Washington Capitals’ TJ Oshie reflects on winning the Stanley Cup
Washington Capitals right winger TJ Oshie is still riding the high of winning the Stanley Cup last year.
The Washington Capitals finally got over the hump and won the franchise’s first every Stanley Cup last season. Led by All-Star captain Alex Ovechkin, the Capitals dismantled the Vegas Golden Knights in five games. For TJ Oshie, the difference between last year’s Stanley Cup-winning Capitals team and teams from years past was preparation and tuning out what outsiders were saying.
“There were times in big moments where we fell flat. It didn’t feel like a curse, it felt like we weren’t prepared or mature enough to to take that next step,” Oshie said. “Last year we stopped caring what was being said, and it ended up getting us a championship.”
When it was Oshie’s turn to have the Stanley Cup for a day, he took it to the place responsible for his hockey career, Warroad, Minnesota, also known as “Hockeytown, USA.” Located just six miles away from the Canadian border, Warroad is known for producing elite-level hockey players, and after moving to Minnesota early in his high school career, Oshie quickly became a star.
“The doors it opened being in Warroad, getting seen by University of North Dakota, and being at a big hockey school getting seen by a lot of NHL teams there. It paved my way to the NHL,” Oshie said.
Oshie, who is working with M&M’s to give Capitals fans the chance at a meet-and-greet with him, admits he probably would’ve made it to the NHL if his family didn’t move to Warroad, but the deep-rooted history of hockey in that town only amplified his talents.
Winning the Stanley Cup was a huge milestone for Oshie, but now the focus shifts toward defending the title he helped win for the Capitals. Washington is 3-2-1 at the start of the NHL season, and currently in third place in the Metropolitan division. However, counting out the defending champions wouldn’t be wise.
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“We got a lot of our pieces back, we lost some good people but I think we know what it takes to get the job done,” Oshie said. “Anything but a Stanley Cup and I think we’re selling ourselves a little short.”