ARLINGTON, Va. – Earlier last week, the Washington Capitals surprised students at Georgian Forest Elementary School, as the team sent power forward Troy Brouwer and defenseman John Erskine to the school to on Monday, Dec. 19. Assistant coach Dean Evason joined the two fan favorites, as they led classes from the school in drills and a scrimmage.
Brouwer became an instant hit with the fans this season after he was acquired from the Chicago Blackhawks. Erskine has been a member of the Capitals for the last few years, and has grown into the role of a lunch pale defenseman. Evason recently joined the Capitals organization to turn the ship around for the struggling Capitals.
During their visit, Brouwer and Erskine led a group of 150 students in drills and a scrimmage of floor hockey in the school’s gymnasium. The two Capitals stars then went on to answer questions from the fans.
Throughout the hockey portion of the visit, Brouwer and Erskine taught the students basic hockey skills, including stick handling, passing, shooting and how to put on goalie equipment. After the tutorials, Brouwer joined an all boys team to take on Erskine and an all girls team in a shootout and scrimmage. Team Brouwer won both events, coming out on top in the shootout 5-4 and the scrimmage 1-0. When the hour-long hockey event concluded, Brouwer and Erskine donated equipment and signed autographs. Brouwer and Erskine were interviewed after the event and had this to say:
“Everyone was really intense today and had lots of energy doing the drills and in the scrimmage,” said Erskine. “This was a great first hockey school for me,” said Brouwer. “It was nice to see the boys prevail. I really enjoyed the kids’ chanting and their enthusiasm.”
For the Washington Capitals organization, the idea of a hockey school is something they have committed to annually for the last four years. The Capitals travel to two schools a month, between September and May and conduct clinics for the kids. Since the program first started in 2007, the Capitals have hosted over 50 clinics and met with 7,500 students. During every program, the Capitals donate road hockey equipment to the schools on their list.
For giving back to their community, we proudly present the Washington Capitals with a well-deserved Gold Star!
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