“Mink, 29, returns to HERSHEY after two seasons with the Worcester Sharks (AHL).  In his two years in Massachusetts, he scored 55 goals and 118 points in 132 games played.  Despite the laudable personal statistics, the Sharks only played in six postseason games in that span. 

“It feels like I’m coming home” Mink said. ”We had so much success the year I was there, (in Hershey) and when you leave and don’t have that success, it makes you want it all the more.  Being a part of a championship team is an honor, and it’s something that meant so much to me. It’s something you strive for and something you want.” 

“Mink’s season in Hershey was one of the best statistical seasons of his career, as he compiled 21 goals and 40 points in just 43 regular season games.  He shone brightest in the 2006 Calder Cup Playoffs however, scoring eight goals and assisting on 13 others for 21 points in 21 games played.  Perhaps the biggest goal of his professional life came in Game 7 of the 2006 Eastern Conference Finals against the Portland Pirates when he scored in the closing moments to tie the game and force sudden death overtime.  With Eric Fehr’s eventual OT winner, the game put the Bears back in the Calder Cup Finals for the first time in nine seasons.

“Any given year, there are four or five teams that can win it all, and I want Hershey to be one of those teams this year” Mink said.  “It’s an honor to play for the HERSHEY BEARS, and I can’t wait for the season to start.”

Filed in American Hockey League, Calder Cup, Hershey Bears, Washington Capitals| Permalink| Comments (1)

A Draft Hole Impacting the Washington-Pittsburgh Rivalry Years Hence?

By The OFB Team
Monday, June 16, 2008

Below you will find the order of selection for next weekend’s first four rounds of the 2008 NHL Entry Draft, held in Ottawa. You will note from our highlighting in bold the wealth of selections the Capitals enjoy — six picks among the first 93 of the draft. This draft is universally regarded as distinctive for the quality of its depth; there will be solid NHL contributors selected liberally throughout rounds one, two, and three.

We would have you take particular note of the absence of any selections in the high-end range by your 2008 Eastern Conference champion. Their first pick arrives after 119 other 18-year-olds have been plucked.

The Penguins’ American League affiliate in Wilkes Barre-Scranton raced all the way to the Calder Cup finals this month, but unlike the Hershey Bears’ appearances there in 2006 and 2007, the junior Penguins aren’t believed to be chock full of promising young future talent for the parent club — that talent’s already in Pittsburgh. One reason they’re missing both high picks this year and high-end talent on the farm was February’s trade for Marian Hossa and Hal Gill as well as last year’s acquisition of geriatric Gary Roberts.

Penguins’ GM Ray Shero has his share of challenges this summer: 13 unrestricted and 4 restricted free agents to ink for next season. While it’s not impossible for teams to acquire young talent after round 3 of the NHL Entry Draft, the odds plummet precipitously. One’s thing’s for sure: 29 other NHL clubs will be helping themselves from this talent-rich draft before the Penguins do. As recent rebuilders, they’re ahead of the Capitals in both achievement and status, but that gap could close a healthy bit this summer.

  ROUND 1   ROUND 2   ROUND 3   ROUND 4
1 Tampa Bay 31 Florida (from T.B.) 62 Tampa Bay 92 Los Angeles (from T.B.)
2 Los Angeles 32 Los Angeles 63 Los Angeles 93 Washington (from L.A.)
3 Atlanta 33 St. Louis (from ATL) 64 Atlanta 94 Atlanta
4 St. Louis 34 St. Louis 65 St. Louis 95 St. Louis
5 NY Islanders 35 Phoenix 66 NY Islanders 96 NY Islanders
6 Columbus 36 NY Islanders 67 Columbus 97 Columbus
7 Toronto 37 Columbus 68 Toronto 98 Toronto
8 Phoenix 38 Phoenix (from TOR) 69 Phoenix 99 Phoenix
9 Nashville (from FLA) 39 Phoenix 70 Toronto (from FLA) 100 Florida
10 Vancouver 40 Nashville (from FLA) 71 Anaheim (from VAN) 101 Los Angeles (from VAN)
11 Chicago 41 Vancouver 72 Chicago 102 Chicago
12 Anaheim (from EDM) 42 Ottawa (from CHI) 73 NY Islanders (from EDM-ANA) 103 Edmonton
13 Buffalo 43 Anaheim (from EDM) 74 Buffalo 104 Buffalo
14 Carolina 44 Buffalo 75 NY Rangers (from CAR) 105 Carolina
15 Nashville 45 Carolina 76 Nashville 106 Nashville
16 Boston 46 Nashville 77 Boston 107 Boston
17 Calgary 47 Boston 78 Calgary 108 Calgary
18 Ottawa 48 Los Angeles (from CGY) 79 Ottawa 109 Ottawa
19 Columbus (from COL) 49 Phoenix (from OTT) 80 Florida (from COL) 110 Colorado
20 NY Rangers 50 Colorado 81 Los Angeles (from NYR) 111 St. Louis (from NYR)
21 New Jersey 51 NY Rangers 82 New Jersey 112 New Jersey
22 Edmonton (from ANA) 52 New Jersey 83 Anaheim 113 Anaheim
23 Washington 53 NY Islanders (from ANA-EDM) 84 Washington 114 Calgary (from WSH-BOS)
24 Minnesota 54 Washington 85 Anaheim (from MIN) 115 Minnesota
25 Montreal 55 Minnesota 86 Montreal 116 Montreal
26 Buffalo (from S.J.) 56 Montreal 87 St. Louis (from S.J.) 117 San Jose
27 Philadelphia 57 Washington (from S.J.) 88 Los Angeles (from PHI) 118 Philadelphia
28 Los Angeles (from DAL) 58 Washington (from PHI) 89 Dallas 119 Ottawa (from DAL-T.B.)
29 Atlanta (from PIT) 59 Dallas 90 Phoenix (from PIT) 120 Pittsburgh
30 Detroit 60 Toronto (from PIT) 91 Detroit 121 Detroit
    61 Los Angeles (from DET)        

ENTRY DRAFT ORDER OF SELECTION NOTES
Round 1

  • Pick 29 (Pittsburgh to Atlanta): Pittsburgh traded RW Colby Armstrong, C Erik Christensen, C Angelo Esposito and its 1st-round pick in the 2008 Entry Draft to Atlanta for RW Marian Hossa and RW Pascal Dupuis (Feb. 26, 2008).

Round 2

  • Pick 57 (San Jose to Washington): San Jose traded Carolina’s 2nd-round pick in the 2007 Entry Draft (previously acquired) and San Jose’s 2nd-round pick in 2008 to Washington for Buffalo’s 1st-round pick in 2007 (previously acquired) (June 22, 2007).
  • Pick 58 (Philadelphia to Washington): Washington traded Carolina’s 2nd-round pick in the 2007 Entry Draft (previously acquired) to Philadelphia for Nashville’s 3rd-round pick in 2007 (previously acquired) and Philadelphia’s 2nd-round pick in 2008 (June 23, 2007).

Round 3

  • Pick 90 (Pittsburgh to Phoenix): Pittsburgh traded LW Dan Carcillo and its 3rd-round pick in the 2008 Entry Draft to Phoenix for RW Georges Laraque (Feb. 27, 2007).

Round 4

  • Pick 93 (Los Angeles to Washington): Washington traded its 4th-round pick in the 2007 Entry Draft to Los Angeles for Los Angeles’ 6th-round pick in 2007 and 4th-round pick in 2008 (June 23, 2007).
  • Pick 114 (Washington to Boston, conditional to Calgary):
    (1) Washington to Boston: Boston traded D Milan Jurcina to Washington for Washington’s 4th-round pick in the 2008 Entry Draft (Feb. 1, 2007).
    (2) Boston to Calgary, conditional: Calgary traded D Andrew Ference and RW Chuck Kobasew to Boston for D Brad Stuart, C Wayne Primeau and a conditional pick in the 2008 Entry Draft.
Filed in American Hockey League, Calder Cup, DraftGeek, Entry Draft, Hershey Bears, National Hockey League, Pittsburgh Penguins, Schadenfreude, Washington Capitals| Permalink| Comments (8)

Finals’ Agony Is the Order of the Spring in PA

By The OFB Team
Wednesday, June 11, 2008

We’d be remiss if we failed today to congratulate the Chicago Wolves on doubling the pleasure of our Schadenfreude Spring, in sending yet another Penguins’ team — last night it was Pittsburgh’s affiliate in Wilkes Barre-Scranton — to a playoff finals disappointment. The Wolves claimed the American League’s Calder Cup 4 games to 2 over the mini-mullets. Added to the parent club’s Stanley Cup shortcoming last week, this is doubly delicious. Could there be a crunch-time character issue rampant in the Penguins’ organization, in so uniformly failing in finals’ play?

Filed in American Hockey League, Calder Cup, Minor Pro Hockey, Mullets, Pittsburgh Penguins, Schadenfreude| Permalink| Comments (5)

The Capitals’ Top 10 Storylines for 2007-08

By pucksandbooks
Monday, April 28, 2008

10. The Rebuild Is Over. Owner Leonsis uttered this proclamation during the preseason, later claiming that the season’s barometer for success would be qualifying for the postseason. Through the middle of November both seemed delusionally wishful thinking. But when the right guy arrived behind the bench, when the Caps’ skilled young core was encouraged to attack, the team took off, rampaging from last in the league at Thanksgiving to a Southeast Division crown on the regular season’s final Saturday. The right pieces indeed were in place, and the team’s future has never been as promising.

9. Backstrom: the no. 1 Pivot of the Future — and the Present. Really nobody knew what Nicklas Backstrom’s rookie season in the NHL would bring. During last July’s Development Camp, he seemed to struggle a bit with making plays on a smaller sheet. But he looked better at the end of camp than at its start, and by September’s training camp he looked even more adjusted. Like other skilled players in Glen Hanlon’s system, he struggled. Like other skilled players under Bruce Boudreau, he blossomed.

His 69 points on the season represented the second-most prolific rookie season in Caps’ history (behind a certain precocious Russian in 2005-06). Most telling: 60 of his points came in the final 61 games. He adjusted all right. He played his finest hockey of the season when you want a player to — in the postseason. In so doing he defied a long tradition of rookies fading under the rigors of an 82-game season. And he rightfully earned a nomination for the Calder trophy.

8. One Seriously Sorry Sheet. Washington’s never been known to offer a quality sheet of ice for its NHL games, but the matter gained unprecedented urgency when in December team captain Chris Clark spoke with commendable candor to the Washington Post about the indefensible ice at home. This surface wasn’t merely bad aesthetically, it was, suggested Clark, injurious to players. Clark himself lost virtually the entire season to a groin injury. Flyers’ winger Mike Knuble injured his leg when he caught it in a Verizon Center rut in the playoffs. And game 7’s sheet was so ill-prepared that arena workers could be seen repairing it on their hands and knees in the moments before puck-drop — and throughout the game.

Whatever greatly skilled and exciting roster Capitals’ management assembles for the future, it won’t much matter if at home it’s asked to compete on an ability-leveling and integrity-sacrificing surface.

7. Deadline Day Doozies. Trade deadline day was supposed to be quiet for the Caps. It turned out to be anything but. General manager George McPhee engineered a dramatic infusion of postseason experience and skill in areas of weakness on February 26, including securing a no.1 netminder in Cristobal Huet from Montreal for merely a second-round pick in the 2009 Entry Draft. All three players acquired on deadline day played pivotal roles in the season’s final 18 games.

In his Capitals’ debut on February 29, Huet stopped all 18 shots he faced in backstopping the Caps to a 4-0 win in New Jersey. He went 11-2 in his 13 starts for the Caps, winning the final nine games he started. In the biggest game the Caps played in years, Sergei Fedorov, acquired for 2007 second round selection Teddy Ruth, was named the game’s first star in the Caps’ 3-1 win over Florida on April 5, which vaulted the team to the SouthEast title and the postseason for the first time since 2003. He was especially adept in the faceoff circle. Matt Cooke played a less significant part statistically during the stretch run but recaptured his active, pest-like play from years ago in Vancouver night in and night out. All three veterans were credited with providing vital leadership to the young and inexperienced Caps.

6. Mike Green: the no. 1 Gun Arrives. If there was one overarching question confronting the Caps’ blueline heading into the 2007-08 season, it was: is there a no.1 Gun among? If last September you thought there was, you knew something the rest of hockey didn’t. In 2006-07, Mike Green played 70 games for the Caps, tallying just 2 goals and 10 assists. He offered glimpses of high-end promise, but he also seemed years away from becoming consistent and reliable and earning a top pairing assignment. But this past season Green blossomed into a dominant, mature-for-his-years force. He led the entire league in goals by a defenseman during the regular season, and he followed that with a superb playoff series — so much so that Flyers’ head coach John Stevens very publicly made it known that Mike Green was a weapon his team had to strategize to stop. The no.1 Gun on the Caps’ blueline has arrived.

5. AO: The Best Hockey Player on the Planet. Alexander Ovechkin’s hardware-hogging brilliance during 2007-08 earned him broadcasts of “Ovechkin Ovations” on the NHL Network and, more importantly, ascension over the Nova Scotian as the game’s greatest talent. His 65 goals during the regular season were the most scored by a Capital in franchise history, and he became just the 19th player in NHL history to score 60 goals in a season. By the end of the regular season he’d staked unassailable claims to both the Richard and Ross trophies and was a near mortal lock to command both the Hart trophy and the Lester Pearson award for his most valuable performance. At one point no less than the Great One suggested that his seemingly unbreakable record of 92 goals scored in a single season could be within Ovechkin’s visored viewfinder.

4. Canning Glen; Finding the Right Guy Right up the Road. After winning their first three games of the season, the Capitals proceeded to lose 15 of their next 18 and plummet to the very bottom of the NHL standings. While Glen Hanlon may well have been the right coach to preside over the rebuilding Caps beginning not long before the team began its purge of high-priced, under-achieving talent in the 2003-04 season, autumn 2007 seemed to deliver a resoundingly rotten verdict on his ability to advance the team to where management deemed appropriate for 2007-08.

No one would suggest that Hanlon didn’t offer the organization his fullest possible effort. But by late 2007 that effort wasn’t working. “He knew as soon as he saw me this morning,” McPhee told the Washington Post on Thanksgiving day. “He said, ‘I wouldn’t have known what to do today.’ ”

Enter Bruce Boudreau, aka “Gabby.” On Thanksgiving Eve Bruce Boudreau was in his third season behind the Hershey Bears’ bench. He’d enjoyed an auspicious first two seasons there: a Calder Cup title in his first season in Hershey in the spring of 2006 and a return to the finals the following season. He’d won a Kelly Cup title in the East Coast League as well. Still, to many Capitals’ fans, he appeared to be just another “no name” plucked from the farm.

Probably it was with this in mind that Hershey Bears’ Senior Manager for Communications John Walton authored a memorable open letter to Capitals’ fans on the day that Gabby was announced as the new Caps’ coach. “Know this first and foremost,” Walton wrote in his letter. “He’s a winner . . . For what it’s worth, we have seen the magic here. We’re more than willing to share.” Continue reading ›

Filed in Alexander Ovechkin, American Hockey League, Bruce Boudreau, Calder Cup, Chris Clark, Cristobal Huet, Development Camp, Eastern Conference, Entry Draft, Front Office, George McPhee, Hershey Bears, Ice, John Walton, Kettler Capitals Iceplex, Matt Cooke, Media, Mike Green, NHL Network, NHL Trades, National Hockey League, Nicklas Backstrom, Philadelphia Flyers, Print, Sergei Fedorov, Stanley Cup Playoffs, TV, Ted Leonsis, The Big Deal, Training Camp, Verizon Center, Washington Capitals, Washington Post| Permalink| Comments (11)

Playoff Hockey at Giant Center, Too: Bears Are in

By pucksandbooks
Sunday, April 13, 2008

Last night at Giant Center the Hershey Bears fell behind 2-0 to the Philadelphia Phantoms. The game’s next 5 goals were all Hershey’s — two from the stick of rookie Andrew Gordon — as the Bears beat Philly for the second night in a row. In so doing, the Bears earned the East division’s fourth and final playoff spot.

The Hershey Bears, the Patriot News’ Tim Leone wrote last night, “certainly didn’t back into the Calder Cup playoffs tonight at Giant Center. They barged in swinging.”

The Bears will open the postseason this Wednesday night against Wilkes Barre-Scranton. The Phantoms had been lodged in first place in the East for much of the American League season but fell one point shy of the Penguins for the division title. Philly will face Albany in the East’s other semifinal.

Update: Take a gander at Chris Bourque’s work the past seven games: 8 goals, 7 assists, and a +8.

Filed in American Hockey League, Calder Cup, Chris Bourque, Hershey Bears, Prospects, Washington Capitals| Permalink| Comments (0)

Dear Hershey: Thank You for Sending Us the Magic

By The OFB Team
Sunday, April 6, 2008

Note: the following letter was penned by Hershey Bears Senior Manager of Communications and radio play-by-play voice John Walton on the day that Bruce Boudreau was named head coach of the Washington Capitals last November.

AN OPEN LETTER TO CAPITALS NATION

11/22/2007 - To: Capitals Fans far and wide

From: Humble Bears Radio guy

Re: Bruce Boudreau

Caps Nation:

boudreau-web2.jpgI know it’s been a trying few weeks watching your team slide in the standings, and I know a lot of you have been frustrated with what you’ve seen. I also know that some of you in discussion boards have wondered what Bruce Boudreau will do for your team, with some of you thinking “here we go again� with another AHL coach being called up instead of some “name� coach for big bucks. I just wanted to let you know, as a humble servant of your minor league affiliate, I believe Bruce is the guy you need. Bruce Boudreau is one of the greatest people I’ve ever been around, a great leader of men with just enough grit to go with his compassion for his players to get the job done for you. I’ve ridden the buses with him, I’ve seen him one-on-one with players, I’ve seen him when times are good, and I’ve seen him when times are bad. Know this first and foremost: He’s a winner. He’s won more games than anyone in the last ten years in the AHL, and twice with two different teams has won at least 50 games in a season. In 2005-06, he took a group of Washington farmhands that missed the playoffs the year before in Portland, shaped them along with some Hershey guys that also missed the playoffs the season before and made them into Calder Cup Champions. To prove it wasn’t a fluke, the BEARS the next season won a franchise record 51 games (and we’ve been around for 70 years now, not a shabby record to have) and went all the way back to the Finals again. We’d have gone back-to-back except we ran into goaltender Carey Price, who now tends goal for the Montreal Canadiens. That’s 29 wins in the playoffs the last two years. When Hershey won the Cup in 2006, they had to beat the Portland Pirates, who featured NHLers Dustin Penner, Corey Perry and Ryan Getzlaf. Yes, that would be the Penner that signed for big bucks in Edmonton this past summer, and yes, that would be the same Getzlaf who just this week signed a five-year deal with Anaheim. Suffice it to say that Bruce has a pretty good handle on guys who play at the National Hockey League level. All big name coaches in the NHL had to come from somewhere and get their chance before they became “name� coaches. I refer you to none other than your own Bryan Murray from back in the day. He was Hershey’s coach too before he came to D.C., and I’d say as the franchise leader in wins down there, that worked out pretty well.

We’re pulling for you guys to turn it around. We really are. So many players on your team started here and got their feet under them in Hershey, and we wish them nothing but the best. If Bruce remains for the long term in Washington, we’ll miss him terribly here, but you’ll love him like we do. Honest. For what it’s worth, we have seen the magic here. We’re more than willing to share.

Sincerely,
Humble Bears Radio Guy

Filed in American Hockey League, Bruce Boudreau, Calder Cup, Hershey Bears, John Walton, Washington Capitals| Permalink| Comments (9)

Opening Day in Hershey: The Talk Is of Titles, Not Just Playoffs

By pucksandbooks
Thursday, September 20, 2007

Hershey Bears LogoA week to the day after the Kettler Capitals Complex afforded me empirical evidence of hockey’s return, I headed up Rt. 83 North to take in Media Day and the opening of training camp for the Hershey Bears this morning. I noticed that the Maryland and Pennsylvania trees bore the earliest tinges of autumn’s colors, and so the confirmation of hockey season’s arrival indoors last week was matched by one outdoors this. I rarely pass up a chance to visit our affiliate, the best in all of hockey, and today delivered me my first immersion in the formal start of a Bears’ season.

One of the first things I noticed was that the Capitals’ new crest rests opposite the Bears’ on Giant Center’s center ice. I also noticed the AHL training camp’s size: on opening day it is modest in personnel relative to an NHL camp — a total of 33 skaters (and just three goalies) dressed for Bruce Boudreau and his staff during two sessions this morning and afternoon. More of course will join in the days ahead, as the Caps make more cuts.

And just a handful of fans perched themselves down low for today’s opening session at 10:00 a.m.

I was roaming around the dark Giant Center concourse all alone near 10:00 when by accident I spotted Tim Leone of The Patriot News and the Bears’ John Walton above me. They knew a confused newcomer when they saw him, and diverted their path and came downstairs and escorted me to a productive work area.

Leone and I juiced up our laptops in Giant Center’s press box before heading down close to the glass to try and make out the identities of the skaters. The Bears neither name nor number their training camp sweaters. But before we left the press box Leone pointed to an odd-looking box in the middle of his laptop screen into which he was typing.

“A blog [for the Patriot News] I’m now responsible for,” he told me. “I blame you,” he added with a smile.

As we watched Head Coach Bruce Boudreau put the mostly anonymous Bears through a rigorous skate I had the thought that while there is perhaps less glamour at camp in Hershey there is every bit the drive and passion among the camp invitees and the coaches possessed by their NHL counterparts. Boudreau today looked and sounded like his charges were in the midst of a mid-January losing streak, and he was going to work them out of it. After the morning’s first session Leone asked Boudreau about his bark out on the ice.

“Look, I tell the guys, ’shame on you if you’re not ready to come.’ There’s a lot of money [to be made] in hockey, in the AHL and NHL,” he said.

I wanted to know of the coach who and what he saw in his nearly week on the ice at Kettler Capitals that might have made him excited about the prospects this season for both the Bears and the Caps. He sounded a strong note of pride in his players.

“All my players can help the Capitals,” he claimed. “There’s a reason we’ve gone to the Calder Cup Finals two years in a row. We’ve got good players.”

He then ran off the list of all of last season’s Bears still at Capitals’ camp. “They’re all going to help the Capitals at some point this season,” he said. Continue reading ›

Filed in American Hockey League, Calder Cup, Hershey Bears, Kettler Capitals Iceplex, Prospects, Ted Leonsis, Training Camp, Washington Capitals| Permalink| Comments (7)

Late-Summer Intrigue Among the Forward Flanks

By pucksandbooks
Thursday, August 30, 2007

Cup'pa JoeOn Wednesday’s CapsReport, a listener asked Mike Vogel to forecast the Caps’ forward line combinations for 2007-’08. That’s always a fun offseason exercise. As you might expect, there were no surprises among Vogel’s top 6. But when he got to the third line MV offered up some intrigue:

Pettinger-Gordon-Steckel.

Matt Pettinger is an established talent in the big league. Boyd Gordon had what certainly appeared to be a breakout year in his professional career last season, admittedly in its infancy. But Dave Steckel? An L.A. Kings’ castoff two seasons ago, earning regular and important minutes on a playoff aspiring club?

You bet.

Steckel earned a richly deserved callup by the Caps late last season after piling up career offensive numbers for the Hershey Bears, and in a game in Atlanta on April 4, sharing a sheet of ice with the likes of Ilya Kovalchuk, Marian Hossa, and Alexander Ovechkin, Steckel stood out as the best player on the ice in all three zones. This is what I wrote about his performance for OFB the following morning:

“The Dave Steckel I watched in Atlanta last night looked identical to the one I followed up in New Hampshire and Maine last month — a force in two ends of the rink, but with one key distinction: he occasionally left the ice in his Bears’ sweater for line changes. But last night for Coach Hanlon, I’m not sure I saw him leave the ice in the third period.

“It was only one game, but in the season within a season, the one where many guys are making statements to management about jobs for the autumn, Dave Steckel last night announced rather loudly that he’s likely to make a serious run at a roster spot with the parent club come training camp.”

Approximately six weeks later, I was seated in the Giant Center press box next to Joe Reekie during the Bears’ postseason run. Once again, Steckel was a standout on the sheet below. With Vogs to my right, it was a press row chock full of Steckel boosters, but Reekie’s reflections on the Bears’ leader really caught my attention: “He should have been a [Caps'] regular last season,” Reekie told me.

Steckel had a lot of folks in D.C. rubbing their eyes wondering if they’d read what they’d actually read in more than a few game accounts last season. He scored five shorthanded goals for the Bears in the regular season, including one against Albany on April 18 while killing a 5-on-3 River Rats power play.

Capitals ReportAnother thing Vogel may have had in mind Wednesday afternoon was Steckel’s being Boyd Gordon’s linemate during the Bears’ postseason march to the Calder Cup in 2006. They were two of Hershey’s best players then, utilized liberally by Bruce Boudreau in all game situations.

Beyond a real big pro physique and two straight seasons of significant development, Steckel will bring to Caps’ training camp in two weeks’ time a reputation for being one of the best thinkers of the game when he’s out on the ice. He is also fantastic on draws. Vogel may or may not have had that in mind yesterday in his line formations; if he’s right, when Boyd Gordon gets chased out of the faceoff circle this season, he could be replaced by his equal at draws. So two-thirds of the Caps’ third line would be renowned for its strategtic thinking, defensive awareness, faceoff acumen, and trustworthiness in every zone of the ice. And be joined by the significantly talented Pettinger.

In his third full season behind the Caps’ bench Glen Hanlon is going to have as many line combination options as he’s ever had. The most impressive may follow the big guns in the top 6 and join a rich legacy of two-way tormentors that play a huge role in leading the Caps back to league-wide respectability.

Filed in American Hockey League, Boyd Gordon, Calder Cup, Dave Steckel, Frivolous Summer File, Hershey Bears, Matt Pettinger, Mike Vogel, Morning cup-a-joe, Prospects, Washington Capitals| Permalink| Comments (6)

Bad News Bears

By pucksandbooks
Tuesday, June 5, 2007

Tim Leone has all the grizzly Game 3 details here.

Filed in American Hockey League, Calder Cup, Hershey Bears, Washington Capitals| Permalink| Comments (0)

Calder Cup Bracket Update — 04 June 2007

By Gustafsson
Monday, June 4, 2007
Calder Cup Bracket Update - 04 Jun 07
Filed in American Hockey League, Calder Cup, Washington Capitals| Permalink| Comments (0)

Bruce Boudreau’s Revival

By pucksandbooks
Sunday, June 3, 2007

Hershey vs. HamiltonImmediately after Hershey’s 4-2 win over Hamilton Saturday night, evening the Calder finals at a game apiece, Bears’ coach Bruce Boudreau was asked if he was going to pursue a union membership card, as he’d worked so hard to overhaul his team in short order.

It was a remarkable transformation. Gone were were the passive PKers of Friday night, replaced by an in-your-face crew that constantly pressured Bulldogs on the puck. Gone, too, was Friday’s resignation to perimeter play, making life easy for Hamilton netminder Carey Price. Instead Boudreau’s Bears played the role of most inhospitable hosts, crashing Carey Price’s cage on virtually every shift, and defending Freddie Cassivi’s with vigor and venom.

Gone was Friday night’s Sunday morning chapel sound at Giant Center, replaced by a roof-raising revival of raucous believers. And gone, too, is any sense that the Bears would quietly and quickly surrender their champion’s status.

More than an hour before the game, Bears Louis Robataille and Mike Green casually flung pucks back and forth to one another out on the ice in their flip flops, smiling as boys at games do when little in the world seems at stake. But after Friday night’s thrashing, and the specter of falling in an 0-2 hole to a team renowned for its road work, and the series next heading to Hamilton for three straight, how could these beleaguered Bears goof off? Call it a champion’s swagger, call it the confidence associated with finishing as the best team during the regular season, but these Bears Saturday night quickly and convincingly demonstrated their ability to dust themselves off from defeat and return to the business of reclaiming their Calder Cup.

“This is gonna be a hell of a series,” Boudreau claimed after the game.

In a thorough reversal of roles, the 0-for-9 power play collar was worn by Hamilton Saturday night. And Hershey found some success on its power play, potting two tallies and moving the puck with confidence and authority on numerous other manpower advantages.

But at even strength the Bears dictated the game’s pace as well. Hamilton coach Don Lever acknowledged the ferocity of Hershey’s effort. “That was a desperate hockey team out there,” he said. “That’s why they’re the best in the league.”

“That’s the hardest we’ve been forechecked all year . . . [and] it wasn’t just one guy finishing checks, all their guys finished their checks.”

The gospel according to Boudreau Saturday night called for his flock to put a laying of the non-healing hands (and sticks) on Hamilton Bulldogs at every turn. Two thunderous Bears’ checks along the Hamilton endboards led directly to two Hershey tallies.

The daunting reality ahead for Boudreau and his team is that with their best effort Saturday, they remained in a tight affair in a must-win game. “We had to play our butts off,” he admitted in the post-game press conference. “We were a lot more determined. I hope we can go better, but I don’t know if we can.”

The seemingly lone commonality from Friday to Saturday was a heavy workload for Carey Price. He’s faced 86 shots through two games. Lever largely dismissed the stat as carrying little meaning in light of so many Bears’ shots coming from the perimeter, but as the series heads into high-stakes showdowns, does he really want his 19-year-old rookie netminder seeing that much rubber? Going forward, you have to think Price is also going to see a lot more Hershey Bears camping out in front of and charging at his crease.

Filed in American Hockey League, Calder Cup, Hershey Bears, Montreal Canadiens, Prospects, Ted Leonsis, Washington Capitals| Permalink| Comments (1)

Calder Cup Finals Game 2: A Photo Essay

By Gustafsson
Sunday, June 3, 2007

Openning Faceoff - Calder Cup Final Game 2
Opening Faceoff - Calder Cup Final Game 2

Tenute back in the lineup
Tenute back in the lineup

Bears' first goal
Bears’ first goal

Continue reading ›

Filed in American Hockey League, Calder Cup, Hershey Bears, Media, Montreal Canadiens, Washington Capitals| Permalink| Comments (0)

Hershey 4, Hamilton 2

By OFB
Saturday, June 2, 2007
2 Point Toast
Filed in American Hockey League, Calder Cup, Hershey Bears, Washington Capitals| Permalink| Comments (0)

Joey Tenute? Tough.

By OFB
Saturday, June 2, 2007

Joey Tenute does not sleep. He waits.Hershey center Joey Tenute returns to the Bears line-up tonight after missing 8 games with a punctured lung.

Hockey players in general are true gamers, but this is remarkable. In the world of professional sports where millionaires routinely go on the disabled list for hangnails, Tenute is reminding us what “love of the game” really means.

Filed in American Hockey League, Calder Cup, Hershey Bears, Washington Capitals| Permalink| Comments (3)

Stuck in Neutral: Hamilton 4 - Hershey 0

By pucksandbooks
Saturday, June 2, 2007

Sky fire, sideways rain, and tree uprooting winds lashed and slashed at Central Pennsylvania an hour before faceoff Friday night, delaying the start of the Calder Cup finals by nearly 30 minutes, but it was the Hamilton Bulldogs’ flooding of the neutral zone that made life most miserable for the Hershey Bears in game one.

Carey Price stopped all 46 shots he faced, his teammates snuffed out all nine Hershey power plays and scored three times themselves while a man up, and Hamilton’s discipline and tempo-dictating trap sucked the life out of sold out and soggy Giant Center. The 4-0 final, and the 46-25 Hershey shots advantage, in no way reflected the complete control Hamilton enjoyed from late in the first period on.Hershey vs. Hamilton

With less than 24 hours to dissect and adjust, Bruce Boudreau must find an effective strategy for the defending champs to generate speed and advantage heading into Hamilton’s zone. When the Bears are denied their north-south superiority, and pinched into a horizontal attack against the Bulldogs’ sizable and mobile blueline corps, life for the rookie netminder is made easy. Game one’s 46 shots were about the easiest any playoff goaltender has ever faced.

“I don’t know if he sweats out there,” Boudreau said afterward of Price.

There’s some (small) solace in knowing that Hershey dropped last year’s Calder opener to Milwaukee before prevailing in six games, but the Bears certainly can not afford a repeat of Friday night’s complete special teams breakdown.

Matt D’Agostini opened the scoring at 1:21 of the second period, with Tomas Fleischmann in the box for a roughing penalty earned at the 20:00 minute mark of the first period. Mikhail Grabovski added another power play tally less than three minutes later, slicing through the Hershey slot with little resistance (a common theme of game one). But it was Corey Locke’s (2 goals, 1 assist) marker midway through the second stanza that ended any drama and put an exclamation point on the freedom that Bulldogs’ forwards enjoyed darting and dashing about Freddie Cassivi without Bears’ blueliners having much say about it.

Gathering the puck near his own blueline, Locke scooted up the left wing boards and deep into Hershey’s zone without drawing even a “hello” from Hershey defenders. His unassisted backhander high into Cassivi’s cage shamed even end-of-shift shinny defenders.

The contrast between Hamilton’s fleet forwards transitioning in lethal fashion off of their trap and Bears’ forwards bogged down in neutral zone frustration was a defining portrait of game one.

“We know they’ve got a lot more to give,” Hamilton head coach Don Lever said afterward. “That wasn’t their ‘A’ game.”

With a little more than two minutes remaining, a disenchanted Bears’ supporter could be heard chanting, “We want mayhem!” He got it alright. Nearly 60 minutes of message-sending mischief littered the ice with gear and stopped play for nearly ten minutes, while the referees sorted out the sordidness.

The problem was, a message of change most needed to be sent to Carey Price, who was standing idle 100 feet away.

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Hershey vs. Hamilton: Calder Cup Finals Preview

By pucksandbooks
Friday, June 1, 2007

Altered Hershey LogoHow ironic it is to suggest that the 2007 Calder Cup Finals pit the farm clubs for the Caps and Canadiens with history being represented by Washington. Tonight at Giant Center the Hershey Bears, AHL members since 1938, will make their 20th appearance in the Calder Cup Finals, an American Hockey League Record, and face the Habs’-affiliated Hamilton Bulldogs, competing in just their 11th season in the ‘A.’ The Bears, the reigning Calder Cup champions, will try to become the first team to repeat since the 1991 Springfield Indians. 

The Bears will seek to reverse an eye-opening trend carried off by Hamilton this spring: in all three of their playoff series the Bulldogs have bested higher-seeded teams. They have prevailed the past five weeks with crunch-time courage — Hamilton has won a lot of close hockey games this postseason — and stellar netminding from blue-chip prospect Carey Price.

In the American League’s Eastern Conference Finals, Hershey had little trouble besting Manchester’s Jason LaBarbera, voted the best goalie in the league this season. But Carey Price, youthful though he is (the 5th pick overall by Montreal in the 2005 Entry Draft), is no journeyman talent. This postseason he is 11-5 with a 2.13 goals-against and a .929 save percentage.

Hamilton likely will not overwhelm Hershey’s blueline with waves of offensive pressure. During the regular season, there wasn’t a single Bulldog ranked in the American League’s top 40 scorers (Duncan Milroy was 43rd, with 25 goals and 33 asists in 64 games). There is balance up front: four Bulldogs tallied 50-plus points (Milroy, Corey Locke, Mikhail Grabovski, and Andrei Kostitsyn).

And in the postseason, this modest offensive output has held true to form: a lot of Hamilton’s wins have been of the 3-2, 2-1, even 1-0 variety. Kyle Chipchura, another Habs’ first-rounder, leads Hamilton in scoring this postseason, but he ranks just 19th overall. Keep in mind that Hamilton has played 17 playoff games, three more than the Bears. The Bears, meanwhile, fairly litter the league’s list of top postseason scorers: Scott Barney is 3rd, Flash is 5th, Kyle Wilson is 8th. Mike Green is outscoring all of Hamilton’s skaters.    

Caps’ fans will also recognize a familiar face from the 2005-06 NHL season in a Hamilton sweater tonight: Mathieu Biron. He had a very solid season for Hamilton, finishing 6th on the team in scoring. Continue reading ›

Filed in American Hockey League, Calder Cup, Hershey Bears, Montreal Canadiens, Prospects, Tomas Fleischmann, Washington Capitals| Permalink| Comments (2)

A Call To Cover Championship Pro Hockey, Quite Near D.C.

By pucksandbooks
Friday, June 1, 2007

Cup'pa Joe

This weekend affords area media a terrific opportunity to think outside the penalty box of puck silence and make a most managable commute up I-83 and report on the record-breaking Hershey Bears. Hershey, you may have heard, is rather family friendly. As in, take in Games 1 and 2 of the Calder Cup Finals tonight and tomorrow at the Giant Center and placate the kiddies with 70 or so roller coaster rides and such and double doses of world-famous chocolate by day. The pinnacles of Hershey Park’s highest coasters can be seen plainly from the front entrance of the hockey rink. 

Count this blogger as one seated for both games. It will be interesting to inventory the breadth of media outlets also present perhaps to chronicle history. The Bears have won seven consecutive playoff series dating back to last postseason, tying an American League record, and with one more triumph that can lay claim to a new one all their own. Anyway, I’ll take a peek at the press box seating chart, ring good ole’ Gus on the cell, and have him relay the tally to you OFB loyalists.  

Why would BigMedia here consider covering the Calder Cup Finals this weekend, or ever? (1) the hockey is world-class, with two teams chock full of first-round NHL talent; (2) the Giant Center playoff atmosphere, as anyone who was there last spring already knows, is mind-blowing in its blow-the-roof-off passion, and merits coverage in and of itself; (3) Hershey is attempting to make American League history; (4) there are no small number of Bears who are likely staples of future Caps’ clubs, beginning this fall; (5) it takes less time to drive up to central PA, park, and seat yourself (distinctly cheaply) than it does to leave Danny Snyder’s parking lot Sunday evenings and return home to Northern Virginia; (6) three words: women’s pro softball.

Last week I offered up a defense of the assets the Caps already possess as a rationale for an optimistic, reasonably near-term future. With yesterday’s inking of Sami Lepisto, General Manager George McPhee has added to his stable of maybe-studs.

European prospects are particularly difficult for we in North America to monitor and assess, and with that in mind, I thought it’d be helpful to share with you some of the scouting assessments of Sami we’ve subscribed to in recent years. Here’s McKeen’s take on him from his draft year of 2004:

August 2004 — “Played in a big role for Jokerit . . . was promoted from the third pairing up to the second, performing in an offensive role alongside Canucks’ prospect Markus Kankaanpera . . . skates well and uses his speed to join the rush when the right chance comes along . . . a dangerous puck mover on the powerplay, but did not show much of his famous point shot . . . does not shy away from contact despite modest size, dishing out a couple of sturdy open ice hits . . . was ejected from the second game after some pushing and squabbling . . . will see more of the puck this season.”

And from January 2004:

 ”. . . after earning well-deserved top defenseman honours at the Under-20 World Juniors this winter, Lepisto has become a highly-coveted player. What sets Lepisto apart from other smaller offensive rearguards is his willingness to play the physical game — [he] doesn’t intimidate, but stands up for himself and stays on his feet. Very agile with an explosive, accurate slapper from the point.”

The signing of a 22-year-old third-rounder is hardly the panacea for all that ills the current Caps’ blueline, but it’s more fruit from the harvest the organization has sewed in recent years in beefing up its scouting department, particularly overseas.

Filed in American Hockey League, Calder Cup, Hershey Bears, Morning cup-a-joe, Prospects, Sami Lepisto, Washington Capitals| Permalink| Comments (3)

Bears on XM

By Gustafsson
Thursday, May 31, 2007

As first heard on the May 30th edition of Capitals Report with Mike Vogel, John Walton announced that the Bears will be heard on XM Sattelite Radio Channel 204 as well as XM Canada. From the Bears website:XM Radio

The American Hockey League announced today that XM Satellite Radio and XM Canada will be carrying Games 1, 5, 6 and 7 of the 2007 Calder Cup Final on their all-hockey Home Ice channel 204.

The BEARS Radio Network will provide the feed for all four games, with John Walton calling the action. Grady Whittenburg, voice of the Binghamton Senators, will join John for Game 1 of the series, with ABC-27 Sports Director Gregg Mace joining Walton on the call in Game 5 should the game be necessary.

XM contractual obligations with the National Hockey League and their coverage of the Stanley Cup Finals precludes them from airing games 2, 3, and 4 of the AHL Finals.

For those that do not have XM, you can always listen to John Walton’s excellent call of the Bears online at PennLive.com.

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Calder Cup Bracket Update — 28 May 2007

By Gustafsson
Monday, May 28, 2007
Calder Cup Bracket Update - 28 May 2007
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Hamilton’s Hot Man in Net

By pucksandbooks
Sunday, May 27, 2007

Yes Hershey is white hot, but I’m not sure they’re the favorite in the Calder Cup Finals. A big reason they may be underdogs against Hamilton is netminder Carey Price, drafted 5th overall by Montreal in 2005. The same Carey Price that went 6-0 at the most recent World Juniors, posting a .961 save percentage, turning aside the Americans in penalty shot after penalty shot in the semifinals.

His first American League game took place on April 13. He was named the game’s no.1 star that night. In 17 postseason games with the Bulldogs this spring he’s gone 11-5 with a 2.12 goals-against. Know this, too: he arrived in Hamilton after a WHL apprenticeship at Tri Cities, partly owned by Olie Kolzig. The owner has played the role of mentor for the promising young netminder as well.

price14.jpg

Filed in American Hockey League, Calder Cup, Hershey Bears, Olaf Kolzig| Permalink| Comments (3)
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