ARLINGTON, V.A. — Dylan Strome wanted to stress just how much dedication and work he put into his Halloween costume for the Washington Capitals annual party.
After scoring the game-winning goal in Washington's 4-2 victory over the New Jersey Devils, Strome got home and got to work on his costume. He and his wife, Tayler, were set to be Ken and Barbie, and Strome, fully committed to the part, let his wife bleach the tips of his hair blonde.
"Nice chance to go blonde again for a little bit," Strome smiled. "The reaction today (at practice) was, 'Oh, it's still actually blonde...' she tried to do just the tips, but she got a little carried away."
Dylan Strome as "Ken." Instagram/Tayler Strome)
Then, slyly, he noted, "No one else put this much effort in."
That said, the costumes at the Capitals' annual Halloween party went above and beyond, as players teamed up for costumes with their wives and teammates. There was plenty of variety, too.
A group of six Capitals and wives dressed up as characters from the classic board game "Clue," with Charlie Lindgren as Colonel Mustard, Matt Roy as Mr. Green and Dylan McIlrath as Professor Plum.
"They nailed it, it was incredible," Alex Tuch said.
Some other teammates also teamed up for costumes; Alex Ovechkin and his wife, Nastya, were a beer stein and beergarden server, Boone Jenner and Ethen Frank were the "Men in Black" with their wives and girlfriends, Timothy Liljegren and Rasmus Sandin were members of the Swedish band ABBA with their girlfriends and then, Vincent Desharnais and Cole Hutson teamed up for a costume together in the spirit of their new-found friendship and bond as defnesive partners.
The two knew they wanted to match, but weren't sure what they wanted to be. Hutson then went to the Halloween store and decided on "DoodleBob," a character from "Spongebob Squarepants," and FaceTimed Desharnais for plans to match. Desharnais would dress as Patrick and find a costume on Amazon — albeit a bit short.
"He was pretty juiced about it," Hutson said of the two matching, adding, "We're the only single guys there, so it was fun."
Other players dressed up with their significant others to complete their costumes.
Ryan Leonard played off one of his favorite movies, Pitch Perfect, and dressed up as a Barden Treblemaker while his girlfriend was a Barden Bella. However, they hit a snag in the planning when the stickers he ordered to complete the costumes never arrived.
"I kind of ordered them off a sketchy website," he laughed.
Wilson dressed up as Tom Hanks' character, Chuck Noland, and Taylor was his companion, the volleyball "Wilson," to announce that they were expecting their second child.
Other couple costumes included Martin Fehervary and his wife as vintage "Baywatch" characters, Anthony Beauvillier and his wife as Walter White and Jesse from Breaking Bad, Aliaksei Protas and his wife as Freddy Krueger and Jordan Kyrou and his girlfriend as Anakin Skywalkder and Padme. Tuch and his wife were Mr. and Mrs. Smith.
"You get to kind of just spend good, quality fun time as a team, and all the wives and the girlfriends are there too," Leonard said. "We all had a lot of fun, and we really get to see everyone's sides of themselves on that type of night."
Additionally, Logan Thompson and Ilya Protas were "Puss in Boots" and a viking, respectively, with Thompson having found a giant inflatable custom costume. There were then two Lord Farquaads and Princess Fionas to close out the festivities, as Ivan Miroshnichenko and Jonny Brodzinski had matching costumes from the movie "Shrek."
Ultimately, though, beyond the costumes, it was a chance for the team to bond as the locker room continues to grow closer together.
"You're in it with the guys on and off the ice... it builds that team camaraderie. It's not just about guys in this locker room," Tuch said. "It's the full extension of your family, coaching staff, management, trainers, getting everybody involved in a way that's not just about the product of the ice helps build that winning culture."
