Tuesday brought us “A” vs. “C” in the Duchesne Cup competition, and the first training camp scrimmage appearance by Alexander Ovechkin. He didn’t take long to make his mark, scoring the game’s first goal in the opening minutes on a deflection that fluttered over Jason Bacashihua’s left shoulder like a changeup. In what may well have been foreshadowing of opening night in Beantown, Ovi skated alongside Nick Backstrom and Mike Knuble. But the line wasn’t dominant in this scrimmage like you might imagine it ought to have been.
The Capitals seemed prepared for Tuesday’s unusual mid-summer heat in mid-September: Kettler was as cold inside as I can ever remember it, even in the dead of winter. At one point Bruce Boudreau walked by a contingent of reporters on his way up to watch the scrimmage from on high, in only shorts and a golf shirt, and when asked about the rink climate he replied, “I’m frozen.”
The ice was hard and fast, but the 10:00 practice session which preceded the scrimmage exacted extraordinary damage to it. Gabby put his charges through their conditioning paces, all right. The group skated session-concluding ovals around the two cages, which the assistant coaches moved to differing angles, so you had 25 world-class skaters pushing off and digging in their edges one after another in common areas for nearly 20 minutes, repetitive duress digging its way virtually to the slab. The lower portion of a faceoff circle nearest the media work area looked like drone combat aircraft had targeted it. Two Zambonis after the skate did their absolute best to repair the damage, moving over the deeply rutted circle exceedingly slowly, dry cutting and wet cutting, to no avail. It was a good thing the day’s skating ended as early as it did, as Kettler ice staff had their work cut out for them beginning at 2:30.
The team will be in shape in Boston come October 1, methinks.
Some standout performers from Tuesday’s scrimmage, in my humble opinion: Jose Theodore, Karl Alzner, Dmitry Kugryshev, Keith Aucoin, Michal Neuvirth, John Carlson (go figure), Patrick Wellar, and Oskar Osala.
Osala jumped out at me because of his jump. There wasn’t a lot to criticize from his rookie season of pro hockey in North America last season with the Hershey Bears, but if he had a weak area, or at least one worthy of committed work this offseason, it was with his skating. He’s still not a missile on his wheels by any means, but it’s clear that he’s improved, and that improvement allowed him at times to be both a physical and offensive force during Tuesday’s scrimmage. I actually noticed his improved skating first thing Sunday morning, and when I asked him about it, he told me that he not only worked on traditional power skating techniques back home in Finland but consulted with a
speed skating coach (he did not wear speed skates during his training, however). He also emphasized
exercises to develop more power in his legs.
“[Last year] was a year that taught me a lot,” Osala told me. “I didn’t really know how hard and long the [North American] season was gonna be. The grind, how much it wears down on you. Overall, I’m really happy with it, to put up some decent numbers without playing the power play.
“Back home [in Finland] we have many days between the games, so you can rest and get up for every game emotionally. But here you have to learn to play well without being that jacked up.”
He also told me that he has no point or goal total goals for the new season but that his goal obviously is to play more games in D.C.
There were a lot of attributes I liked about Dmitry Kugryshev’s scrimmage Tuesday, but perhaps best among them was his determination to battle through NHL veteran obstruction to defend and make plays. And he was flying pretty good out there. Boudreau noted that Kugryshev is performing considerably better at this camp than last fall’s.
“He’s going to go back to junior, but you definitely saw signs of his skill, and I think he’s going to have a real big year in juniors,” the head coach noted.
If you’re not yet convinced of the impact the Duchesne Cup competition is having on the players, take note that Ovechkin was hardly off the ice in the final six minutes of a 3-3 scrimmage yesterday. And his line was buzzing. Team ‘A’ even was the benficiary of a late 5-on-3 power play, and I noticed that manning the point on that advantage were Messrs. Ovechkin and Carlson.
The two teams were deadlocked at 3 after regulation time expired, and Boudreau from on high decreed a best of three shootout to determine a victor. It was Michal Neuvirth versus Jose Theodore. It took six rounds to crown a winner, and along the way the likes of Ovi, Mike Knuble, Brooks Laich, Michael Nylander, and Chris Bourque were all turned away in thier attempts. The game-winner was a thing of top shelf beauty off the blade of Boyd Gordon.
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