Ovechkin, Capitals give kids ‘best day ever’ at Hockey Fights Cancer skate

ARLINGTON, Va. -- It’s not every day that you can get Alex Ovechkin to tie your skates.

That was among the many special moments for 11-year-old Cooper Trueblood at the Washington Capitals’ annual Hockey Fights Cancer skate at MedStar Capital Iceplex on Monday.

Trueblood was surprised when he learned he’d be paired with Ovechkin, the Capitals forward who is second in NHL history with 863 goals.

“It was very, very exciting,” Trueblood said. “It was really cool to skate with the best player there is in hockey.”

Each Capitals player was paired with a child from Make-A-Wish Mid-Atlantic, the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society and Horizon Day Camp. Ovechkin happens to be Trueblood’s favorite player.

“It’s always important to spend time with the kids,” Ovechkin said. “The parents and the kids, they enjoy it and to put a big smile on their face is the most important thing.”

Trueblood, who is in remission from precursor B-cell acute lymphoblastic leukemia (B-ALL), admitted he was “wide eyed” while sitting in Ovechkin’s locker stall waiting for him to arrive. He sent quick text to his parents, though,

“He just said, ‘I’m with Ovi.’ That’s all he said,” Cooper’s mother, Kristy Trueblood, said. “I’m sure this is something that he’s never going to forget. Make-A-Wish and the Capitals organization, they sent him out to a couple games when he was in treatment. It’s people like this and events like this that really help the kids feel a sense of normalcy. They have all been through so much, so this is really amazing.

“I’m sure this is the best day ever for him.”

After Ovechkin arrived and introduced himself, Trueblood asked if he could tie his skates for him. Although Trueblood plays for the Frederick Victory and Stars travel hockey programs in Frederick, Maryland, and can tie his own skates, his father, Jason Trueblood, explained, “He’s pretty particular about his skates.”

“He ties them, but he doesn’t like the way that he ties them,” Kristy Trueblood said. “So, I’m sure having a little NHL expertise on that today, he’ll never be able to do it correctly again. Never again.”

While skating with Ovechkin, Trueblood used the opportunity to pick his brain for “hockey tips.”

“Like how to get a better shot, because he has a really good slap shot,” Trueblood said. “He said, ‘Just shoot it’ and ‘work hard.’ That kind of stuff.”

Trueblood’s 6-year-old sister Evyn joined them with Ovechkin holding each of by the hand as they circled the rink.

“I think it just speaks to the organizations that they want to include the siblings,” Jason Trueblood said. “The siblings are kind of the unsung heroes of a lot of these stories that they have go through it to and a lot of them don’t understand it.”

Some of the children had not skated previously, so they used trainer stands to help them stay upright. Others were just as happy to be pushed around in a chair.

That was the case for Eliza Pierce, a 5-year-old being treated for precursor B-cell acute lymphoblastic leukemia (B-ALL) who was paired with Capitals center Dylan Strome.

“It means a lot for her to have a day that’s all about her and getting to have fun and try something new with people that she’s seen on TV before,” Sammi Pierce, Eliza’s mother, said. “She’s having a blast.”

Strome pushed Eliza around the ice in a chair, but she also wanted to try skating on her own. So, Strome held her to keep her from falling while she tried balancing on her skates for a few laps. They also played “Simon Says.”

“You want to do it to make other people happy and make someone that’s had a tough road smile for a little bit and forget about what she’s had to deal with for a good hour,” Strome said. “She was telling me what to do and I was just taking orders and listening. She wanted to go around the ice a bunch of times and she really wanted to skate by herself.

“She kept telling me to let her go, but I don’t know if that was going to end very well. So, I held her pretty close, and I think she had a great time.”