When he graduated from Amherst College in May, 2025, goaltender Connor Leslie believed his high-level hockey days were behind him, and he began planning to put his psychology/political science double major to use in a federal law enforcement career. But the 24-year-old Leesburg native is now postponing those career plans to spend one more season around the game he loves. Leslie will return to the crease this fall, becoming the first full-time and dedicated EBUG (emergency back-up goalie) in Caps franchise history.
More than a decade after he started minding the net for the Washington Little Caps program at MedStar Capitals Iceplex, Leslie – a native of Leesburg, Va. – returns to the facility this full in a newly mandated and created position. All 32 NHL teams must identify and hire a full-time EBUG; it’s one of the new tenets in the new collective bargaining agreement between the League and the NHL Players’ Association.
For Leslie, it’s a return to a familiar sheet of ice.
“In general, this was like a full circle moment,” he says. “It’s pretty surreal, because obviously growing up playing eight years of Little Caps, it was one of those periods of my life that really established how much I loved hockey. And just being around the culture, getting to look up to a lot of these Caps players who were at the rink when I was practicing and stuff like that was really cool. And now to get the chance to be around them and support them in whatever way I can this upcoming year is a really cool opportunity, and I'm just so blessed for that.”
Although the new CBA doesn’t take effect until September 15, the document was drafted in 2025 and its tweaks, changes and new edicts have been known to hockey operations staffs around the circuit for months now. Consequently, NHL teams have been discussing the new EBUG position, the process of finding the best candidates for the role, developing a description of what the role will entail, and what other organizational tasks might be included.
“It was a hard set of criteria to find the right person because it takes recently retired players out of the mix based on the games played issue and some of the other rules involved,” says Caps senior vice president and general manager Chris Patrick. “And also because it's a full-time position in the manner of: You're at every home game, you're traveling with the team, and you're at every road game. It’s a harder job to do than where you know you can do this almost on a moonlighting basis.”
Formerly, each NHL team was required to have an EBUG on hand and in the house for each home game, and that goaltender – typically a retired local former pro or college netminder – would be available for the emergent need of either team, should both of the two dressed goaltenders for either individual team become incapacitated.
Although actual EBUG deployment is a relative rarity, teams are frequently in need of a capable practice netminder – both at home and on the road – to foster extra rest for its goaltending tandem across the rigors of a six-month, 84-game season.
“A lot of times these emergency goalies were essentially people that worked a full-time job and would come to the home games at night and be in the stands, and that's off the table,” says Patrick. “So, in every [NHL] city, there's a goalie network that the goalie coaches usually have a pretty good handle on. [Caps goalie coach] Scotty [Murray] worked with those parameters and tried to find people that might fit those parameters and might be looking to do something like this. And then Connor, for where he was in his personal and professional life, it was a good time to do this for us, and so it worked out well.”
Murray needs to have a handle on the local goalie supply chain for summer skates and clinics and the like, and his relationship with Leslie stems from those summer skates.
“First of all, we had Parker Milner for three years, and he set the bar extremely high,” says Murray. “What Parker did is he gave us the blueprint of how you need to be in that role. But then the next challenge for us is okay, we're in the D.C. area. Can we do this locally, or do we have to go outside and bring someone in from the outside?
“And honestly, these skates here in the summer that I've been here for a lot, we normally don't get our [NHL] goalies back until a little bit later. So, we've had to find goalies, and I've gotten to know a lot of the goalies in the area through our summer skates. And Connor was one of those guys when he was going to Amherst College.”
Early in 2026, Murray had Leslie come out to MedStar for a bit of an audition.
“[Murray] invited me out just to see how I do, and to see if I still had it in the tank,” says Leslie. “And it was a great skate. And pretty much right after that skate was over, he asked if this role would be something that I'd be interested in, and I couldn't have thought of anything better to keep that hockey passion alive. Especially when I thought it was pretty much over.”
“I've gotten to know Connor over the years through these skates,” says Murray. “So, when he gave me the indication that he might be available a little bit more, I brought up the new rule for emergency backup and the layout a little bit, and he showed interest. And once he gave me that indication that he was interested, we started the process. We narrowed it down quickly to him just because we knew he was local. The character checked out big time, and he does a good job in the net. And obviously, he got a chance to watch Parker Milner, and Parker Milner set that bar. So that was the process for us going with Connor.”
As the 32 NHL teams navigate their way through the first season of the new EBUG system, several clubs have sought candidates with skill sets that extend to off-ice areas where the League’s newest staffers might be able to lend a further hand in other areas of the organization.
“We're going to go at it first and foremost that he’ll be that third goalie for practice – which carries a heavy workload – does the skill session stuff, does the post-practice stuff,” says Patrick. “If one of the main goalies needs a little time to rest, he's taking all the practice reps, and then obviously he needs to be available every game in case something does happen and he needs to gear up.
“But I think that also leaves a lot of gaps, because he's going to be with the team and around the team more than guys we've used for this in the past. I think it leaves a gap for other areas where he can help. We'll look at it; does he help with some video stuff coaching wise? Does he help with some stats or tracking or some of the analytics the coaches use during and after the games? It'll be a little fluid and we'll see how it best fits, and how it best fits his personality and what he wants to do.”
Leslie grew up rooting for the Caps and watching Braden Holtby in net for Washington, and he cities the 2018 Stanley Cup championship as his favorite moment in Caps fandom. Over the last few weeks and months, he has gradually spent more time around the facility as he prepares for his new role.
“You're out there to make sure that you're doing whatever you can to stop the pucks and challenge the players,” says Leslie. “But you're out there for them; you're there to support them, help them in whatever ways they need, and you're not looking for anything out of this position. You're not looking to go pro after this or anything like that.
“In terms of just overall meshing with people in general, I'm a big people person. I'm a people pleaser. I grew up from a very good household where my parents taught me and molded me into the person that I am today, in terms of just treating everyone with respect and kindness. And I brought that into all facets of my life, whether it's hockey or school or work relationships, things like that, growing up throughout my life.”
For the last few seasons, the Caps had the luxury and pleasure of having former Boston College and South Carolina Stingrays standout Parker Milner on hand to fill some of those gaps. Milner mainly worked out of MedStar, staying out late as the extra goalie after practice for assistant coach Kenny McCudden’s skill sessions.
Milner also accompanied the team occasionally on long trips, most notably last December on the team’s trip to California. When Charlie Lindgren was injured at the morning skate that Friday in Anaheim, the Caps were able to press Milner into service as their back-up that evening against the Ducks.
Milner has moved back to South Carolina, but even if he hadn’t, he’d be “overqualified” for the NHL’s newest iteration of the EBUG. To qualify to serve in the role in 2026-27, a goaltender must not have played an NHL game, must have played 80 or fewer pro games in his career, and must have not played pro in the last three seasons.
But the blueprint for what the Caps envision for the EBUG job starts with Milner’s body of work at MedStar – and afar – across the last few seasons.
“When players leave, it's tough,” says Murray. “When staff leaves, it's tough. When Parker Milner left, it was tough on our staff. Obviously, Kenny loves Parker, but it was tough on our guys, and the guys love Parker Milner. He was for sure instrumental in giving us that blueprint, and when this becomes full-time, what does this look like as far as how do they act, what's their role, and what do they have to bring to the table? He laid it out for us – which was awesome – and then obviously he got a chance to interact with Connor. And I think Connor probably will still reach out to him, and so Parker has been a great ally for us. He's a great sounding board, big time.”
With September just ahead, so is Leslie’s return to the twin ice sheets on the ninth floor of MedStar Capitals Iceplex. He’s excited to get started, and grateful for the time Milner spent with him, showing him the ropes and handing him the reins.
“I really want to say just how much respect I have for Parker Milner, who was recently just with the Caps,” says Leslie. “I'm basically taking over that position in his place. And when I got to meet him on one of the days that they brought me in to meet everyone and tour the facility and everything, he was the one who showed me around, and he was by far one of the kindest people I've ever met.
“Clearly, he was such a great person for that team and for that role, and everyone spoke so highly of him, and I can see why. I will try and live up to what he was for the for the Caps, and I hope I can even reach that sort of level that he was at, and the respect that everyone has for him, because he's a great person who really the blueprint for me with this role, and that's what everyone has said.”
More than a year after the conclusion of his collegiate goaltending career, Leslie is back between the pipes, and he’s eager for the upcoming season ahead and looking forward to closing that full circle.
“I'm a local kid from Leesburg,” says Leslie, “so it was one of those periods in life of getting started in hockey where you want to play at the best level possible, and playing for Little Caps in my area was the goal. I had not played back at MedStar since I finished up with Little Caps in 2020. To be back there was one of those moments where it was like I was playing for the Little Caps, and now I'm helping out the 'Big Caps.' It’s just one of those things that felt really cool.”
