instruction from certified coaches.
Since launching in 2016, officials say more than 8,100 players have been introduced to hockey through the Future Caps Learn to Play program. the program is available at 21 local rinks during the 2022-23 season.
For more on Capitals Youth programming click here.
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