Cappy’s Corner

Over the years I’ve collected more than my fair share of sports cards and even landed a couple of real gems along the way! But today I received my most treasured card ever when nine year old Porter Johnson presented me with his first ever hockey card, and he even signed it! Porter is living his hockey dream each time he straps on his goaltender pads and settles in between the pipes. This was…

Today was all about inclusivity as I had the pleasure to join some of my Hockey Heals friends and share the ice with members of the Denver Mustangs program. This is a special hockey group that is designed for players (young and old) with intellectual and developmental disabilities (I/DD). I personally made it a point to talk to each of the Mustang players today. One of those was a gentle sou…

Quite a treat at Hockey Heals today as Mike “Pij” Pijanowski joined us on the ice. Mike has always had my back and over the years we have shared some amazing memories! Lots of great times but being the first two to be inked with Dawg tats takes the cake for me! There are now over 25 of us with that same tat! Mike, so glad you are part of the pack again and I can’t wait to make even more incr…

Ethan Glynn was a three sport athlete and a superstar in each. A career as a professional athlete was definitely a possibility until a faithful day in the fall of 2022. A routine tackle in a high school football game left this gifted teenager without use of his arms or legs and wondering what his new life would look like. Nobody would blame Ethan if he was angry, bitter and frustrated with l…

These are my fourth, and hopefully last, set of front teeth! The temporaries came out yesterday and these are the new and improved “real McCoys”! Here’s to all the dentists that have had to deal with yours truly. And here’s to all the folks that have smacked me in the mouth over the last 60 years! You may have won the battle, but I’ve won the war…..at least for now!

Fans of Colorado hockey have been blessed with some amazing Avalanche teams over the last thirty years. We have also been blessed with some of the best players to ever lace em’ up. In my opinion, the player that sits on the top of that list is “Super” Joe Sakic. An incredible talent that led his teams by playing the game the right way and always made those around him better. I’ve never asked hi…

I continued my tour of Colorado pond rinks today with an invite to Kevin Scriboni’s incredible rink nestled in Evergreen’s picturesque Soda Creek neighborhood. Kevin has invested over 100 hours on his rink this winter……and it shows! Dual rinks, great ice, really good hockey, and donuts!! My jersey of choice today was in honor of our DAWG Nation – St. Louis Chapter. On Friday night our hard w…

Today’s morning skate was about honoring my friend Sean “Gags” Gagnon and all of those that have bravely fought ALS. I have quite the hockey jersey collection, but the jersey that tops the list is my #18 Wagner College sweater. This one was presented to me at Sean’s celebration of life in November of 2018. Each time I slip on the Wagner #18 I have vivid memories of Sean and the conversations…

It was quite the sports weekend with the Broncs punching their ticket to the playoffs and Team USA going for the gold at the World Juniors! In between I was fortunate to sneak a ton of hockey including two daze on the pond at John Dolan’s “rink of dreams”. Saturday was really special as we hosted the Hockey Heals crew, many for their first taste of pond hockey! And today I stepped it up a no…

Ringing in 2025 was a little bittersweet as it’s the first time in our 25 plus years that Cindy and I weren’t together to ring in the new year in each other’s arms. But at the same time it set the stage for an epic “no coincidences” story that is one for the ages. Nick Fioretto is a young man that is battling t-cell leukemia and recently became a Dawg Nation recipient. In my initial meeting …

It was a full day of pond hockey, dog walking, delivering a recipient check and celebrating a remarkable young man declaring victory over cancer! The crescendo was watching Hunter “ring the bell”, but a close second was pulling off the “cool uncle” award thanks to McKenna Gehrke. After pond hockey and a quick walk with my pup, I just happened to have as Dallas Cowboy cheerleader (McKenna)…

Merry Christmas all!! Cindy and I are anxiously waiting for our clan to arrive as we celebrate another Cajun-style Christmas dinner! But before the deep-fried turkey was dropped in the oil, I was blessed to make a surprise visit to the Johnson family home. This is a bit of a miracle Christmas for this family, as this past July, Drew (husband, father) had just summited Mt. Harvard when he slippe…