They walk among us — crossing our streets, shopping in our malls and dining in our restaurants. Only you may not have noticed them, because they tend to look very much like we do, blending innocently into the crowds.
Take this guy at Mancini’s in Del Ray, downing a bowl of chili and munching on a sandwich at a corner table. Hooded sweatshirt, two-day stubble; looking like a hard-working grad student or an average Joe recovering after working the night shift.
Actually, Brian Pothier works a lot of nights during the winter: In Edmonton, in Tampa Bay, in Madison Square Garden, but most often in that big arena on F Street over in D.C. His boss is some guy named Leonsis; his co-workers have names like Ovechkin and Kolzig.
Pothier, 29, is a defenseman for the Washington Capitals, and like an increasing number of his teammates, he calls Northern Virginia home. He’s one of several Caps that live in Alexandria, as his wife and two boys purchased a house in the Rosemont area when Pothier signed as a free agent with Washington in the off-season. It’s only a half-mile away from Mancini’s on Mount Vernon Ave., a café that the New Bedford, Mass. native has made his favorite local spot for a hearty breakfast.
“I grew up in the Boston area. Everything is like ‘mom and pop.’ There are no chains — you’d never go to IHOP for breakfast. This place reminds me of that. It’s fun, it’s cozy, the people are great, unbelievable food,” he said. “This is a pretty edgy little city. More on the liberal side of things. Pretty hip little town, especially the Del Ray area.”
SEVERAL OF Pothier’s teammates call Alexandria home. Winger Matt Pettinger lives near the waterfront. Captain Chris Clark and his family also live in town. Winger Richard Zednick and defenseman Bryan Muir are among the other Capitals living locally.
“The older guys like it here,” said Pothier.
Some of the younger guys, like star winger Alex Ovechkin, have gravitated to Arlington, close to the team’s practice facility atop the Ballston Mall. “I think it’s just different places in life. If you’re a young kid, you go out and be right there in the mix of everything,” said Pothier. “When you’re older, you just want some space. In the game of hockey, you’re an old man [at 29].”
The young players were always attracted to Arlington and the District, but the veterans — especially those with families — used to cluster around the team’s former training facility in Odenton, Md. With the Capitals moving their base of operations to the Kettler IcePlex in Ballston last year, those families are now setting roots in places like Alexandria — something Capitals owner Ted Leonsis feels is critical in building the team’s fan base. “People see them, they relate to them, their families are here,” he said, standing near the Capitals locker room after a recent victory at Verizon Center. “I think the Ballston rink here is starting to help. It’s working.”
Of course, Alexandria and Arlington aren’t Toronto and Montreal. The Capitals players, for the most part, are able to go about their lives without a cult of celebrity surrounding them.
“I think Alex gets recognized,” said Leonsis, pointing to Ovechkin as the Russian superstar stood in the locker room doorway, clad in a towel around his waist and another around his shoulders. “And if he dressed like that, he’ll certainly get recognized.”
BUGSY’S PIZZA AND Sports Bar on King Street has long been an oasis in an otherwise arid sports landscape for local hockey fans. Owned by Bryan “Bugsy” Watson, a 17-year National Hockey League veteran and former Washington Capitals defenseman, the second-floor bar is covered in hockey memorabilia and televisions tuned to rinks around the nation every night of the season.
Naturally, it’s also become a hangout for local Capitals players. On a recent weekday afternoon, a bartender points over to a table of several diners and identifies Capitals goalie Brent Johnson among the pack.
“They were even able to come here after their game to watch the Super Bowl,” Watson said.
But Bugsy’s is the exception to the sports rule in the D.C. area, which is that hockey can sometimes be an afterthought in the pecking order of media and fans. It’s something Pothier says he and his teammates are keenly aware of.
“I [played in] Canada. It’s crazy. I think I had one extreme and the other, because I also played in Atlanta,” said Pothier, who signed with the Capitals after playing for the Ottawa Senators. “We know the pecking order. We know it’s Redskins and then the Wizards, and we fall in there with the Nationals and every college team in the area.”
That’s one reason the Capitals have made a commitment to Northern Virginia — with their practice facility, with their families, and with their charity work. Last week, the team co-hosted a “Tees for Tots” event at TopGolf on S. Van Dorn Street in Alexandria. The benefit, in which fans’ donations earned them a two golf games with players and media celebrities, raised $12,000 for The Children’s Inn at NIH
It’s all part of the Capitals becoming a part of their community. “We want to build our fan base,” said Pothier. “There are a lot of young kids who come to the games, and that’s encouraging."