'Last of Us' actor, deaf youth hockey player Woodard hosted by Capitals

ARLINGTON, Va. -- Keivonn Woodard walked into the Washington Capitals locker room Friday, saw Alex Ovechkin and stood there stunned for a moment.

"Oh, you're Ovi," a smiling Woodard eventually said through an American Sign Language interpreter.
Woodard, a deaf player on the Bowie Hockey Club Under-10 team in Maryland, then gave Ovechkin a big hug. The Capitals forward had a gift for the Woodard - an autographed stick.
"Oh, this is so cool," Woodard said. "I can't believe it. This is a dream of mine."
It was a day of dreams fulfilled for Woodard, also an aspiring actor who plays Sam on the HBO hit series "The Last of Us."

Woodard, a forward who wants to become the first deaf Black player in the NHL, also met former Capitals forward Devante Smith-Pelly, one of 11 Black players to play for the team.

Smith-Pelly, who helped the Capitals win the Stanley Cup in 2018, will be back at Capital One Arena for the first time since he retired Dec. 30 to take part in the ceremonial puck drop before their Black History Day game against the New York Rangers on Saturday (1 p.m. ET; ABC, ESPN+, SN NOW).

After giving Woodard his signed stick, Ovechkin chatted with him briefly through the ASL interpreter at his locker stall. Woodard showed Ovechkin, who is second in NHL history with 812 goals, how to sign his nickname "Ovi."
"It's nice to see his smile," Ovechkin said.
Woodard later put on his skates and equipment and went on the ice to take some shots at goalie Charlie Lindgren and did some passing and shooting drills with forward Nicolas Aube-Kubel.

"A dream came true," Ovechkin said. "That's pretty cool."