The Washington Capitals signed goaltender Parker Milner, a native of Mt. Lebanon, to a professional tryout contract and dressed him as their backup for a road contest against the Anaheim Ducks on Friday.
With goaltender Charlie Lindgren sidelined by an undisclosed injury, the Capitals were unable to recall a reserve goaltender from their American Hockey League affiliate, the Hershey Bears, in time for the game at the Honda Center in Anaheim, Calif.
Milner’s tryout will presumably come to an end once Lindgren is healthy or a goaltender signed to a full-time contract is able to be summoned to the Capitals’ NHL roster.
Prior to warmups Friday, the 35-year-old Milner was allowed to take a “rookie lap,” a tradition normally afforded to younger players about to make their NHL debuts.
At age 35, Parker Milner gets his NHL rookie lap. Outstanding! pic.twitter.com/RzdAzQwnHj
— John Walton (@JohnWaltonPxP) December 6, 2025
Undrafted, Milner serves as a part-time practice goaltender for the Capitals and occasionally travels with the team. He has a full-time job as food editor with the Post and Courier newspaper in Charleston, S.C.
Practice goaltenders typically work on the ice with forwards and defensemen to prevent a team’s full-time goaltenders from getting overtaxed in between games.
Milner, 35, has professional experience, having spent seven seasons in the AHL and ECHL levels between 2013 and 2020. His most recent professional games came while skating in a three-on-three league, 3ICE, during the 2023 season.
Before his professional career, Milner played at the high school level for Mt. Lebanon and with the Pittsburgh Hornets youth program. At the NCAA level, he spent four seasons with Boston College and helped that school win national titles in 2010 and 2012.
