Capitals' Niskanen returns home where he was once a 3-sport machine
Matt Niskanen has been one of the most reliable defenders on the Washington Capitals' back end, but he used to be relied on to do more than just play hockey.
Niskanen will return to his home state on Thursday to play the Minnesota Wild, where back in high school he was a true multi-sport athlete.
The veteran blueliner played for his school's hockey team, but he was also quarterback and linebacker for his football team, in addition to being a pitcher and outfielder for the baseball team.
Playing for Virginia/Mountain Iron-Buhl high school, Niskanen did it all, and did it very well. He helped the football team reach the state tournament, his hockey team make the state tournament for the first time and in his senior year was in the top-10 in the state in hits and RBIs for the baseball team.
“It wasn’t like playing high school football in Texas,” Niskanen told Comcast Sportsnet Washington's Chuck Gormley. “Our baseball season lasted about a month because of the weather. But we had good high school teams.”
Luckily, Niskanen decided to stick to the ice rather than the field. The 28-year-old has three goals and 23 points in 71 games.
The Caps and Wild both hold Wild Card spots in their respective conferences and will be hoping to cement those positions.