{"id":333094,"date":"2025-12-06T01:56:07","date_gmt":"2025-12-06T01:56:07","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/333094\/"},"modified":"2025-12-06T01:56:07","modified_gmt":"2025-12-06T01:56:07","slug":"retired-stingrays-goaltender-and-food-critic-parker-milner-to-serve-as-emergency-backup-to-logan-thompson-with-charlie-lindgren-out-injured-against-ducks","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/333094\/","title":{"rendered":"Retired Stingrays goaltender and food critic Parker Milner to serve as emergency backup to Logan Thompson with Charlie Lindgren out injured against Ducks"},"content":{"rendered":"

The Washington Capitals will have a new face on the bench when they wrap up their West Coast road trip against the Anaheim Ducks.<\/p>\n

Regular backup Charlie Lindgren will be unavailable due to an upper-body injury, the Caps announced Friday afternoon, so the team has signed former South Carolina Stingrays goaltender and current food critic Parker Milner to a professional tryout deal. He will back up Logan Thompson against the Ducks on Friday night, per the Caps.<\/p>\n

#Caps<\/a> goaltender Charlie Lindgren (upper body) will not dress for tonight\u2019s game in Anaheim. As a result, the #Caps<\/a> have signed goaltender Parker Milner to a professional tryout agreement to serve as backup to Logan Thompson.<\/p>\n

\u2014 Capitals PR (@CapitalsPR) December 5, 2025<\/a><\/p>\n

While Milner never made the NHL, he has plenty of history with both the team and his new goaltending partner. He spent four of his seven professional seasons with the Capitals organization, playing for both the ECHL\u2019s Stingrays and the AHL\u2019s Hershey Bears between 2016 and 2020, even playing on a tandem with Logan Thompson during his final season in South Carolina.<\/p>\n

Spencer Carbery also coached Milner for four AHL games during his tenure as Bears head coach during the 2018-19 and 2019-20 seasons. His final AHL start was a 19-save shutout against the Lehigh Valley Phantoms on December 29, 2019.<\/p>\n

Since retiring, Milner has worked as a food writer, joining South Carolina newspaper the Post and Courier<\/a> as its food editor in 2021. Alongside his day job covering Charleston\u2019s restaurant scene, he has spent the past several years working for the Capitals as a practice goalie: by having an additional goaltender available during practice, players are able to get in extra work without overtaxing Thompson or Lindgren.<\/p>\n

\"Parker\ud83d\udcf8: Katie Adler\/RMNB<\/p>\n

Milner is a regular fixture at MedStar Capitals Iceplex \u2014 he even has a dedicated locker room stall \u2014 and though he generally does not travel with the Caps, the team asked him to come along for the lengthy West Coast road trip. After Washington started the trip with a win over the New York Islanders on Saturday, Milner even got a shoutout in Carbery\u2019s postgame locker room speech.<\/p>\n

\u201cGood start, Milsy!\u201d a player yelled.<\/p>\n

\u201cParker Milner, 1-0,\u201d Carbery replied, referencing the team\u2019s record on the trip so far.<\/p>\n

The role of the NHL emergency backup goalie will soon change drastically<\/a>, with EBUGs becoming full-time, traveling members of the team once the new CBA kicks in next season. Milner will not be eligible for the new position, which requires goaltenders to have played fewer than 80 total professional games, but for now, he\u2019s able to join the Caps on a PTO.<\/p>\n

Should Lindgren remain out long-term, the Capitals would likely recall Clay Stevenson or Garin Bjorklund from the Bears.<\/p>\n

\t\t\t\t