ARLINGTON, VA — When Matt and Dylan Strome were last on the same roster, the siblings were chasing a Mini Stanley Cup in their hometown.
That year Dylan, then six, had carried the squad as its top scorer for most of the campaign. Yet it was Matt, only four, who seized the spotlight in the deciding contest. The tale has remained vivid for both even into adulthood, helped along by Matt's steady stream of reminders.
By Dylan's account, Matt never put up more goals than him across that whole season, except in the title game, which they took 6-2 — Matt netting four and Dylan two. He admitted his brother never lets him forget it.
Matt offered his own version Thursday morning, recalling that every rival had spent the year warning one another about Dylan. Come the finals, he said, the opposition assigned a pair of players to follow his brother. Matt then buried four that night to Dylan's two, a result he refuses to let his brother forget.
Now, with over 20 years elapsed, the pair finally get to reunite on the rink. The siblings are slated to dress Thursday evening in Pennsylvania's Hershey for Washington's second exhibition tilt, lining up beside the Protas duo, Ilya and Aliaksei, in a matchup loaded with brothers.
Matt called the occasion meaningful. Even though it is only the preseason, he said, suiting up in the same colors as his brother is a goal he has chased for ages. Getting that opportunity within an organization that has meant so much to both Dyl and himself, he added, felt almost unreal.
The Strome home in Mississauga, Ontario, stayed lively as Matt, Dylan, and their oldest brother, Ryan, came of age there. Being the nearest in years, the two younger ones were perpetually tangling, their surplus energy either erupting into squabbles or turning into games that sharpened each other's abilities.
Dylan laughed about all the scrapping. Three boys, he noted, guaranteed plenty of it. Ryan, his senior by four years and Matt's by six, butted heads less with either of them. The genuine day-to-day clashes, he said, came between him and Matt — something he figured their folks would back up. The pair were always at it, he recalled, be it roller hockey, ministicks, or a street-hockey game.
All three would eventually become pros, yet their paths split dramatically. Drafted fifth overall back in 2011, Ryan has suited up for four clubs over a dozen NHL seasons and wears an "A" these days in Anaheim. Dylan, the third-overall choice in 2015, paced the Capitals offensively across the 2024-25 schedule and has played the middle between two of the sport's brightest talents, Patrick Kane and Alex Ovechkin.
Matt was a draftee too, claimed by Philadelphia during the fourth round that year of 2017, though he hasn't yet reached the top tier and has logged his last half-dozen campaigns at the minor-league level. Coming aboard Washington's franchise in 2022, he inked a Hershey deal in the AHL roughly a month behind his brother's signing with the Caps, and he has settled in as a steady forward on the checking line.
Even without his brothers' draft pedigree, Matt figures to draw the warmest reception when the team rolls into Hershey. He etched his name in franchise lore three summers ago, on the 24th of June in 2024, burying one of the club's most unforgettable recent goals — the OT marker in the sixth game that clinched the Calder Cup over Coachella Valley.
Dylan, who didn't make the journey to Hershey for that contest, still kicks himself over skipping it.
He recalled how livid he was about not being on hand, explaining that he and Ryan had planned to travel down for a possible Game 7. Dylan said he had even forecast in advance that Matt carries a knack for clutch moments — recalling that his brother once netted the championship-winner at the OHL Cup, the top tournament in youth hockey, and later the overtime goal to seal it. As it happened, on an early shift during the third extra frame, Matt delivered. The family sprang up, hollering and shouting, in what Dylan termed an awesome, proud-brother scene.
Since that night, Matt has evolved into what his brother labeled a "Hershey legend," carving out a steadier place on the lineup, dressing for no fewer than 50 contests in both of the most recent seasons. He posted 22 points through 59 games during 2024-25 — nine tallies and 13 helpers — then added three more assists across eight playoff appearances.
Although Matt has reported to DC's training camp annually since 2022, Thursday will be his very first preseason appearance. The news left him barely able to keep his composure.
Matt recounted that John Carlson came up to him first, kidding around that he and Dyl would be lining up together, after which bench boss Spencer Carbery approached at the first practice and told him to summon his father to Hershey. He described being thrilled and unable to wait until he stepped off to phone his parents with the update.
Apart from skating beside his sibling, Matt was just as keen to represent Washington in Hershey, pulling on a big-league sweater before the supporters who have backed him throughout his Bears tenure.
He hailed them as the top crowd anywhere in the AHL, noting that bringing an exhibition contest their way — and reconnecting with familiar faces both former and future — carried real meaning.
Away from the rink, the night promised to double as a clan gathering, with the boys' folks — Trish and Chris — looking on from inside Giant Center. Also planning to attend was the billet family that took Matt in during his OHL days with the Hamilton Bulldogs.
It was no easy trip for the elder Stromes to pull off. Chris was barely two weeks past a knee replacement and didn't know until nearly the final moment whether physicians would sign off on him making the journey in time, yet both of his sons insisted on having him present.
Matt said his father had gone back and forth in recent days over making the trip, yet he and Dyl assured him that missing this was simply not an option. So the parents hit the road the day before, are bunking at Matt's place in Hershey, and intend to catch the game before driving home the following day.
Though the sibling angle dominated the conversation, Dylan was sure to acknowledge his kid brother's individual journey. The Thursday tilt would serve as Matt's exhibition debut a full eight years on from when he was selected, a meaningful milestone for a career mostly lived outside the limelight. Getting to celebrate it alongside family made it that much sweeter.
By Dylan's words, he doesn't take this renewed opportunity for granted, citing the grind his brother endured to arrive here and the fact that he had never once dressed for an exhibition contest — a rarity, he noted, for someone in his seventh professional season.
Dylan described it as unusual and truly special, a memory he expects to keep for years, and said he could hardly wait.
The Washington-Philadelphia matchup was scheduled to begin at 7 pm.