On Frozen Blog

This morning the Capitals welcome 21 skaters and 4 goaltenders to their 2008 Development Camp. Almost all of the campers are recent Caps’ draft picks, and first-rounders from each of the the team’s past four drafts are present (Alzner, Varlamov, Carlson, Pokulok).
Camp will culminate with a 10:00 scrimmage on Saturday. Hockey is back! Herewith, 10 top storylines to follow at this July’s camp:
(10) All Eyes on Alzner. 2007 first round pick Karl Alzner impressed observers of Development Camp last July, and then he went on to captain the gold medal winning Canadians at the World Junior Championships in December and earn WHL Defenseman of the Year and Player of the Year honors with the Calgary Hitmen. Not a bad season, huh? As soon as his season in Calgary was completed he was called up by Hershey, but the Bears didn’t advance out of the American League postseason’s first round, so he’s yet to get a taste of pro hockey. He’ll get a chance at training camp in September to crack the Caps’ opening night roster, but he can make a real strong impression on and off the ice this week.
(9) Souring on Sasha? No team got screwed more by Gary Bettman’s inane Entry Draft scheme during the summer lockout of 2005 than the Caps. The league all but came out and said that by virtue of having had the first pick in 2004, the Caps shouldn’t have a reasonable shot at it again. But outside the top 10? A pre-lockout cellar dwellar, the Caps drew the 14th pick in the first round in the ‘05 draft. A lot of quality was already off the table by then, including Sidney Crosby, Carey Price, Anze Kopitar, and Jack Johnson. The Caps took a gamble on Cornell defenseman Sasha Pokulok. He hasn’t impressed. This could be a make-or-break year for him. He’d do well to have a solid week.
(8) College Hockey’s Biggest Weekend Isn’t that Far Away. Washington will host its first-ever Frozen Four next spring, and the Frozen Four Organizing Committee will visit Kettler on Wednesday, conduct a meeting there, and take in that day’s scrimmage. I have plenty of questions I’d like to put to them.
(7) The Big Finn with the Big Game. Oskar Osala had a big year in 2007-08 with 18 goals and 35 points in 53 games with the Espoo Blues in Finland’s top pro league. The 6 ‘4, 217-lb. left wing was named the Finnish League’s Rookie of the Year. He also shined at the 2007 World Junior Championships, where he shared the lead in goal scoring with 5 goals in 6 games. A lot of folks from Hershey are excited to see him.
(6) Not that Carlson, but John’s Big and Physical Too. No relation to Jack, but John Carlson may well make a name for himself in pro hockey, too. The Caps may have landed another late first-round blueline gem last month with Carlson, who’s already blessed with a pro physique. His coach with the Indiana Ice of the USHL said of his defenseman, “without a doubt, he’s going to be a star in the NHL.”
(5) Media Matters. All of HockeyWashington was stunned by the breadth, depth, and overall quality of media coverage of the Caps this past spring. This week at Kettler — where there will be stories to tell — is an opportunity to see if that was anomalous. After all, the Redskins don’t report to training camp for another two weeks. Bloggers will be out at Kettler covering, and we hope to reprise our coalition from Entry Draft Friday and live blog this Saturday’s camp-concluding scrimmage.
(4) Where’s Big Joe? Joe Finley, Hurting Force, isn’t in town this week. The 2005 first-rounder showed a lot of promise at last summer’s Development Camp, and he also shook a lot of plexiglass with his corner work. The Capitals are going to great lengths to make this week appealing to Washington youths, and Finley’s instincts for violence may not have been a good fit for that agenda. He’ll be returning to North Dakota for his senior season with the Fighting Sioux this fall.
(3) They Harken from a Scorer’s League. The leading scorers from the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League each of the past two seasons, Francois Bouchard and Mathieu Perreault, will be present. Perreault in particular, with his dazzling stickwork-in-a-phone-booth and world-class agility and hockey sense, ought to be a fan favorite this week.
(2) Prior a Priority. Capitals’ Goaltender Coach Dave Prior has spent 11 seasons in Washington. He may not have a more important one than the one ahead. He will break in yet another no. 1 goalie in Jose Theodore — the team’s third in just the last six months — and perhaps just as importantly, in Simeon Varlamov and Michal Neuvirth tutor two of the organization’s finest goaltending prospects in 15 years. That work begins this week.
(1) Speaking of Goalies . . . It would be comforting for Capitals’ fans to see both Varlamov and Neuvirth stop every shot that each faces the entirety of this week.