Ken Brasington’s Washington Nationals cap has been through hell and back with him. It’s seen 33 countries, four IEDs and two combat zones, according to the 38-year-old Marine Corps veteran. So, when his hat was thrown onto the ice by a joyous Washington Capitals fan celebrating Alex Ovechkin’s hat trick and lead-grabbing goal against the Carolina Hurricanes in Raleigh on Dec. 14, Brasington was distraught.

“I thought, ‘Oh my God, there it goes,’” Brasington told The Washington Post. “I just watched it on the ice.”

Immediately following the game, Brasington talked with a Hurricanes employee about getting his hat back, but was told it would be impossible. However, he didn’t give up.

The next day, he contacted the Capitals beat reporter from the Washington Post, Isabelle Khurshudyan, who then sent an email to Pace Sagester, the Hurricanes’ manager of communications. From there, the team’s communications department called the ice crew to see if that hats that were thrown were still available (many teams donate them to charity). Lucky for Brasington, they were.

So, Sagester and a colleague went to the stadium before practice to search through the bag.

“There was a good amount of hats in the bag, but his hat was right on top,” Sagester told the Post. “From the way that he had described it to us, we pretty much knew right away that that was the hat. We dug through a couple other hats just to make sure, but that was pretty much the only Nats hat. It’s super beat up; the bill has, like, chunks missing out of it. It’s almost pink it’s so faded. It’s not something I would want to put on my head, but it’s special to him.”

The Hurricanes mailed the hat back to Brasington, and also included another gift: A brand new Hurricanes cap.

“We’re certainly glad we could do that for him,” Sagester said. “Obviously, we would do that for anyone, but the fact that he did serve and that was a hat that was special to him because it had been with him in Iraq and Afghanistan, we knew that we needed to do anything we could to get him that hat back . . . I assume that he’s a Capitals fan, but hopefully after this experience, we can convert him.”

 

Photo: Ken Brasington

 

With a story like that, it’s no wonder Brasington is considering a shadow box for it.