Four-year-old Rai Kataria skated circles around Washington Capitals defenseman Timothy Liljegren on Thursday, and by Liljegren’s own estimate, the pint-sized leukemia patient scored about 100 goals on him. It happened at the Capitals’ annual Hockey Fights Cancer skate at their practice facility in Arlington, Virginia, where the entire roster paired off with children, survivors and families connected to several cancer organizations.
The Capitals have held the event for over a decade, according to DC News Now, which reported that this year’s skate brought together kids, survivors and families affiliated with Blood Cancer United Mid-Atlantic, Make-A-Wish Mid-Atlantic, MedStar Health and Sunrise Day Camp Greater Washington. Every player on the Capitals roster was paired with at least one child for the session, the outlet reported.
Rai, who was diagnosed with leukemia more than a year before the skate and is still undergoing treatment, was paired with Liljegren for the afternoon. Liljegren told the outlet that Rai looked like a natural on the ice and, in a detail that got a laugh among the group, scored roughly 50 of those goals right-handed after insisting beforehand that he was left-handed. Liljegren said the players simply enjoyed being out there with the kids.
A Final Skate for Ovechkin, Even as His Last Season Looms
Alex Ovechkin worked his own station during the event, setting up a left-circle spot nicknamed “Ovi’s Office” so each child could take a turn shooting from his favorite spot on the ice, according to nhl.com. Rai also got to skate and practice passing and shooting directly with Ovechkin, and his father Vik Kataria said Ovechkin assisted him on the ice the very first time Rai skated and handled a hockey stick, per DC News Now’s report.
Per the same outlet, Ovechkin described the children at the skate as fighters and warriors, and said it was the kids’ smiles, their fun, their goals and their conversations with players that made the event meaningful to him. DC News Now reported this was Ovechkin’s final Hockey Fights Cancer skate of his career.
Teammates Join In Around the Rink
Rai wasn’t the only child who got star treatment. Dylan Strome took his paired child, a girl named Taylor, around the ice with her family, while Jakob Chychrun skated around the rink pushing two children seated in chairs, the outlet reported. Brothers Aliaksei Protas and Ilya Protas joked around with children near the goal, and goaltender Charlie Lindgren helped a boy sit between the pipes to play goaltender for a bit, according to DC News Now’s account.
For Rai’s parents, the afternoon carried weight beyond the ice time. Vik Kataria said his son has handled treatment well and has grown since his diagnosis, and that the family was ecstatic Rai could enjoy the event while being well and healthy, per the outlet. Rai’s mother, Chand Kataria, said her son is thriving and growing, and predicted he could become a Capitals player himself by 2050. Vik Kataria added that the event could help Rai mature, grow and find role models in sports.
More Hockey Fights Cancer Events Still to Come
The skate is only part of the Capitals’ November slate tied to the cause. The team’s annual Hockey Fights Cancer Night, presented by Leidos, is set for Nov. 19 against the Buffalo Sabres, according to nhl.com. Leidos is expected to present the Monumental Sports & Entertainment Foundation with a $40,000 check during that game.
THE GR8 CHASE for Victory Over Cancer, Ovechkin’s fundraising campaign, has raised more than $276,000 and will establish the Alex Ovechkin GR8 Chase Pediatric Cancer Research Grant, per nhl.com. The same report notes that youth hockey goalies across Washington, D.C., Virginia and Maryland collectively raised more than $185,000 last October through a separate initiative called October Saves.
The Capitals and the NHL have run the Hockey Fights Cancer program together for more than 25 years, according to Yahoo Sports, with the team specifically skating alongside young fans battling the disease since 2017. The Capitals held a similar skate last November, bringing together children and families from the same four organizations represented this year, according to The Hockey News, which quoted Tom Wilson saying the event let players give back and see how much fun the kids were having.
