Capitals to Celebrate Youth Hockey Weekend Oct. 31 to Nov. 1
Washington will host an open practice and clinics on Oct. 31, then turn Sunday's game against Minnesota into Youth Hockey Day presented by GEICO.
The Washington Capitals will celebrate Youth Hockey Weekend from Oct. 31 to Nov. 1, with Youth Hockey Day presented by GEICO set for Sunday, Nov. 1, when they host the Minnesota Wild at Capital One Arena. Puck drop is 3:30 p.m.
The weekend starts Saturday, Oct. 31, at MedStar Capitals Iceplex. The team's practice is open to youth players, and anyone who attends in a youth hockey jersey gets a Capitals-themed prize while supplies last. The Capitals will also run an ALL CAPS ALL HER clinic and a co-ed clinic that day. Capitals alumni Mike Green, Brent Johnson, Craig Laughlin and Paul Mulvey are scheduled to appear and help with instruction.
On Sunday, each Capitals player will be paired with a local youth player for pre-game arrivals, and both will wear the youth player's team jersey. Six youth players will watch warmups from the Capitals bench. Six players from Future Caps Learn to Play will take the ice with the starting lineup, and a youth player will read the lineup alongside PA announcer Wes Johnson. Two local youth referees will meet the NHL officials and join them on the ice for the national anthem. The second intermission will feature a relay race with players from two local youth programs.
The team says it offers more than 30 ways to play, for participants age four and above, and that nearly 30,000 people have taken part in a Caps Youth Hockey event since 2018. It has refurbished or built 14 outdoor street and inline rinks across Virginia, Maryland, Washington, D.C. and West Virginia.
The team also cited USA Hockey figures. Registered youth and adult players in D.C. are up more than 220 percent from 2005-06 through 2025-26. Registered girls and women players across D.C., Maryland and Virginia rose 225 percent over the same stretch.
