Parents make trip to see Matthew, Dylan Strome play together for Capitals

HERSHEY, Pa. -- Chris and Trish Strome didn’t want to miss this moment.

It still took some convincing from sons Dylan and Matthew, though, before Chris, fresh off knee replacement surgery, decided to make the trip to watch them play for the Washington Capitals in their 5-1 preseason win against the Philadelphia Flyers at Giant Center on Thursday.

It was the first time Dylan, 28, and Matthew, 26, played a game together since 2003, when Dylan was 6 and Matthew was 4.

“It was like a dream come true,” Trish Strome said.

An admitted “sucker for those stories,” Capitals coach Spencer Carbery had both Stromes on the starting forward line, but they didn’t otherwise play together during the game.

“I really appreciate ‘Carbs’ doing that,” said Dylan Strome, who had an assist. “Obviously, Matt is on an AHL contract, so [Carbery] by no means has to give him a game. But Matt’s worked hard and played really well for Hershey. He’s kind of carved out a role here and coming here has changed a lot for him and I’m really proud of him.

“So, it was a proud brother moment, for sure.”

The Capitals played the preseason game at Giant Center, home of their American Hockey League affiliate, the Hershey Bears, while the first phase of renovations is being completed at Capital One Arena in Washington. It worked out perfectly for Matthew, who has played the past three seasons with Hershey on an AHL contract and is beginning his seventh full professional season, to play in his first NHL preseason game.

Doing it with Dylan, who is entering his fourth season with the Capitals and had an NHL career-high 82 points (29 goals, 53 assists) in 82 games last season, took the experience to another level.

“It’s special,” Matthew Strome said. “I know it’s just preseason, but to be wearing the same jersey as my brother, it’s something that I’ve wanted to do for a long time now, and to get that chance in such a good organization that’s been so huge for Dylan and I, it’s just surreal.”

Brothers Aliaksei, 24, and Ilya Protas, 19, also played for the Capitals. Aliaksei, who set NHL career highs in goals (30), assists (36) and points (66) last season, and Ilya, a third-round pick (No. 75) in the 2024 NHL Draft, played in a preseason game together against the Boston Bruins last season, too, so the Stromes got the nod for the starting lineup.

“I was glad we could do that and ‘Stromer’s’ dad was able to make it,” Carbery said. “You never know if that moment will come for the rest of their lives, so in 20 years when they’re both retired, they’ll be talking about tonight and that moment at Giant Center in a sold-out building in an NHL exhibition game.”

It was also a special night for Carbery, who coached Hershey for three seasons (2018-2021) and won the Louis A. R. Pieri Memorial Award as AHL coach of the year in 2021. He returned Thursday as the Jack Adams Award winner as the NHL’s top coach last season, Carbery’s second as the Capitals coach.

“It was amazing to come back here, Giant Center, to walk out to a full building,” Carbery said. “Even driving in on the bus today I had some goose bumps at various moments pulling up. Walking into this building, there’s a lot of great memories here.”

The Capitals last played a preseason game in Hershey in 2006, when they hosted the New Jersey Devils. Washington also hosted the Pittsburgh Penguins for a preseason game at Giant Center the previous season.

Alex Ovechkin, then a 20-year-old rookie after being selected with the No. 1 pick in the 2004 NHL Draft, played but did not have a point for the Capitals in their 3-2 victory against the Penguins, who did not bring Sidney Crosby, the No. 1 pick in the 2005 NHL Draft, for that game. Ovechkin, now the NHL record holder with 897 goals, missed a chance to play in another preseason game in Hershey on Thursday because of a lower-body injury.

That left the spotlight for the Stromes.

Matthew cemented his place as a hero in Hershey with his overtime goal against Coachella Valley in Game 6 of the 2024 Calder Cup Final, which gave the Bears their second consecutive championship. Chris and Trish Strome were also at Giant Center on that night and normally wouldn’t have hesitated to make the seven-hour drive from Mississauga, Ontario.

Chris wasn’t sure, though, after having surgery on his right knee on Sept. 16. He started to feel better a few days later, and a family FaceTime intervention made him realize he had to make the trip. On the call were Dylan and Matthew, along with oldest son Ryan Strome, a forward with the Anaheim Ducks.

Trish Strome said their unified message was: “You’ve got to do it, Dad. You’re going to regret it if you don’t.”

So, Trish did the driving this time and, with the help of a cane, Chris hobbled into Giant Center to share a lifetime family memory.

“It’s one of those moments that I think that you hope for when your kids are playing youth hockey,” Chris Strome said. “We’ve had Ryan and Dylan play against each other (in NHL), but to see them on the ice together with the same jersey on, it’s pretty incredible.”