Washington Capitals forward Ethen Frank got to see himself at The Hockey Hall of Fame this weekend, visiting a piece of his gear that's forever enshrined at the museum in Ontario.
Frank, in a visit to Toronto, was at the HHOF when he caught a glimpse of his skates as part of a display at the museum.
His skates that he wore during the 2023 AHL All-Star Skills Competition are featured at the Hall for good reason: they're the same pair he wore when he broke the all-time Fastest Skater record with a 12.915 second lap. He remains the only professional hockey player in history to break the 13-second barrier in the event across all levels.
"I've seen these skates before," Frank joked in his Instagram story.
The 28-year-old has since become a regular on the Capitals roster, and this past season, earned himself a full-time spot up at the NHL level while securing a two-year contract extension.
All the while, he remains among the fastest players in the league. His max skating speed of 23.52 miles per hour this past season ranked in the 95th percentile among all NHLers, while his 30 speed bursts of at least 22 MPH ranked in the 99th percentile and his 20-22 MPH speed bursts ranked in the 98th percentile league-wide.
Frank said that his speed comes from his background in roller hockey — he originally wasn't interested in playing ice hockey at all — as well as having to compensate when playing against older players and being on a U16 team at age 14. He also credited his coach David Wilkie.
"Those guys are quite a bit through puberty and bigger and faster and stronger, so I had to figure out a way to be as fast as those guys," Frank said. "We did a ton of skating back then, I can't even begin to think about the skating we did. Obviously got to give him some credit; he pushed me to a whole new level."
