ARLINGTON, V.A. — The return of Washington Capitals hockey is right around the corner.
Washington announced that it will open its training camp on Thursday, Sept. 17, where players will have their first on-ice session before taking part in media day. Alex Ovechkin, who is returning for his 22nd NHL season, turns 41 that day.
Before the start of training camp, the Capitals top prospects will be taking the ice in Annapolis for the team's annual rookie camp at McMullen Hockey Arena. Cole Hutson, Ilya Protas, Lynden Lakovic, Terik Parascak and Andrew Cristall are all set to attend the camp, among others.
Washington will open the preseason after three days of camp, hitting the road to take on the Boston Bruins on Sunday, Sept. 20.The next day, the Capitals will face the Philadelphia Flyers in another preseason showdown, this time in Hershey, Pennsylvania, home of Washington's AHL-affiliate Bears.
D.C.'s only home preseason game is on Friday, Sept. 25 against Boston, and the team will have one final preseason game on the road against Philadelphia on Saturday, Sept. 26.
From there, final cuts will be made, and the regular season will kicks off on Friday, Oct. 2, in Raleigh against the Carolina Hurricanes. D.C. will host its home opener on Wednesday, Oct. 7 against the rival Pittsburgh Penguins.
Leading up to the formal start of the 2026-27 campaign, players have been taking part in informal skates at MedStar Capitals Iceplex, where newcomers Alex Tuch, Boone Jenner and Vincent Desharnais have joined new teammates Dylan Strome, Martin Fehervary and others to gear up for the new season.
The full rookie camp roster and training camp rosters will be announced at a later date.
