Trying Out for a Part He Would Love to Play

Actors' Son Works Out With Capitals

As much as Wyatt Russell would like to be just another one of the guys in the locker room, he can't. Even with his goaltender's mask pulled over his face, and his body concealed by 30 pounds of equipment, he's the player fans in the crowd are whispering about.

Russell is the son of actors Kurt Russell and Goldie Hawn. And thanks to the glamour associated with his last name, and the golf course friendship between his father and Capitals Coach Glen Hanlon, Russell, 18, finds himself in suburban Washington this week, participating in the Washington Capitals' annual developmental camp at their Piney Orchard practice rink.

Hanlon said he invited Russell to the camp earlier this summer while playing golf on Vancouver Island with Russell's father, who recently played Herb Brooks, coach of the gold medal-winning U.S. Olympic hockey team in 1980, in "Miracle." Their conversation turned to sports, then to hockey, then to Wyatt, who wants to someday play in the NHL.

"When you're in my position, you can sometimes do some people some favors," Hanlon said. "And this was one of them."

Russell is not considered a professional prospect. He was not selected in June's NHL entry draft and his credentials -- he plays for the Junior A Coquitlam Express in British Columbia -- are not the kind that normally earn a player a trip to an NHL camp.

But Hanlon said the Capitals needed a fourth goaltender at camp this week -- and Russell was available.

"I'm not here to make the team," said Russell, who stands 6 feet 1, weighs 170 pounds and shares his parents' good looks. "I'm here to look at what I have to do to progress. Last year, I proved that I can win [at the junior level]. I just need to keep progressing."

Russell's presence already has paid off for the Capitals in one respect. It has created a minor buzz among diehard fans following a dismal 2003-04 season during which there was little to cheer about. The front office traded most of the team's best players and many believe the NHL's labor woes will wipe out some or all of the coming season. Local television crews have lined up to interview Russell outside the Capitals' locker room this week.

It's not uncommon for NHL teams to fill out developmental camp rosters with local standouts and special invitees. In fact, the Capitals have several players in camp who are not affiliated with the organization, including Kyle Laughlin, the son of Capitals' television color commentator Craig Laughlin, and Garrett Roe, a promising 16-year-old from Vienna.

"Whenever you have room, you like to bring guys in," General Manager George McPhee said.

Russell comes from a family of professional athletes. His grandfather and father played professional baseball. And Kurt Russell's nephew, Matt Franco, spent several years in the major leagues. Wyatt Russell tried baseball, but gave it up after Little League because, he said, "it was too slow."

All it took to get him hooked on hockey was a trip to an ice rink when he was 3 years old.

"I didn't want to leave," Russell said. "My dad put me in a league in Los Angeles when I was four. I played mini-mites, and from there I just loved it. I started playing goal when I was seven because I figured the other team couldn't win if they didn't score. And I love winning. I wanted to be the one to stop [scoring chances]."

About two years ago, Russell advanced as far as a youth hockey player could in Los Angeles, where he played for the Jr. Kings, an elite travel club. To take the next step he had to move north.