The former Capitals forward discusses the start of a pivotal time for the organization.
"D.C.! Are you ready to rock?" Washington Capitals captain Alex Ovechkin asked fans as he stood on a stage in front of his band of teammates 17 years ago.
Ovechkin, along with Brooks Laich, Mike Green, Jose Theodore, Alex Semin and more, were all in the Capitals' "Rock The Red" music video that opened games during the 2008-09 season.
Featuring hair gel, eye liner and instruments aplenty, Ovechkin was the lead singer, backed by Laich and Theodore on guitar and Green on drums. Donald Brashear, rightfully, was the band's security guard.
"I was the only one that actually played music," Laich recalled with a laugh. "I played guitar, and Mike Green played a little bit of drums. We lived in the same apartment building and sometimes we would play together... The video made it look like the rest of us could."
Laich said that he and his former Capitals teammates will still go back and watch it with a smile, and it was a good inside look at just how much fun that room had and how tight-knit the team was back then.
"Each guy was so unique and so different, we had so much fun off ice together... as much fun as we had on the ice, I'd probably say we had more fun off the ice," Laich said. "The camaraderie was amazing."
"My personal growth, it was because we were all different... all o fit was a wonderful mix of the whole thing that there were so many good times spent with wonderful people and it's so fun now to look and see Mike be a father of three, Alex have kids and see how his kids come to games still, to see the growth and development of people from young boys playing a sport to now men and fathers and husbands and being part of their journey all through it has been so enjoyable."
The Hockey News' full episode with Brooks Laich comes out Monday, May 4.