2009 Washington Capitals thread

[Allsmokenopancake 0]

http://flickr.com/photos/capitals_imageoft...57604190209867/

He is still wearing his Av's helmet. He said he actual helmet is going to be a surprise and is still being finished.

Also, Brent Johnson was on the ice in his old pads. He had new pads ordered, but the league changed the rules regarding the inner knee/calf support (don't know the specifics on the change) in the time he ordered his new pads and the time he got them, so they are already illegal, never having been used. He is awaiting his new pads.

A lot of caps are getting into town early to catch up with each other, seems like a close team.

Brashear, Morrisonn, Johnson, Theodore, Clark, Gordon, Bradley are back.

Brashear said he wanted to come back to town early to see the kids again :lol:

Brian Pothier is back in town, he has made some progress on his health (concussion), but is still taking it easy. He jogged a couple of blocks over the summer when he thought he was better than he was and was bedridden for 8 days, so is erring on the side of caution this time. He will be on long term IR to start the season.

Chris Clark is back at 100%, skating and shooting, said he is looking forward to getting into the scrimmages so he can test it in the more physical situations. Good to have the captain back.

And lastly, the camp schedule is up. The rookie camp starts a week before the big camp, so one week from Sunday, caps hockey will be back for another season!!!!

http://capitals.nhl.com/team/app/?service=...age&id=8808

Rookie Camp

Sunday, September 14 10:30 a.m. On ice practice

Monday, September 15 10:30 a.m. On ice testing

11:45 a.m. On ice practice

Tuesday, September 16 10:30 a.m. On ice practice

Wednesday, September 17 10:30 a.m. On ice practice

11:30 a.m. Scrimmage

Thursday, September 18 2:20 p.m. Warm-ups

3:00 p.m. Rookie game vs Philadelphia

Friday, September 19 No on ice practice

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Full Training camp

Saturday, September 20 10:00 a.m. Group A on ice practice - Capitals Rink

Saturday, September 20 11:15 a.m. Group B on ice practice - Public Rink

Saturday, September 20 12:30 p.m. Group C on ice practice - Capitals Rink

Sunday, September 21 10:00 a.m. Group A on ice practice - Public Rink

Sunday, September 21 11:00 a.m. Group B vs C scrimmage - Capitals Rink

Monday, September 22 10:00 a.m. Group B on ice practice - Public Rink

Monday, September 22 11:00 a.m. Group A vs C scrimmage - Capitals Rink

Tuesday, September 23 10:00 a.m. Group C on ice practice - Public Rink

Tuesday, September 23 11:00 a.m. Group A vs B scrimmage - Capitals Rink

Wednesday, September 24 10:00 a.m. Morning Skate for Group TBD

Wednesday, September 24 11:15 a.m. Group TBD on ice practice

Wednesday, September 24 12:30 p.m. Group TBD on ice practice

Wednesday, September 24 7:00 p.m. Preseason Game 1 at Carolina Hurricanes

Thursday, September 25 10:00 a.m. Morning Skate for Group TBD

Thursday, September 25 11:15 a.m. Group TBD on ice practice

Thursday, September 25 12:30 p.m. Group TBD on ice practice

Thursday, September 25 7:00 p.m. Preseason Game 2 vs Carolina Hurricanes at Verizon Center

Friday, September 26 10:00 a.m. Group A on ice practice

Friday, September 26 11:15 a.m. Group B on ice practice

Saturday, September 27 10:30 a.m. Group TBD on ice practice

Saturday, September 27 4:00 p.m. Preseason Game 3 at Boston Bruins

Sunday, September 28 10:30 a.m.

Group TBD on ice practice

Monday, September 29 10:00 a.m. Morning Skate at Kettler Capitals Iceplex

Monday, September 29 7:00 p.m. Preseason Game 4 at NJ Devils

Tuesday, September 30 10:30 a.m. Practice at Kettler Capitals Iceplex

Still waiting on full Rookie camp and regular camp rosters, will update when they are published..

[dangle 0]

Can't wait to see what Theodore's helmet looks like! The pads look good though

[Allsmokenopancake 0]

Oh, and just to ensure that the maximum number of people turn up to see David Perron when he comes to town, there is an Ovey bobblehead giveaway that night.

Ovechkin with his trophies bobblehead to be more specific

[CapsFan 5]

Oh, and just to ensure that the maximum number of people turn up to see David Perron when he comes to town, there is an Ovey bobblehead giveaway that night.

Ovechkin with his trophies bobblehead to be more specific

You have got to get me one of those. I'll give you one million dollars.

[interpathway 9]

anybody here get their free tickets to the Capitals/Flyers Rookie Game at Kettler for September 18th at 3pm? tickets can be requested for free at capitals.nhl.com

[RadioGaGa 162]

http://flickr.com/photos/capitals_imageoft...57604190209867/

He is still wearing his Av's helmet. He said he actual helmet is going to be a surprise and is still being finished.

Hmmm...bet he's overhyping it...it'll be the gargoyle motif in Caps colors with the XL somewhere on it...it'll look cool I'm sure, but I bet he keeps what he's used to.

[Allsmokenopancake 0]

anybody here get their free tickets to the Capitals/Flyers Rookie Game at Kettler for September 18th at 3pm? tickets can be requested for free at capitals.nhl.com

I'm working the penalty box door for that. Work is stretching it. I'm not getting paid. I'm just doing the door for the game. Gets me a good seat for the game.

Also, Ovechkin is back in town, and on the ice today.

The bottom of his skates are blue and red for the caps colors (and russias!!!) and he still has the yellow skate laces

[dangle 0]

The bottom of his skates are blue and red for the caps colors (and russias!!!) and he still has the yellow skate laces

Are they still his Sharpie job or did he get them dyed?

[RadioGaGa 162]

anybody here get their free tickets to the Capitals/Flyers Rookie Game at Kettler for September 18th at 3pm? tickets can be requested for free at capitals.nhl.com

I'm working the penalty box door for that. Work is stretching it. I'm not getting paid. I'm just doing the door for the game. Gets me a good seat for the game.

Also, Ovechkin is back in town, and on the ice today.

The bottom of his skates are blue and red for the caps colors (and russias!!!) and he still has the yellow skate laces

A friend of mine does the Penalty box at some Bulldogs games...have you done it before...? He said it's not nearly as easy as you'd expect...those guys are BURSTING out of the box full speed at 00:00...so you better snap that sonofabitch open FAST.

[Allsmokenopancake 0]

The bottom of his skates are blue and red for the caps colors (and russias!!!) and he still has the yellow skate laces

Are they still his Sharpie job or did he get them dyed?

I've got no idea, he is skating with the rookies at rookie camp, but I didn't get over yesterday, so haven't seen with my own eyes yet. I'll be over thursday, so will have photos etc then

anybody here get their free tickets to the Capitals/Flyers Rookie Game at Kettler for September 18th at 3pm? tickets can be requested for free at capitals.nhl.com

I'm working the penalty box door for that. Work is stretching it. I'm not getting paid. I'm just doing the door for the game. Gets me a good seat for the game.

Also, Ovechkin is back in town, and on the ice today.

The bottom of his skates are blue and red for the caps colors (and russias!!!) and he still has the yellow skate laces

A friend of mine does the Penalty box at some Bulldogs games...have you done it before...? He said it's not nearly as easy as you'd expect...those guys are BURSTING out of the box full speed at 00:00...so you better snap that sonofabitch open FAST.

Yeah, I done it last year too, those guys are eager to get back on, particularly as it's near the end of rookie camp, so most are playing for an invite to the main camp.

[Allsmokenopancake 0]

Rosters are out for both camps...

Rookie Camp Roster:

Forwards: Jay Beagle, Francois Bouchard, Joel Broda, Stefan Dellarovere, Michael Dubuc, Anton Gustafsson, Dmitry Kugryshev, Maxime Lacroix, Brett Leffler, Travis Morin, Oskar Osala, Mathieu Perreault, Steve Pinizzotto, Justin Taylor

Defensemen: Karl Alzner, John Carlson, Sean Collins, Viktor Dovgan, Josh Godfrey, Patrick McNeill, Eric Mestery, Keith Seabrook, Craig Switzer

Goalies: Braden Holtby, Michal Neuvirth, Simeon Varlamov

Training Camp Roster:

Forwards: Keith Aucoin, Nicklas Backstrom, Chris Bourque, Matt Bradley, Donald Brashear, Chris Clark, Sergei Fedorov, Eric Fehr, Tomas Fleischmann, Alexandre Giroux, Andrew Gordon, Boyd Gordon, Andrew Joudrey, Viktor Kozlov, Brooks Laich, Quintin Laing, Tom Maxwell, Graham Mink, Michael Nylander, Alex Ovechkin, Darren Reid, Alexander Semin, Dave Steckel, Kyle Wilson

Defensemen: Greg Amadio, Dean Arsene, Jakub Cutta, John Erskine, Mike Green, Brian Helmer, Milan Jurcina, Sami Lepisto, Grant McNeill, Shaone Morrisonn, Sasha Pokulok, Brian Pothier, Tom Poti, Jeff Schultz, Tyler Sloan

Goalies: Brent Johnson, Daren Machesney, Jose Theodore

I would think that Alzner, Godfrey and Carlson for the defense, with Osala, Beagle (perhaps), Gustaffson, Bouchard and Perrault for the Offense get called for the big camp. I also think they will take a goalie too, either Neuvirth or Varlamov to give 4 goalies for the scrimmages.

[dangle 0]

I've got no idea, he is skating with the rookies at rookie camp, but I didn't get over yesterday, so haven't seen with my own eyes yet. I'll be over thursday, so will have photos etc then

I read on Washington Post that he's using the same skates he was using this summer at worlds... he's waiting for the arrival of new skates and then he's going to retire the ones he's currently wearing ;)

[interpathway 9]

anybody here get their free tickets to the Capitals/Flyers Rookie Game at Kettler for September 18th at 3pm? tickets can be requested for free at capitals.nhl.com

I'm working the penalty box door for that.

any chance you know which team's door you'll be manning? looking forward to see any and all MSHers there

[Allsmokenopancake 0]

anybody here get their free tickets to the Capitals/Flyers Rookie Game at Kettler for September 18th at 3pm? tickets can be requested for free at capitals.nhl.com

I'm working the penalty box door for that.

any chance you know which team's door you'll be manning? looking forward to see any and all MSHers there

Not a clue, but I'll be in my Irish hockey jersey

EDIT: Have you already got your ticket, they are free, but because of limited seating, you need one to get into the game, they are all gone already

[interpathway 9]

yeah had mine the first day they were available! ill be on the look out for you, and anything you can do to keep those flyer rookies in the box for an extra nano second would be greatly appreciated

EDIT: btw do we just bring a photo ID and a print out of the email/confirmation number that washingtoncaps.com emailed us? that is my assumption as to how to get in...

[Allsmokenopancake 0]

I assume that's all that will be needed.

Here is some rookie camp info from Tarik's blog over at the Washington Post...

http://blog.washingtonpost.com/capitalsinsider/

Alex Ovechkin is spending a lot of time with the Russian youngsters--Viktor Dovgan, Kugryshev and Varlamov--as a way of helping them adjust to North America. Ovechkin said he has hosted them at his house for meals and today took them to the Mystics game at Verizon Center.

"I'm big daddy," Ovechkin joked, adding that his mom, Tatiana, is cooking for them all.

The final 15 minutes of today's rookie camp looked like a scene out of the movie "Miracle", with Coach Bruce Boudreau playing Kurt Russell, relentlessly skating the youngsters up and down, up and down, up and down.

It wasn't meant as a punishment, though. Boudreau did it for a couple of reasons. First, he wanted to see who was in shape and who wasn't. (Karl Alzner, John Carlson passed Boudreau's test easily, while Mathieu Perreault, Anton Gustafsson and Dmitry Kugryshev, well, they were among the ones who wound up on their backs.) Secondly, Boudreau wanted to make sure that when the grueling skate was over, each of the prospects had a clear understanding of what it takes to make it in the Big Leagues.

"In the end, it was very tough for the guys," Kugryshev said through interpreter Slava Malamud, a sports writer for Russia's Sport Express. "What this training session did for me is show that I need to be 150-percent ready, not 100-precent."

Also, ovey is skating with the rookies, which must be pretty cool for some of the undrafted invitees

[interpathway 9]

Also, ovey is skating with the rookies, which must be pretty cool for some of the undrafted invitees

and for you if he happens to take a minor penalty, yeah?

[Allsmokenopancake 0]

Also, ovey is skating with the rookies, which must be pretty cool for some of the undrafted invitees

and for you if he happens to take a minor penalty, yeah?

He won't be playing thursday, rookies only

[interpathway 9]

ah right. well alzner is playing. im sure youll get to open the door for some other recognizable guys (perreault)

[Allsmokenopancake 0]

here is my recap from today

OK, first off all, the best improvement in terms of seeing what was going on, was the names on the jerseys. Everyone had the velcro nameplates so even when they changed jerseys for scrimmages etc. Last year we had a sheet and tried to figure out what was what with that and the numbers on the helmet.

So, good move caps.

Second, I don't know everyone at camp, and like most who go, probably took a closer look at those I was familiar with, so this is a very limited observation.

I arrived there about 10.25, and as soon as the clock turned 10.30 Boudreau blew the whistle, and everyone hauled donkey over to the benches. Switzer was last there, and took a lap.

They done some breakout drills, Alzner and Carlson were paired together, and looked good as a duo. The best line was the red line, which was Perrault, Pinnzotto and Bouchard. Granted, there was no D, it was pass pass pass, breakout, pass give and go and shoot. They were clearly the skilled line comparatively.

Osala was in gray, and I can't remember who he was skating with, but they were a good trio also.

Then they were called back in, and Broda was left to take a lap, which he hustled round.

As far as the goalies go, I don't know if it means anything, but both Neuvirth and Varlamov have hershey colours on their gear.

What I saw of the goalies was this.

Varlamov is really really fast getting in front of the first shot, but was beaten quite often on the second and third attempts. Of course for a lot of these drills, there were no d-men, so in a game situation, he would have had help clearing the puck. But I think that's why he is here, so they can have the goalie coaches work with him. But as far as raw talent, he is quick and talented.

Neuvirth was sound positionally and a little more aggressive round the crease. His rebound control was definately better than Varlamov, but relied on technical positioning more than instinct to make the saves. Which is obviously a good thing, however, it may actually work to Varlamovs benefit long term. Both were as good as each other today, but if Varlamov gets better technical coaching, he seems to have better instincts than neuvirth (of course, this is observations from 90 minutes of day three on rookie camp, so clearly is only a tiny little snapshot, and nothing near the full picture on these guys).

Holtby looked decent, but spent more time at the other end of the ice, and as I said, I was paying more attention to the players I knew of better.

Osala is good, compared to the rookie class, he is really good. He has size, strength and the hands to be a good power forward, at least in hershey for now.

They done some tip in drills, where a forward would skate in, shoot, then turn and try to screen the goalie, and get a deflection on the D-mans shot from the point. This was where you see the types of players, and how they approach their role in the crease. Jay Beagle, Osala and some of the bigger guys, got right in front of the goalies, almost sitting on their lap, and tried for the tip through the legs etc. Bouchard and Perrault would stand off to the side of the goalie, and look for a more accurate tip. They were also intimidated more by the goalie. Neuvirth was in goal for this and had no problem cuffing the guys in front of him to clear his sightlines. For some, it caused them to sort of give him his sightlines (bouchard, perrault, broda) for others, they dug in their heels and stood firm (osala, beagle, pinnzotto)

Then they were called back in, and Switzer was again doing the lap, he was gassed, and coasted round, even took a shortcut and came in front of the goal.

Then they done some controlled scrimmages. Beagle impressed here, as did Seabrook on D. Alzner just looks like he is in a different class defensively, he cut angles, cleared the crease, covered the posts, got the puck out. Honestly, I will be surprised if he isn't on the team opening night (again, these impressions are only a snapshot, might be different with NHL bodies, but he looks more ready than most others I've seen at rookie camps over the last few years (ovey excepted), including backstrom.

That's about it, if I think of anything else (which I may when I go through the photos) I will post it.

Pictures to come.

Also, one thing, you do not mess around in Camp Bruce, everyone hauled donkey until they were gassed, then they hauled some more. Everyone, be they blue chip prospects or undrafted hopefuls gave 100%, which was good to see

EDIT:

Photos added, for the benefit of Mr. Kite...

http://s484.photobucket.com/albums/rr207/a...mpsept16042.jpg

[dangle 0]

BTW: The rookie game against Philadelphia on Thursday will be streamed online at the Capitals website. The game is at 3 pm Eastern Time :)

[Allsmokenopancake 0]

BTW: The rookie game against Philadelphia on Thursday will be streamed online at the Capitals website. The game is at 3 pm Eastern Time :)

Look for the good looking chap opening the flyers box, that will be me.

Has a box official ever got thrown out of a game for fighting with a player :lol:

[interpathway 9]

great update on the camp, cant wait to see some of these guys in the red and blue cough alzner cough

[Law Goalie 147]

Brian Pothier is back in town, he has made some progress on his health (concussion), but is still taking it easy. He jogged a couple of blocks over the summer when he thought he was better than he was and was bedridden for 8 days...

Jesus wept... I knew he was in a bad way, but that's unbelievable. I loved his play in Ottawa - I wish they'd kept him and Preissing instead of Redden - and I'd hoped he'd thrive with more icetime in Washington. This is just sad.

[Allsmokenopancake 0]

Caps won 7-0, couple of fights, feisty game. Caps dominated. Holgren (sp) did not look happy from where he was watching.

I couldn't use the camera during the game because I was told not to, so I just have some warmup pics, will post in a bit.

Great to see hockey back