Dowd, Strome, Capitals bond with kids at Hockey Fights Cancer skate

ARLINGTON, Va. -- The Washington Capitals hit the ice twice on Sunday and were more than happy to do it.

Following practice at the MedStar Iceplex, the Capitals were enthusiastically greeted in their locker room by about 40 area children currently fighting cancer or in remission who were invited to the team's Hockey Fights Cancer skate.
The players and kids were paired up and took to the ice for an approximately 30-minute skating session. While some of the kids needed hands-on assistance from the pros, others were a bit more experienced.
Capitals forward Nic Dowd said he had trouble keeping up with his 15-year-old partner, Caden, who told Dowd he plays on a team.
"That was an awesome experience," Dowd said. "Not only just to watch them enjoy themselves, but also giving kids the opportunity that they may not normally have, to have some fun and get out on the ice with the Caps."
Forward Dylan Strome skated with an 9-year-old boy also named Dylan, who was diagnosed with Leukemia when he was 2.
"That was his first time on the ice," Strome said. "His mom told me he's an athlete. I was kind of holding him, but he was like, 'I can do it on my own.' And he just wheeled around there, and he had a great time."
The children and families were from the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society, Make-A-Wish Mid-Atlantic and the Pancreatic Cancer Action Network.

Eight-year-old Owen Deavers of Culpepper, Virginia, skated with Capitals goalie Darcy Kuemper.
"We just talked about how long [he's] played hockey, did [he] like any other sports," Deavers said. "He gave me one of his goalie sticks."
Deavers' mother, Elisabeth, said Owen has a brain tumor and has received radiation.
"Right now, we're just in the monitoring stage and he loves school and plays sports," she said.
Owen said he started slowly, "but by the end I was whizzing around the rink."
William Mumford, 19, of Millersville, Maryland didn't spend much time on the ice, but was thrilled by the chance to sit on the bench and talk with injured Capitals center Nicklas Backstrom.
"It's funny," Mumford said. "It's hard to think of them as normal people, but we were just chatting. Talking about his family, his son Vince was there."
Mumford's mom, Eileen, said William, who has a brain tumor, is a big Capitals fan.
"It's really special," she said. "Really fun, so amazing to be here."
That was a feeling shared by Strome and the Capitals.
"You see all the guys on our team are smiling and then you see all the kids out there with smiles on their face so things like this are some of the reasons we play hockey," Strome said. "Make other people happy, make their day, especially with what they've been through, and it's a pleasure always."