{"id":409461,"date":"2026-01-15T20:22:20","date_gmt":"2026-01-15T20:22:20","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/409461\/"},"modified":"2026-01-15T20:22:20","modified_gmt":"2026-01-15T20:22:20","slug":"it-was-surreal-caps-players-invite-kids-with-disabilities-onto-the-ice-after-practice","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/409461\/","title":{"rendered":"\u2018It was surreal\u2019: Caps players invite kids with disabilities onto the ice after practice"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>A duo of Washington Capitals players hosted dozens of kids Wednesday afternoon to skate, shoot and save goals with them after practice in Ballston, Virginia. It is all an effort to empower kids with physical and developmental disabilities.<\/p>\n<p>This page contains a video which is being blocked by your ad blocker.<br \/>In order to view the video you must disable your ad blocker.<\/p>\n<p>Hockey for everyone: Washington Capitals host inclusive skating day<\/p>\n<p>A duo of Washington Capitals players hosted dozens of kids Wednesday afternoon to skate, shoot and save goals with them after practice in Ballston, Virginia. It is all an effort to empower kids with physical and developmental disabilities.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWe\u2019re creating an environment where not only is hockey for everybody, but people are coming back,\u201d Capitals center Nic Dowd told WTOP.<\/p>\n<p>Around a half dozen Caps players skated with the kids \u2014 many of whom were decked out in their own hockey gear, ready for some serious play.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cSo many special people here. A lot of familiar faces, some new ones also, but so much fun,\u201d goalkeeper Charlie Lindgren said.<\/p>\n<p>Grayson Smith was blocking shots from right wing Brandon Duhaime. Some of the players said Smith may soon be on the Caps lineup.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cYeah, someday, and then I\u2019m going to block all those (NHL) shots with my pads, and then I might get a shutout with them,\u201d Smith told WTOP.<\/p>\n<p>The nonprofits <a href=\"https:\/\/www.sokidssoar.org\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener nofollow\">So Kids Soar<\/a> teamed up with Dowd\u2019s <a href=\"https:\/\/www.nhl.com\/capitals\/news\/charlie-and-mikkayla-lindgren-launch-lindy-s-lineup\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener nofollow\">Crowd and Charlie Lindgren\u2019s Lindy\u2019s Lineup<\/a> to put on the event at the MedStar Capitals Iceplex.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cJust being able to come out here and try to put some smiles on faces,\u201d Lindgren said. \u201cThat\u2019s what it\u2019s all about. And the genuineness, the authenticity of the people you meet here.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>                                                    <img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/caps-players.jpg\" alt=\"Goalkeeper Charlie Lindgren poses with a kid on the ice\"\/><\/p>\n<p>                              Goalkeeper Charlie Lindgren was part of a group of Caps players who skated with the kids \u2014 many of whom were decked out in their own hockey gear, ready for some serious play.<br \/>\n(WTOP\/Luke Lukert)                            <\/p>\n<p>\n                                WTOP\/Luke Lukert                            <\/p>\n<p>                                                    <img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/capitals-invite-kids-on-ice-3-1672x1254.jpg\" alt=\"Lindgren signs an autograph for a kid on the ice.\"\/><\/p>\n<p>                              Lindgren signs an autograph for a kid on the ice.<br \/>\n(WTOP\/Luke Lukert)                            <\/p>\n<p>\n                                WTOP\/Luke Lukert                            <\/p>\n<p>                                                    <img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/capitals-invite-kids-on-ice-5-1672x1254.jpg\" alt=\"kids pose on the ice with capitals players\"\/><\/p>\n<p>                              The event is all about empowering kids with physical and developmental disabilities.<br \/>\n(WTOP\/Luke Lukert)                            <\/p>\n<p>\n                                WTOP\/Luke Lukert                            <\/p>\n<p>                                                    <img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/capitals-invite-kids-on-ice-2-1672x1254.jpg\" alt=\"caps players with kids on the ice\"\/><\/p>\n<p>                              The nonprofits So Kids Soar teamed up with Dowd\u2019s Crowd and Charlie Lindgren\u2019s Lindy\u2019s Lineup to put on the event at the MedStar Capitals Iceplex.<br \/>\n(WTOP\/Luke Lukert)                            <\/p>\n<p>\n                                WTOP\/Luke Lukert                            <\/p>\n<p>                                                    <img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/capitals-invite-kids-on-ice-4-1672x1254.jpg\" alt=\"kids with disabilities pose for a group photo with caps players\"\/><\/p>\n<p>                              Caps center Nic Dowd told WTOP it is pretty special to hear that many families highlight this event on their calendar every year.<br \/>\n(WTOP\/Luke Lukert)                            <\/p>\n<p>\n                                WTOP\/Luke Lukert                            <\/p>\n<p>                                                    <img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/capitals-invite-kids-on-ice-1672x1254.jpg\" alt=\"The kids spent Wednesday afternoon skating, shooting and saving goals with Capitals players.\"\/><\/p>\n<p>                              The kids spent Wednesday afternoon skating, shooting and saving goals with Capitals players.<br \/>\n(WTOP\/Luke Lukert)                            <\/p>\n<p>\n                                WTOP\/Luke Lukert                            <\/p>\n<p>John Winstead was able to bring his two daughters.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIt\u2019s hard to put into words \u2026 the players taking the time to come out and meet with our girls and take them skating for their first time,\u201d Winstead said. \u201cIt was surreal. Absolutely phenomenal time.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Kelly Case brought her daughters out for their first ever ice skate.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cHaving a daughter with a disability, being inclusive, that\u2019s what we are teaching our other kids about,\u201d Case said. \u201cHaving her be able to enjoy all the other things that our other kids get to enjoy is it means more than anybody will know.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Dowd told WTOP it is pretty special to hear that many families highlight this event on their calendar every year.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cHockey is a game that has given me an amazing life, and it\u2019s taught me a lot of lessons. It\u2019s taught me how to be a better person,\u201d Dowd said.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI have a lot of respect for the game and what it\u2019s given to me, and I just want to be able to share that with some kids.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"single-page__signature bottom\">Get breaking news and daily headlines delivered to your email inbox by signing up <a href=\"https:\/\/wtop.com\/newsletter-signup\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener nofollow\">here<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p class=\"single-page__signature bottom\">\u00a9 2026 WTOP. All Rights Reserved. This website is not intended for users located within the European Economic Area.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"A duo of Washington Capitals players hosted dozens of kids Wednesday afternoon to skate, shoot and save goals&hellip;\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":409462,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5114],"tags":[51551,1600,191,5,51552,16737,4,4864,51553,190,109,5222],"class_list":{"0":"post-409461","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-washington-capitals","8":"tag-ballston","9":"tag-brandon-duhaime","10":"tag-capitals","11":"tag-hockey","12":"tag-kids-with-disabilities","13":"tag-luke-lukert","14":"tag-nhl","15":"tag-nic-dowd","16":"tag-so-kids-soar","17":"tag-washington","18":"tag-washington-capitals","19":"tag-washingtoncapitals"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/channels.im\/@nhl\/115900983128991518","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/409461","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=409461"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/409461\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/409462"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=409461"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=409461"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=409461"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}