Hathaway Launches Beer For Hath’s Heroes; Hagelin, Holtby, Capitals Attend

WASHINGTON, D.C. — In the middle of Other Half Brewing in Northeast D.C., Washington Capitals forward Garnet Hathaway picks up his new IPA, showing it off with a smile as his current and former teammates try out “Hath’s Hazy,” his new beer that launched on Monday to support “Hath’s Heroes.”

After a rigorous morning at the rink, Hathaway made it to Ivy City on Monday for his official launch party while also holding a live and silent auction and an overall fun night for fans, all to support first responders. Thousands of dollars and all the proceeds went to support Hath’s Heroes, which gives back to first responders.

Nic Dowd, Conor Sheary, Trevor van Riemsdyk, Carl Hagelin, Charlie Lindgren, Matt Irwin, Braden Holtby and Karl Alzner also came out to promote the cause. In addition, several of Hathaway’s teammates donated items for the auction, including an autographed Alex Ovechkin stick, John Carlson’s game-used gloves and a Capitals sweater signed by the team.

Personalities Joe Beninati and Craig Laughlin were also there to help host the festivities, along with John Walton.

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Hathaway launched Hath’s Heroes when he first signed with Washington in 2019. He grew up hearing stories about his great-grandfather and namesake, Garnet Mcelroy, who was a Winnipeg firefighter. That, as well as former Calgary Flames teammates Mark Giordano and Michael Backlund, served as the inspiration behind his initiative, which has helped hundreds of first responders.

“When it comes to D.C., you realize that those people putting themselves in danger every day to keep us safe do it willingly,” Hathaway explained. “And they know the dangers behind it… a lot of hard hours go into it. To be able to be certified, capable, willing, sacrificing their time with their family, sacrificing their own safety to be able to keep us safe day in and day out.

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“They’re the same people that live on your street or live right around the corner, take their kids to sports,” he added. “They have their family, even sometimes another job and then volunteering. It’s really incredible, and that was one thing that I had the opportunity to give back,” Hathaway said. “We have the platform to do it and support from the Capitals. That’s why we started Hath’s Heroes. And like you said, it’s grown. I’ve learned a lot, I’ve met a lot of amazing people. It’s continued to grow and kind of pivot throughout the years.”