Sold out. Two words that speak volumes in any arena, yet alone the
Walter E. Washington Convention Center for the fifth annual Capitals Convention, held yesterday. Just in case you were under the impression that DC is a Redskins first or
only kinda town, think again: Rock the
Red means Caps hockey, and thousands turned out to see their favorite Capitals (past and present) in the flesh for autographs, photos and tons of fun.
The doors opened an hour early (at 9:00 AM) for season ticket holders; and it was great to see so many red jerseys 10 days ahead of the regular season opener against the defending Stanley Cup champions (
Chicago Blackhawks.) The day kicked off with the exciting announcement that Washington will host the 2015 Bridgestone Winter Classic, followed by a revealing Q&A with team owner
Ted Leonsis (moderated by ESPN commentator
Michael Wilbon.)
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| Slapshot |
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| Owner Ted Leonsis |
From there, the party kicked into high gear with all sorts of activities for fans, young and old alike. This included panels with Hall of Famer
Brendan Shanahan, the NHL’s Senior Vice President of Player Safety and Hockey Operations (moderated by former Cap
Alan May) and Capitals GM
George McPhee. Autographs were available all-day, as well as posed photo ops with Caps legends
Peter Bondra,
Olaf Kölzig and current stars (including current league MVP
Alex Ovechkin.) Current league MVP has a nice ring to it, doesn't it?
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| Hadeed Carpet |
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| Face Painting |
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| Red Rockers! |
Sadly, I could only stay a couple of hours (Note to self: Hire some more writers!) I missed out on Mike Green's cooking class and a ping pong match for the ages involving
Karl Alzner,
Nicklas Backstrom,
Troy Brouwer,
John Carlson, recently re-signed
Marcus Johansson and
Mathieu Perreault. I'm past the age of lining up for someone's signature; but the only thing missing from a perfect day was a
Craig Berube sighting (more love for the Chief!)
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| Deflection Zone |
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| Precision Passing |
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| Sniper's Fire |
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| Hey Mr. DJ... |
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| Future Caps! |
