Connor McMichael's mom shares throwback picture for son's debut originally appeared on NBC Sports Washington
The only person perhaps more excited for Connor McMichael's NHL debut than McMichael himself was his mom, Catherine.
With fans still unable to attend games in Capital One Arena, she wasn't there to see her son realize one of his biggest dreams in person. But she's already had the pleasure of seeing him don the Caps uniform.
Before McMichael took the ice against the Buffalo Sabres, she shared a photo on social media that captured perfectly what this day means to McMichael and his family, throwing it back to one Halloween when he dressed up as a Capital.
Unbeknownst to young Connor, he simply went as his 20-year-old self that year wearing an Alex Ovechkin Capitals jersey for the holiday. Given the jersey had the captain's "C" on it, the picture had to have been after 2010. That was the year Washington gave Ovechkin the captaincy.
If that seems improbable, remember McMichael was born Jan. 15, 2001. He didn't turn nine years old until 10 days after Ovechkin was named captain.
With Tom Wilson unavailable due to a lower-body injury, head coach Peter Laviolette called on the 2019 first-round draft pick to fill in as the Caps looked to make it back-to-back victories over Buffalo.
Regardless of his performance, it was a surreal day for the McMichael family and his mom is clearly doing her best to take it all in from their Ontario home.
She continued to share her pride via Twitter, sharing the video of McMichael's pregame solo skate customary for NHL debutants.
Nerves might have been running high for McMichael ahead of the game, but knowing how proud he's made his mom hopefully eased them just a bit.
