On Frozen Blog

I went to Kettler Capitals Wednesday afternoon planning on interviewing one special hockey player but actually met up and chatted with two. Teshawn Johnson, 8, of the Distrct was camping at Kettler while I spoke with Boyd Gordon. How he got there caught my attention.

Teshawn was one of two area youths whose participation in the camp was sponsored by the Capitals’ Fanclub. Zoe Pellowitz of Alexandria was the other lucky camper. Some time earlier this summer area rinks were alerted to the Fanclub’s commendable intention and asked to choose among their Mites two skaters to send out onto the Kettler ice for a week with the likes of Craig Laughlin, Brian Pothier, and Boyd Gordon. The Fanclub pledged to pay their way.

Teshawn is a center for a Mites team at the District’s Ft. Dupont Ice Rink. At 8, he’s no newcomer to hockey. “I’ve been playing hockey since I was 2,” he told me. 

He is an enthusiastic Caps’ fan, and his favorite hockey player is Alexander Ovechkin. I asked him what he was enjoying most about camp, and he gave me an answer perhaps every center should. “I really like the passing drills.” He was also greatly enjoying the company of his fellow campers.         

What I like most about this story, besides the fact that two young hockey lovers who perhaps otherwise wouldn’t have camped at Kettler did so, is the sense of community in the men and women in the Fanclub. I don’t know any of them individually, but it’s clear that their attachment to the Caps and hockey is predicated on a heck of a lot more than weekend roadtrips.