Capital Cup for Kids hockey tournament hits $2M goal in 2026

Capital Cup for Kids has raised more than $2 million for organizations supporting children with critical illnesses and their families since the hockey tournament's inception in 2011. (Provided by Capital Cup for Kids) After the first Capital Cup for Kids hockey tournament in 2011 raised $7,000 to benefit Ronald McDonald House Charities of the Capital Region, tournament co-founder John Doolittle sat down with Jeff Yule, then the Ronald McDonald House's executive director."We joked after the tournament. He said, ‘We'll do this again next year.' I said, ‘Well, I'll do it until we raise a million bucks,'" Doolittle recalled. "He laughed out loud, doing the math in his head, figuring we'd never get there."Get ConnectedCapital Cup for KidsWebsite: capitalcupforkids.orgContact: capitalcupforkids.org/contact; capitalcupforkids501@gmail.com; 518-845-5530Turns out, even Doolittle underestimated those prospects. By the time the donations were tallied up from the most recent Capital Cup for Kids tournament this past April, the organization had crossed the $2 million mark in lifetime fundraising, with proceeds split between a number of different charities that focus on treating and providing for children with life-threatening illnesses and their families."I think it's really exciting that we're here in 2026 and it's over $2 million raised," said Doolittle, who serves as the president of the Capital Cup for Kids board of directors.It was, as many of those who have been part of Capital Cup for Kids since its inception admitted, a humble start. It began with a group of adult recreation hockey players getting together to simply see what they could do to raise a little money for those in need with a four-team tournament.Over 15 years, it's taken on a life they could scarcely have dreamed of. In 2023, Capital Cup for Kids officially incorporated as a 501(c)(3) nonprofit. The 2026 tournament, held over an 11-day period at the end of April at the Albany County Hockey Facility, attracted 26 teams across multiple age divisions with players ranging from 25 to 75 years old. The Mites Mania division has also been added in recent years to give youth hockey players from across the Capital Region a chance to participate. A dedicated women's division for the tournament is also planned to start in 2027."It started out … everybody (had) a similar skill level," said Andy Rosen, the organization's treasurer. "We've expanded it over the years as we've grown older and gotten tired of chasing 20-somethings. We've expanded it so we have all different levels of skill and all different ages."What originally started as a fundraiser for Ronald McDonald House has branched into a wide partnership with a number of charities and organizations dedicated to providing for children with critical illnesses and their families. According to Capital Cup for Kids' 2025 impact statement, the group's partners also include Building on Love - where Yule is now the executive director - as well as Double H Ranch, Make-A-Wish, the Bernard & Millie Duker Children's Hospital at Albany Medical Center, Capital District YMCA Circle of Champs, the Logan Strong Foundation, Unity House, Hudson Valley HIE-roes and St. Catherine's Center for Children."What's incredible is how this hockey community, these adult guys that are used to playing late at night with no fans in the stands, have come together for a purpose to support families with these children with a life-threatening illness," said board member Bill Hollister. "When these families come out and visit us, or when we deal with them and helping to support them, it's an incredible return for the players involved."That's probably kept me playing well beyond my years."In recent years, Capital Cup for Kids has also expanded beyond hockey. The organization held its inaugural charity pickleball tournament in 2024, and added a fundraising golf tournament in 2025."We're finding other ways and other people within the community that aren't necessarily hockey-based folks, but where we can grow our mission, share it with different clientele and just keep moving forward," Rosen said.It was the 2013 tournament, Doolittle said, that was "the weekend that changed the direction" for what Capital Cup for Kids has become. That was the year the organizers started what has become an annual tradition of assigning a current or past Ronald McDonald House child to serve as an honorary captain for every team in the tournament.It's led to some profound connections between the athletes and the young people they're working to support."We're there to support the families however we can - financially, emotionally, whatever we can do," Rosen said. "Those that do pull through and move forward, to see those families stick behind Cap Cup and come back year after year, that just speaks volumes for what people are getting out of our mission."There may be no symbol that represents the spirit of the Capital Cup for Kids and its growth more than the Capital Cup trophy itself. Like the NHL's Stanley Cup, it's an ever-evolving prize, with the names of the winning teams and players from every tournament engraved onto it.The cup, like the tournament itself, has evolved from some humble beginnings."The top part of the Capital Cup is an old milk jug from a farm that we sanded down, sprayed it with spray paint and brought in as the first official trophy," Doolittle said. "To see all the different teams that have been able to lift that - if you can lift it, it weighs like 75 pounds - to see all the players and teams that have lifted that cup over the years is amazing."SubscribeThere’s more to Albany with the Times Union. Subscribe today for just 25¢.This article originally published at Capital Cup for Kids hockey tournament hits $2M goal in 2026.