Caps Captain Clark Meets the Fans at ESPN Zone

Washington Capitals Captain Chris Clark participated in a fan Q&A at the ESPN Zone in downtown DC Tuesday evening. Radio play-by-play announcer Steve Kolbe was the emcee for the evening's festivities.

Kolbe asked Clark some "get to know you" questions, such as memories of his first NHL goal (against J.S Giguere, a player he played with in the minors), what it's like to play with Alex Ovechkin, and how he came about to wear #17, as a tribute to his big sister, a basketball player. Clark grew up a Hartford Whalers fan, but his favorite player as a youngster was Boston's Cam Neely.

Clark talked about being named captain after Jeff Halpern left the team. "It's a special honor and I still continue to try to be the best--obviously I want to be the best player I can be, but I want to be the best leader. I want to be one of those captains that guy remember later on in life, later on in their career...for the younger guys I can help them along or have advice for them."

Clark then took questions from the fans in attendance. When asked about rivals in the Southeast Division versus tradition rivals in the northeast, Clark replied that the players really feed off the electricity in games at Verizon Center when the Flyers or Penguins are in town. "The atmosphere is unbelievable. Now that we have a team where we have our fans coming to the game, the opposing team scores and they don't get a bigger ovation than we do. That's just amazing."

He also remarked that it seems that each year the Caps are battling a different team for first in the Southeast, and natural rivalries are building through competition.

He also spoke a bit about facing long-time teammate Olie Kolzig. "Really weird. It was something special to see him and to play against him."

The Captain then signed autographs and posed for pictures with all in attendance.