ARLINGTON, Va. - The Washington Capitals announced today the launch of the Capitals Street Hockey League (CSHL) as part of the organization’s Street Caps platform. Hosted at various Capitals street hockey rinks, the new co-ed league is open to the public and allows kids ages 5-12 the chance to put their skills to the test in a fun, low-stress environment. No prior hockey experience or gear is required to participate.
Taking place from March-May 2026, three locations will host the CSHL in its inaugural season. These include Lake Fairfax Park (Reston, Va.), Francis C. Hammond Middle School (Alexandria, Va.) and Ridge Road Recreational Park (Germantown, Md.)
Youth from Maryland, Virginia and Washington, D.C., are invited to participate across three age divisions during the CSHL’s inaugural year. Divisions will be comprised of U6 (5-6-year-olds), U8 (7-8-year-olds) and U12 (9-12-year-olds), with a minimum of four teams per age division. All divisions will play on the same day at the selected locations, as the season spans eight weekends, with each team playing two games per weekend for a total of 16 games played during the season. Additionally, each division will have a designated practice day for the week.
The price to participate varies by location from $149-179, and registration includes a T-shirt. The Capitals are also offering a 15% holiday discount for those who register during December.Interested parties can register as a team or individual – to register, click here. Each team will have a minimum of six players and a maximum of 10. For those not registering with or as a team, the Capitals will place individuals on one.
The Capitals offer more than 30 ways to play hockey through on- and off-ice programming for participants age four and above, and more than 27,000 individuals have participated in a Caps Youth Hockey event since 2018. To date, the Capitals have refurbished or built 14 outdoor street/inline hockey rinks across Virginia, Maryland, Washington, D.C. and West Virginia to further encourage participation in hockey. According to USA Hockey, overall, there's been significant growth in participation in the D.C. area since Alex Ovechkin was drafted. The total number of USA Hockey-registered players (youth and adult) in the Washington D.C. area climbed more than 186 percent from 2005-06 through 2024-25, and 70% across the region as a whole during the same time frame.
The CSHL falls under the Capitals’ Street Caps programming umbrella, which encompasses Street Caps After School, Street Caps Learn to Play and Street Caps Birthday Parties. The programming is focused on providing pathways for kids to participate in street hockey. To learn more about Caps Youth Hockey Development street hockey programs, visit CapsYouthHockey.com/StreetCaps.
