February Marks Hockey is For Everyone Month

When Fatima Al Ali had a chance encounter with Capitals alumnus Peter Bondra at a youth hockey clinic in Abu Dhabi last year, she couldn't have expected that she would one day get to travel to Washington, D.C., to practice with the Caps.
Fast forward to a year later: Al Ali will make a return trip to the District, this time joined by the entire United Arab Emirates Women's National Hockey team.
From Feb. 7-18 the team is visiting Washington D.C, Chicago Illinois and Ottawa, Canada as part of a special delegation to the United States and Canada, spending time with each NHL team in the respective city.

Highlights of their six-day trip to Washington include attending a Capitals practice, partaking in a scrimmage with the Washington Pride and various activities around the region, including visiting children in a local hospital and welcome dinner at the UAE Embassy.
On Feb. 9 when the Capitals host the Columbus Blue Jackets, the Caps will welcome the entire UAE team to the ice for a ceremonial puck drop.
The team's visit is in conjunction with the NHL's Hockey is For Everyone Month. For the 20th year, the NHL has designated February Hockey is for Everyone™ Month to celebrate grassroots hockey and the game's growing diversity. The program offers people of all backgrounds opportunities to play hockey and leverages the sport of hockey as a catalyst to teach essential life skills and the core values of hockey: commitment, perseverance and teamwork. In addition, the initiative supports hockey programs that assist disabled military personnel in returning to their mainstream lifestyles.

In addition to hosting the UAE Women's team, the Capitals have several other events and initiatives planned throughout the month:
Theme Nights:
Each game day will have a related Hockey is for Everyone theme, with various related elements and tributes through the game: Feb. 4: ASHA, Feb. 9: Women, Feb. 11: Kids, Feb. 20: Military, Feb. 24: Black History and Feb. 27: Pride.
Dreams for Kids Skate:
In addition to the theme nights, for the eighth consecutive year, the Capitals will team up with Dreams for Kids DC to host an Extreme Recess Ice Hockey Clinic at Kettler Capitals Iceplex. Players will join children with physical and developmental disabilities following a practice.

Hospital Visit:
In February Capitals wives will visit MedStar Georgetown University Hospital to meet with children involved with Hope for Henry, an organization that works to reinvent how hospitals care for seriously ill children and their families through innovative programs that entertain, reduce stress and empower children to be active participants in their own care.
Care Packages
Capitals employees and USA Warriors will join together to produce care packages for military personnel serving overseas in mid-February. USA Warriors was organized to operate exclusively for charitable and educational purposes for those wounded in defense of the United States. The Program's mission is to organize and administer an ice hockey program that provides a recreational, therapeutic experience and education.
Fort Dupont:
The organization will also host children from the Fort Dupont Ice Arena for a visit to Kettler. Fort Dupont is the only full-size indoor ice arena in Washington, D.C., and the Cannons are the oldest minority youth hockey program in North America and the oldest ice hockey program that is a member of the Hockey is for Everyone™ initiative.
You Can Play Auction:
In Conjunction with Feb. 27's Pride Night, select Capitals players will use rainbow colored tape on their sticks, which will be signed and auctioned off, with 100 percent of the proceeds going to You Can Play, an organization dedicated to ensuring equality, respect and safety for all athletes, coaches and fans, without regard to sexual orientation and/or gender identity. Last year's auction raised more than $14,000.
For more information on Hockey is For Everyone Month, visit
WashCaps.com/HIFE
.