Milner discusses life as Capitals practice goalie, EBUG in Q&A with NHL.com

In NHL.com's Q&A feature called "Sitting Down with …" we talk to key figures in the game, gaining insight into their lives on and off the ice. In this edition, we feature Washington Capitals practice goalie Parker Milner.

ARLINGTON, Va. -- Coming as close as he could to living his NHL dream suddenly transported Parker Milner back to his playing days in the ECHL with Logan Thompson.

Milner, the Washington Capitals practice goalie the past three seasons, was pressed into service as their emergency backup for their road game against the Anaheim Ducks on Dec. 5 when Charlie Lindgren was unavailable because of an upper-body injury. Watching Thompson from the bench that night reminded Milner of their time as teammates with the South Carolina Stingrays in 2019-20 when Thompson was at the at the start of his pro career and Milner at the end of his.

"Seeing Logan in there and thinking back to the last time I played professionally, it was me and him," Milner said. "I almost had to remind myself of that because it felt so long ago. Then, you get back into the old routine where he comes over the bench and I was like, 'Oh yeah, he used to do that.'"

Milner will watch Thompson again, but from afar, when he represents Canada at the Olympic Winter Games Milano Cortina 2026. Milner isn't sure either of them would've believed when they were ECHL teammates that Thompson would be playing in in the Olympics six years later.

"It's always hard to picture when you're in the ECHL something like that just because you are so close to it, but you also feel really far away," Milner said. "But I definitely could see the physical talent and the mental capacity to perform at a really high level. I think one of the things that you get when you play in the minors is you are tested at every step of the way, when you're tired, when you're maybe not at your best, and you have to find a way."

While Thompson is living out his Olympic dream, Milner is nearing the end of his tenure as the Capitals practice goalie. The 35-year-old Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, native plans to move back to Charleston, South Carolina, full time after this season with his wife Virginia and 6-month-old daughter Emma and focus completely on his "other" job as the food editor at The Post and Courier.

That will end the latest chapter in his hockey career that's included winning NCAA championships at Boston College in 2010 and 2012 (when he was named the Most Outstanding Player at the NCAA Frozen Four) and playing seven seasons professionally in the American Hockey League with Bridgeport (2013-14, 2015-16), Iowa (2014-15) and Hershey (2016-20) and in the ECHL with Stockton (2013-14), Quad City (2014-15), Missouri (2015-16) and South Carolina (2016-20).

Milner discussed his EBUG experience, becoming Washington's practice goalie and a food editor and more in a Q&A with NHL.com.

How did you become the Capitals practice goalie?

"I've been living in Charleston and my wife, she's a doctor, so for the residency programs, it's this whole matching thing. This was in 2022, and we were just making our list and Georgetown has an amazing program and she ended up putting it No. 1 and she got her first program. So, she's really the reason we were here, and I've always stayed in touch with (Capitals goalie coach) Scotty (Murray) because Scotty was in Hershey when I first signed with the Bears and he really helped me just get my game back in order and we stayed really close. So, I just told him kind of casually, 'I'm around if you need anyone.' …

"Then, I'll never forget, it was July 2023, I think, and I don't know why we were at the rink, but we were here for something and Scotty called while we were here and said, 'We'd love to make this happen and do you think you could make it work?'"

How would you describe the job?

"Kenny McCudden, who is by far the best skills coach I've ever encountered in my life, I kind of follow him around because really the position was they wanted more skill work for the guys to work on scoring. They want a goalie that they can just throw in there and the guys can fire it and not feel like they're going to injure their starting goalies or tear them apart with really hard situations. So, typically, I just try to get here early and when I see the first guys getting ready to go out, I go out and take what they need and, once Kenny gets out there, I usually just go in the net with him and hang out as long after practice as guys need.

"But I think what it's been really useful for is the game days. I remember this from when I was playing in the AHL, when you're the backup goalie and you're staying out there with the guys who aren't playing, if they're playing 3-on-3, you get off the ice and you're tired and then all the sudden if you have to go in that night, or even if you're playing the next day, you feel kind of crappy. So, for me to be able to stay out and do that extra work and they can just go focus and be ready for the game, I think that's huge."

Alex Ovechkin, the NHL record holder with 919 goals, usually holds back with his shot in practice to avoid the risk of injuring the goalies. What's it like to face his one-timer at full speed?

"It's hard, first of all, but reading it off his blade is really impossible. It comes off a different way, it feels like, every time, and there's just so much heat and power behind it. Not to mention that knowing who's shooting on you, it kind of plays into it. But just his ability to find a way to score in all sorts of circumstances and situations and get the puck on net in a place the goalie can't reach is really cool to see."

How did you learn that the Capitals might need you to back up for the game in Anaheim?

"I was getting off the ice (after the morning skate) and [Lindgren] had gotten off early, but I didn't even notice because Kenny was peppering me down at the other end. Then, one of the equipment guys slid (game) socks into my stall and I was like, 'Do you know something I don't know?' And he was like, 'Well, maybe.' Then, I saw [Lindgren] and I was like, 'Oh wow. He's in a tough spot right now.' But it wasn't as simple as, 'All right, I'm here. I'll be the backup,' because of the rules and regulations and everything. So, they told me they were going to work on it and see what they could do and maybe around 2:30, 3 p.m. I found out and by that point you're pretty much going to the rink and getting ready to warm up and everything."

Was it a dream come true, even though you didn't play?

"Definitely. That moment was kind of the culmination of the past three years being a dream come true. It's not the same, obviously, as playing a game or winning a game at this level, but hockey has given more than I could have ever asked for and to retire for three or four years and to start doing this and to have that happen was kind of just the cherry on top."

Were the NCAA championships at Boston College the highlight of your playing career?

"I would say the BC time was probably the highlight. My junior year in 2012 we went on a 19-game winning streak and ended up winning the national championship. When I look back on my career, that kind of felt like the culmination. Just some of the guys I got to play with, too, from Cam Atkinson to Jimmy and Kevin Hayes, Brian Dumoulin, Johnny Gaudreau. Then, there's all these little moments scattered throughout and the pro stuff, like my first AHL win in Utica was really special, I got to dress in a preseason game behind Evgeni Nabokov at Barclays Center. My first game in Hershey, kind of seeing the crowd there and experiencing that as well, is something that always stands out."

How did you get started writing about food?

"I guess it would've been my first or second year in Charleston. I'd always been interested in food, and it was kind of something that would pass the time while I was away from the rink, but I would kind of just do it for myself and I would write a little bit. Then, there was a position open with Eater Carolinas, which is this is on-line blog, and I applied for it and got lucky and somehow ended up getting it. I think the first story I wrote was about places to go eat and drink while you're watching a football game. It was kind of stuff like that at the start and then I just continued doing it. I would, obviously, get some crap from the guys. They'd always ask me if I was reviewing the pizza on the bus, just stupid jokes.

"But I feel like I got better and better at it and it turned into this nice little kind of side job thing. Not that I was making [much]. I remember one of the places I'd write for we'd get eight cents a word. But it felt good to be doing something away from the rink and, hopefully, kind of contributing to maybe a life after hockey."

That's exactly what happened.

"Yeah. My last year, which was 2020, I had already kind of decided this was going to be it, and I accepted the job that I eventually took, which was with the Charleston City Paper. So, when the season was canceled (because of the COVID-19 pandemic), I kind of started doing it right away. I did that job for like a year and a half and then my current job came up and, as far as food jobs, it was pretty big one. I didn't think I had a shot at it because I had very little experience, but they had done a national search, and they hadn't really found anyone. Actually, the sports reporter, his name was Andrew Miller, he'd cover me while I was on the Stingrays, he reached out and was like, 'Hey, would you be interested?'

"I think they thought it was interesting that I was a former hockey player who was doing this. But it kind of gave me a chance and it's been a really great place to work and fun to kind of make it my own. I get to choose which restaurants we focus on and the direction of the food section. I also get to do more newsy investigative stuff and longer projects when I want."

Why is this your final season as the Capitals practice goalie?

"It's because my wife matched back in Charleston (for her fellowship). So, we just got a house there. She put Charleston No. 1 and D.C. No. 2. We honestly didn't know what we wanted for while, but we have a lot of family down there. So, we're able to settle down finally."

So, your days of being a goalie on the side are over?

"Yeah, unless the Stingrays need me, which I'm sure they will, for practice or something."