PWHL Takeover Tour in D.C. full-circle moment for Scamurra, dad

Hayley Scamurra will experience a sort of homecoming and a full-circle moment for her family when the Professional Women’s Hockey League (PWHL) Takeover Tour stops at Capital One Arena in Washington for the first time Sunday for a game between the Montreal Victoire and New York Sirens (2 p.m. ET; MNMT).

Scamurra, a 31-year-old Victoire forward, lives nearby in Maryland during the offseason and has family and friends in the area, so playing in front of them and others who will travel from her hometown of Buffalo will add to her enjoyment of the day. Having the game in Washington will be even more special because her father, Peter Scamurra, played four seasons with the Washington Capitals as a defenseman (1975-77, 1978-1979).

“There’s so much history there,” Hayley Scamurra said. “It’s how he and my mom met, too, when he played for the Capitals. So, I think to be able to go to where he started his pro career and getting to continue mine and grow the women’s game in the same area is pretty cool.”

Peter Scarmurra played his final game with the Capitals more than 46 years ago, on Dec. 30, 1979, but he appreciates the significance of Hayley playing with the Victoire in their arena. The 70-year-old is unsure if he’ll be able to make it from Buffalo for the game because he’s preparing to travel to watch Hayley represent the United States at the Olympic Winter Games Milano Cortina 2026, but he’s previously seen the impact the PWHL Takeover Tour games can have.

“The games and the crowds have been great in other cities,” he said. “They had like 18,000-19,000 fans (18,259) for the game in Quebec City and they had 17,000 (17,518) for a game in Edmonton last season. So, to have one in Washington will be a lot of fun.”

Washington had just completed its inaugural season when it selected Peter in the second round (No. 19) of the 1975 NHL Draft (first pick of second round). He became the first player from Buffalo to play in the NHL when he made his debut at home against the Pittsburgh Penguins on Oct. 7, 1975, and scored his first NHL goal two days later against the Philadelphia Flyers, who were coming off their second consecutive Stanley Cup championship.

Washington won only 11 games that season (11-59-10).

“We weren’t very good at first, but we almost made the playoffs one year (1979-80),” Peter said. “I still have great memories, though. I met my wife (Rebecca) while I was playing there. And you could see the progress the team was making with players like Mike Gartner coming in and Denis Maruk and Rick Green. The biggest move was when they got Rod Langway.”

Peter’s playing days were over, however, by the time the Capitals traded for Langway in 1982. Hampered by knee injuries, he was limited to 132 NHL games, including none during the 1977-78 season. His knee eventually forced him to retire following the 1980-81 season, after playing briefly in Finland and signing with the Penguins but never playing in a game.

He returned to Buffalo after retiring and raised a family there with Rebecca -- sons Travis, Jared and Colin and their youngest, daughter Hayley. She learned to skate on a backyard rink at 3 years old with her brothers. With no girls’ team to play on, she initially played for the boys’ teams her father coached.

Hayley’s Olympic dream began with the U.S. winning the gold medal at the 1998 Nagano Olympics, the first to include women’s hockey.

“I remember our little booklets when we were 10 years old with the boys’ team I was on,” she said. “Everyone else said ‘NHL player’ and I said, ‘I want to be an Olympian.’”

Hayley played her entire NCAA career at Northeastern University (2013-2017) without being selected to the women’s national team, though. It wasn’t until she started playing professionally for the Buffalo Beauts in the National Women’s Hockey League, who she helped win an Isobel Cup championship in 2017, that she finally started getting the attention of U.S. coaches and was selected to play in the 2019 IIHF World Championship.

“My first camp, I was 23, 24, which is typically not heard of,” said Hayley, who has three points (one goal, two assists) in 11 PWHL games this season. “It’s getting more common now that we have a pro league to play in, but at the time, it wasn’t common to come and be let into the group that late. At that point, I was like, ‘I’ve got nothing to lose. Let’s just go all out and play my game and see what happens.’”

Hayley has been a fixture on the national team since then, winning three gold medals and three silvers at the world championship and a silver medal at the 2022 Beijing Olympics. Peter and the rest of the family couldn’t travel to watch Hayley play in Beijing because of COVID-19 restrictions, so he’s excited to go to Milano Cortina.

“It’s something I would’ve loved to do, but I never got the chance because back then the pros didn’t play in the Olympics,” Peter said. “She didn’t have the easiest path, but all her hard work paid off. It’s definitely like a dream come true.”

The U.S. women will seek Olympic redemption in Milano Cortina after losing 3-2 to Canada in the 2022 gold medal game, but Hayley has business to take care of with the Victoire before leaving, including the Takeover Tour in Washington. Montreal and New York will hold open practices at MedStar Capital IcePlex on Saturday before facing off Sunday.

“Based on what I’m hearing, the ticket sales are doing really well,” said Hayley, a former ambassador with the Capitals ALL CAPS ALL HER program and Learn to Play coach. “It just shows that they’re excited for women’s hockey. They want to have a women’s hockey team. I have a special sense of pride, for sure, because I know a lot of the people who are organizing the event and making sure it’s running smoothly and all those sorts of things. So, it’s super exciting.”