Hayley Scamurra is Buffalo born and raised, but her family story, and a portion of her own hockey story, have roots in Washington, DC. The Montreal Victoire forward reflected on those ahead of the PWHL's Takeover Tour stop in Washington.
Hayley Scamurra is Buffalo born, but her family's story goes back to Washington, DC. Scamurra has deep ties to the nation's capital, both in her role in growing the women's game, and to her family story. It's why the American Olympian is excited to return to Washington on the PWHL Takeover Tour.
For the Scamurra family, their ties to Washington go back half a century. Her father, Peter Scamurra, was drafted 19th overall by the NHL's Washington Capitals in 1975. He made his NHL debut soon after playing 58 games for the Capitals in the 1975-76 season. He'd spend four seasons with Washington, playing his last NHL season in 1979-80.
It was while Peter Scamurra was playing for the Capitals that he met Hayley's mother Rebecca, a Maryland product. When asked about the importance of the Washington area to her life ahead of the PWHL Takeover Tour visit to the market, Scamurra, a forward with the Montreal Victoire, shared this portion of her life with media.
"It's so important in my world, honestly," said Hayley Scamurra. It's how my parents met, actually. It's when he played for the Capitals, because my mom is from the Maryland area, and it's kind of funny to think back on that, and then to kind of be able to share that we both have played professional hockey in the Washington, D.C. area means the world to me."
Not only does Washington hold family significance for Scamurra, but she also worked with the NHL's Washington Capitals, helping to grow women's and girls' hockey. She knows the passion of hockey fans in the area. It includes growth through learn to skate programs, and the Capitals' ALL CAPS ALL HER program.
Scamurra knows the work that goes into PWHL Takeover Tour stops, and knows everyone in Washington is working non-stop to make the event special for players and fans.
"I know a lot of the people who are kind of doing the behind-the-scenes work with the organization for our game, and I just know how excited they are," Scamurra said. 'They've been talking about it non-stop, and I know they're trying to make it extra special for us in a lot of different ways when we get there, and I'm excited for everyone to kind of see the hard work they've put in to show how excited they are for women's hockey in the DC area."
Growing up, Scamurra recalls that girls' hockey wasn't the norm, or even available in many areas for youth in the United States. Now, organizations like the Washington Pride, Arlington Youth Hockey, Montgomery Youth Hockey and others all have dedicated girls teams, or girls only organizations.
"Growing up as a kid, no one knew what hockey was," said Scamurra. "Now to see so many girls playing hockey there, there's dedicated girls teams at the Caps organization and things like that, so the growth has been immense."
The Montreal Victoire will face the New York Sirens January 18 at Capital One Arena in Washington, DC.