Back in the 1980s and into the 1990s, the Capitals held an annual stick giveaway after a game. They handed out Mylec sticks, with signatures of that year’s team printed on them. I remember this happening every Jan. 1, for kids under 16.
I can’t say for sure how many kids suddenly took up hockey as a result of this giveaway, but it certainly got my friends and I playing. We’d organize big trips to those Jan. 1 games, then play street hockey so much that we’d wear out the blades.
With area ice hockey still being a very inconvenient sport to play locally at the time, Rollerblades became more popular in the early 90s, leading young hockey enthusiasts to play on tennis courts, still using Mylec sticks.