Alberino de Washington in late August that “with the team we have in the room right now, we are a playoff team.” Kolzig in fact has been commendably frank in acknowledging the practical realities of the rebuild in real time in recent years, so his State of the Caps Union late this summer should have everyone’s notice, in town and around the league. He also told the Post “We’ve got the makings of being a very good team for a long time.” 

(5) Caps’ players from around the globe arrived back in town from offseason training conspicuously early, earlier than ever before, eager to get ‘em laced up. I went out to Kettler in early August and ran into Boyd Gordon, and younger and more veteran players have been skating together for weeks. This team is excited about its prospects in 2007-08, and it’s amped to get the season started.

(6) Karl Alzner’s play in the August Super Series has drawn lots of praise; people who previously were slotting him as a good #3 blueliner are now citing his ability to control a game, play in any situation, etc. Sam Gagner ultimately earned MVP honors for the series, but Alzner accumulated a healthy share of MVP talk himself. Now, it’s just one series, and a lot of development still needs to take place with the Burnaby, British Columbia, native, but it’s possible the Caps may finally have themselves a legitimate #1 defenseman in the system. The Caps didn’t make what appeared at the time to be splashy moves or selections at the Entry Draft in Columbus, but they may have departed with a cornerstone blueliner for the next decade-plus. 

It’s not reflected yet in the broadcast allotments or print layouts of the usual mainstream suspects, but there is profoundly palpable change in the hockey air of D.C. early this fall. Some of it is attributable to the sheer maturation of the Caps’ rebuild  the really rough roads are in the team’s rearview mirror. But increasingly, I believe, there’s been widespread recognition in the new media that “the plan” as it was originally conceived years back by ownership and management has been largely well executed, and that the fruit of its harvest is making for a comparatively sweet September 2007.       
    

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Posted at 11:09 am. Filed under Development Camp, Frivolous Summer File, Front Office, Kettler Capitals Iceplex, Morning cup-a-joe, Prospects, Washington Capitals.
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10 Comments

  1. Strikeman wrote:

    Just a note on Alzner….

    He had a great game 8, he scored a nice PP goal and layed out a russian forward trying to break in on the goalie.

    This kids got a bright future, I wonder if his accelerated development will give GMGM the option of making room on the roster for him.

    Monday, September 10, 2007 at 11:40 am | Permalink
  2. Chris Brown wrote:

    Yea, I’ve noticed a buzz around the caps this summer as well. It truly seems like there has been substantial change, no thanks to old media.

    Like you said, credit new media for the increased interest.

    And Might I add, tomorrow is the ‘NHL08′ holiday. And word is that Directv is set to roll out a bunch of new HD stations around Sept. 16, and the nhl network might be one of them. Maybe HD, maybe not, but I hope the channel gets picked up in some capacity.

    Monday, September 10, 2007 at 11:46 am | Permalink
  3. pgreene wrote:

    drop the puck already! thanks OFB guys for the coverage. *gentle nudge* would love to see some more updates from camp. :)

    Monday, September 10, 2007 at 12:14 pm | Permalink
  4. SpartyCuse wrote:

    I would not be surprised if Alzner made the team out of camp, plays 9 NHL games, and is then sent back to juniors. Once he plays 10, he has to stay, so I bet they give him a taste of real NHL action, then send him back to get real playing time and seasoning in juniors.

    Monday, September 10, 2007 at 3:04 pm | Permalink
  5. Strikeman wrote:

    I agree, I think if he shows up in camp and plays at the top of his game he should get a taste of the NHL.

    Monday, September 10, 2007 at 3:11 pm | Permalink
  6. Blackaces wrote:

    Anyone else think this is the year Eminger needs to put up or shut up?

    Monday, September 10, 2007 at 3:25 pm | Permalink
  7. langway wrote:

    This is definitely a crucial year for Eminger. Judging by Vogel’s Q&A with him, he knows this quite well and that he’s going to have to battle and evolve in order to stay in the lineup.

    Monday, September 10, 2007 at 4:07 pm | Permalink
  8. SpartyCuse wrote:

    Agreed on Eminger. Hopefully he will blossom into what everybody has expected. If he doesnt, hopefully the Caps can find a team willing to take him in trade, and give us something decent in return, so that a D spot can be opened up for somebody else.

    Monday, September 10, 2007 at 4:20 pm | Permalink
  9. norske wrote:

    SpartyCuse, one correction. Playing more than 10 games would not mean that Alzner has to stay. He can be sent back to his junior team at any point in the season. It would, however, activate the first year of his entry level contract, so if he stayed for more than 10 games and then got sent back down he would have only two years left on his contract after this season. If he plays fewer games than that before being sent down, he would still have the full three years left on his contract next season.

    The Caps made that mistake with Eminger; he played 17 games before he got sent down, which made him an RFA a year early. I have always thought that was a stupid thing to do.

    But I agree that it wouldn’t be at all unlikely for Alzner to get a 10 game tryout and then get sent back to Calgary.

    Monday, September 10, 2007 at 4:31 pm | Permalink
  10. SpartyCuse wrote:

    Thanks for the clairification. I knew that, but forgot. Since most teams send players back before 10 games, my mind must have assumed they had to stay.

    Caps D has basically 4 spots locked up, IMO: Poti, Pother, Morrisson, Jurcina. After that, its a free-for-all for the last 2, between Eminger, Green, Schultz, Erskine, Alzner, Boumer, and I probably forgot somebody.

    Monday, September 10, 2007 at 9:42 pm | Permalink

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