Capitals host 60 kids with disabilities for annual accessibility skate

ARLINGTON — Sixty children with disabilities joined Washington Capitals goalie Charlie Lindgren and forward Nic Dowd on the ice at the team’s practice facility Wednesday for the team’s annual “So Kids Soar Skate.”

The skaters, whose disabilities ranged from mobility issues to blindness and developmental delays, sported smiles and helmets as they joined their professional hockey heroes on the rink.

So Kids Soar, a nonprofit focused on empowering children with disabilities, hosted the event in partnership with the players’ charities: Dowd’s Crowd and Lindy’s Lineup.

After playing together in college, Lindgren and Dowd separately started their respective foundations with their wives during their professional careers. The pair said working together for Wednesday’s event was an easy move, even though neither of them could remember how the idea to collaborate began.

“The community has meant the world to us; the people here have been absolutely incredible,” Lindgren said. “So giving back and using our platform in really any way we can to just go out and put smiles on people’s faces.”

Before their turn on the ice, dozens of children watched the Capitals’ Wednesday practice, studying the professionals’ habits before hitting the ice themselves.

The children’s comfort levels on the ice were as wide-ranging as their disabilities. Glenda Smith, the executive director at So Kids Soar, was prepared for that.

She divided the rink into thirds: one section for mobility-impaired skaters on sleds, another free-skating area, and a portion set up with nets and goalies for more experienced players.

One skater, Reed Bragin, entered the rink with a plan. He plays at the facility regularly with the D.C. Sled Sharks junior hockey team, but this time he’d be sharing the ice with his heroes.

“It’s great, exciting to be on the good old rink again in my home arena,” he said. “It’s a little ‘a-ha’ moment. … He’s good, but I want to see if I can score on Lindgren.”

Reed has cerebral palsy and uses a motorized wheelchair in day-to-day life, but he’s comfortable on the ice. After a few laps around the rink, he got a chance to shoot against Lindgren.

He didn’t miss. Cerebral palsy couldn’t stop Reed from sliding a pair of shots into the corner of the net, just past the goaltender of his favorite team.

The ice was filled with accessibility aids at Wednesday’s event. Sleds were used by those who struggled with mobility. Walkers and chairs helped skaters who were just a tad less comfortable on the ice. A rattling puck allowed blind players to field passes and take shots at the goal.

It’s all a part of So Kids Soar’s efforts to make sports, including hockey, more accessible.

“This is one of the events the kids look forward to the most,” Smith said before the event. “Not only seeing their local sports heroes but also just getting them on the ice. There are higher barriers to entry to do ice hockey, so for us to provide this to them absolutely free? It’s a fun day.”

Dozens of families have circled the event on their calendars since the inaugural skate in 2009. Taking the ice an hour after the local NHL team is already special, but Smith says having players join them is unforgettable.

Smith mentions one nonverbal participant who attends the event each year. Communicating is hard, but his mother made a memory book filled with photos from his previous forays onto the ice. When she brings the book out each fall to tell him it’s time to visit the Capitals again, he erupts with excitement.

“Even though he can’t verbalize it, he makes sound and you can see the thrill on his face,” Smith said.

When Dowd and Lindgren joined the kids on the ice Wednesday, they sported shining smiles along with their skates and jerseys. For more than an hour, the duo took pictures, signed autographs and created lasting memories as they introduced themselves to the children.

“They all walk away with a positive core memory,” Smith said. “Some parents might not really be Caps fans, but the fact that they get to see their child smiling and feel the thrill of skating or sledding is awesome.”

The kids aren’t the only ones who said they’d treasure the event.

“I’ll never forget moments like this,” Lindgren said. “This is what it’s all about at the end of the day, making the world a better place. I think we did that today.”