Caps Care Year in Review: Capitals and MSE Foundation Raise More Than $1.8 Million for Charity During 2025-26 Season

During the 2025-26 season, the Washington Capitals, its players and Monumental Sports & Entertainment Foundation continued to give back to the community and grow participation in hockey throughout the region. Through fundraising and programming efforts, the Capitals and Monumental Sports & Entertainment Foundation supported numerous organizations in an array of missions. The organization's efforts resulted in more than $1.8 million raised for charity this season.

Over the next several weeks, WashCaps.com is presenting highlights across the following categories:

Caps Care Community Programs and Initiatives

Theme Nights and NHL Platforms

Monumental Sports & Entertainment Foundation

Youth Hockey Development and District of Play

Capitals Player Programs

City Engagement

This week, WashCaps.com recaps Capitals Player Programs:

Player Programs & Initiatives

Dowd’s Crowd: In 2018, Capitals forward Nic Dowd and his wife Paige created Dowd's Crowd to provide the opportunity for a child with sensory issues to be able to attend and enjoy a Caps game. Tickets and a Dowd's Crowd-branded sensory kit were provided to recipients who are selected through local organizations and schools. The Dowds were inspired to launch this player program due to Paige's education in Speech Therapy in college. During the 2025-26 season, the Dowds continued to meet with their ticket recipients postgame. Dowd’s Crowd also provided grants of $10,000 to So Kids SOAR and $20,111 to KultureCity.

Forty Three’s Friends: In 2018, Capitals forward Tom Wilson created Forty Three’s Friends to provide tickets and participate in special postgame meet and greets with kids waiting for their wishes to be granted by Make-A-Wish Mid-Atlantic. In 2019, he expanded his program to also include families selected by United Heroes League. Over the course of a season, Wilson donates tickets to families selected through Make-A-Wish Mid-Atlantic and United Heroes League and meets with the families postgame. Wilson chose Make-A-Wish Mid-Atlantic after being inspired by a former player who had donated tickets to the nonprofit organization and selected United Heroes League after meeting many incredible men and women in the area who serve or have previously served in the military.

Lindy’s Lineup: In 2023, Capitals goaltender Charlie Lindgren and his wife Mikkayla created Lindy's Lineup to provide opportunities for youth involved in adaptive sports and for children in special education classrooms. The Lindgrens were inspired to launch this player program based on Mikkayla's background and current career in pediatric occupational therapy. Lindgren conducted postgame meet and greets throughout the season, as well as joined 50 students at the Eunice Kennedy Shriver Program in Arlington, Va., for an adaptive hockey physical education class on Jan. 16. The Shriver Program provides education for secondary-aged students ages 12 to 22 with specialized educational needs and instruction to assist students with adult placement in the community.

So Kids SOAR Skate: For the third straight season, Nic and Paige Dowd’s Dowd’s Crowd and Charlie and Mikkayla Lindgren’s Lindy’s Lineup player programs teamed up with the nonprofit So Kids SOAR to host an adaptive skate at MedStar Capitals Iceplex on Jan. 14. Approximately 60 children skated with Dowd and Lindgren following watching Capitals practice, and several other Capitals players joined the group on the ice for the event. So Kids SOAR is a nonprofit in the D.C.-metro area that empowers youth with disabilities to Strive, Own, Achieve and Realize their potential. So Kids SOAR provides free adaptive athletic, recreational and skill-building activities that empower youth with physical and development disabilities.

Caps Care Award: Lindgren was named the recipient of the organization’s third annual Caps Care Community Award in honor of his efforts in the community during the 2025-26 season. He was recognized ahead of the April 4 game vs. the Buffalo Sabres in an on-ice ceremony. During the ceremony, Lindgren was presented with a check on behalf of MSE Foundation for $20,000 to be split equally between So Kids SOAR and Tragedy Assistance Program for Survivors. MSE Foundation provided $10,000 of the grant, with Lindy’s Lineup making a $10,000 match.

The Caps Care Community Award was established in 2024 to recognize an individual Capitals player annually for his contributions to the community. A Caps Care Community Award recipient is selected annually by an internal committee on the basis of several criteria, including but not limited to: support of causes personally close to the player, participation in team and league initiatives and involvement in programming that benefits the community across Washington, D.C., Virginia and/or Maryland.

So Kids Can: Ahead of the 2025-26 season, Capitals forward Pierre-Luc Dubois joined forward Tom Wilson, defenseman Martin Fehérváry and Elliot in the Morning’s Elliot Segal’s So Kids Can program. Through So Kids Can, each player and Segal donated $50 per Capitals win to Go Play DC. Funds raised this season benefited local nonprofit Go Play DC, specifically Go Play DC’s Youth Sports For All program that connects K-8 students from

Wards 5,6, 7 and 8 to high-quality after-school and summer sports programs – breaking down financial barriers and expanding access to play.

To kick off the season, So Kids Can and MSE Foundation announced the So Kids Can Sweepstakes. The fundraiser offered an exclusive experience for the winner to attend the Oct. 8 Capitals vs. Bruins game and walk the ‘Rock the Red Carpet’ before the Capitals home opener with Tom Wilson.

So Kids Can was originally created in 2008 by former Capitals defenseman Mike Green and Elliot Segal. To date, the program has donated over $720,000 to benefit youth-focused, nonprofit organizations.

Uncork for a Cause: On Oct. 26, Capitals goaltender Logan Thompson and his wife Linnea hosted his teammates and special guests for an Uncork for a Cause event benefitting Humane Rescue Alliance. The evening supported programs that protect animals, support families and advocate for positive change to create a world where all animals can thrive.

Ovi’s 8’s: In 2006, Capitals captain Alex Ovechkin created Ovi's 8’s to provide tickets to underserved children in the region. Ovechkin purchases eight Capitals season tickets and donates them to the American Special Hockey Association (ASHA). ASHA then distributes these tickets to participants in the four local Special Hockey teams: Baltimore Saints, Montgomery Cheetahs NOVA Cool Cats and Washington Ice Dogs. Since the creation of Ovi’s 8’s, Ovechkin has donated more than 6,000 tickets to the community.

Ovi’s Great Crunch Cereal: In September, Ovechkin teamed up with Giant Food for the debut of Ovi’s Great Crunch, a coveted, limited-edition cereal celebrating Ovechkin’s historic achievement in becoming the NHL’s all-time goals leader. A portion of sales proceeds from the cereal benefit The GR8 CHASE For Victory Over Cancer. In conjunction with the cereal’s release, Ovechkin spent an afternoon at a local Giant, where he served the cereal to local youth hockey players and distributed boxes to shoppers around the store.

American Special Hockey Association Skate: Approximately 50 players from American Special Hockey Association (ASHA) programs from Washington, D.C., Northern Va., Richmond, Va., Maryland and Hershey, Pa. skated with and learned from Ovechkin when he hosted a hockey clinic at MedStar Capitals Iceplex on Dec. 10. This marked the eighth season that Ovechkin has hosted ASHA for a skating or street hockey event.

He has been an ASHA ambassador since the organization's first skate event in 2014 and made a significant donation to ASHA to help cover ice costs for 136 special hockey teams across the U.S. This contribution supported over 5,260 athletes and nearly 400 coaches. Ovechkin’s influence on adaptive hockey can be felt throughout communities across the U.S.

His longstanding support has helped fuel ASHA's remarkable growth, with the organization expanding during his 12 years of involvement from 35 programs in 30 cities to 144 programs nationwide and with affiliates in Canada. Today, ASHA serves more than 9,200 athletes and 12,250 total members, including coaches and volunteers.

The GR8 Chase for Victory Over Cancer: During the 2025-26 season, Ovechkin continued his support of THE GR8 CHASE for Victory Over Cancer, which saw Ovechkin team up with the Capitals, Hockey Fights Cancer and The V Foundation for Cancer Research in March 2025 to raise awareness and funds for pediatric cancer research while in his pursuit of becoming the NHL’s all-time goals leader.

Ovechkin has committed to donating money for every goal he scores starting from his 885th career goal for the remainder of his NHL career, with Monumental Sports & Entertainment matching his contributions. The funds raised through this campaign will support the V Foundation via Hockey Fights Cancer and will help establish the Alex Ovechkin GR8 CHASE Pediatric Cancer Research Grant. To date, more than $256,000 has been raised through the initiative.

King Clancy Award Nominee: Ovechkin was named the club’s 2025-26 nominee for the National Hockey League’s King Clancy Memorial Trophy. The King Clancy Memorial trophy is awarded annually "to the player who best exemplifies leadership qualities on and off the ice and has made a noteworthy humanitarian contribution in his community."