06 September, 2008

Category Archives: Kettler Capitals Iceplex

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Captain Clark: “100 percent” a Go

By pucksandbooks
Friday, August 29, 2008

At the onset of Labor Day weekend, it was most encouraging to see Capitals’ right wing Chris Clark in his training clothes, fresh from rigorous labor out on the Caps’ Kettler ice sheet earlier today.

Word broke about two weeks ago that the team captain had made a significant recovery from the debilitating groin injury that all but shelved his 2007-08 season. Today, I wanted a progress report from him with an eye toward his fitness after a couple of weeks of daily skating at Kettler and with an eye toward the start of training camp in three weeks.

“I have to ask you the obligatory question — you are X percent recovered today, and you believe you’ll be X percent recovered come the start of camp?” I asked.

“One hundred and one hundred,” Clark replied, with a broad smile.

Credit for Clark’s full recovery goes to Vancouver physiotherapist Rick Celebrini, who also supervised ex-Cap Brian Sutherby and his struggles with a nagging groin injury a couple of years ago. Clark will return to Vancouver this weekend, flying out Sunday and spending a couple of days with Celebrini for a final “peace of mind” checkup. But it’s already ’all systems go’ for the former 30-goaler — he has no restrictions in his August training at Kettler.

I asked Clark if he’d wished he’d gone to see Celebrini back in November, just as his injury hit, with the hopes that the celebrated specialist’s treatment might have taken hold and allowed him to return last season, most particularly for the playoff series with the Flyers.

“I thought about that, but the injury wasn’t serious, it was just slow to heal,” he said. In other words, there just wasn’t any urgency to pursue specialized treatment during the first half of the season. Clark’s injury just didn’t mend as such setbacks usually do, and the arrival of the offseason, joined by the prolonged lack of healing, dictated his traveling across the country to see the renowned physiotherapist.

This week also brought news about foreign language and pro sports — the LPGA Tour this week announced that proficiency with English would be mandatory beginning in 2009. It’s an issue that affects the NHL; in the New York Times’ account of the new ladies’ tour policy, it noted that a handful of NHL clubs had a similar requirement in their rooms. I wanted the Caps’ captain’s vantage in the matter – specifically, is English proficiency an issue in the Caps’ room? Has he as captain initiated and promulgated such a policy?

Turns out, even with a handful of English-speaking-challenged players on the Caps’ roster, there are no communications issues. Everyone on the team, Clark noted, recognizes that for the purpose of communications unity, of getting on the same page, the team has to communicate in English.

“I played in Europe, and I gravitated to guys [who spoke English],” Clark told me. “That’s always going to be the case.”

An issue could arise, Clark conceded, if the number of non-English-speaking players reached something akin to a critical mass, but the Caps now don’t have anything close to that challenge, so there is no explicit language policy, dicated by the captain or team management. Even with Alexander Semin, he noted, “he understands English well . . . once in a while, if there’s some confusion, Sergei [Fedorov] or Alex [Ovechkin] will explain something to him.”

Filed in Brian Sutherby, Chris Clark, Kettler Capitals Iceplex, Other Sports, Sergei Fedorov, Washington Capitals| Permalink| Comments (3)

Need Two for the Rookie Scrimmage? Be Online Next Thursday

By The OFB Team
Thursday, August 28, 2008

Caps’ fans wanting to get into Kettler Capitals Iceplex for the September 18 scrimmage between the Caps’ and Flyers’ prospects that day will need to be online and at the Caps’ Web site next Thursday, September 4, when the team will issue free tickets required for admission. Per the team press release today on the event:

“The Washington Capitals’ 2008 rookie camp begins Sept. 14 and culminates with a game against the Philadelphia Flyers rookies on Thursday, Sept. 18, at 3 p.m. at Kettler Capitals Iceplex.

“Every on-ice session during rookie camp is free and open to the public to attend. The game against Philadelphia is also free, but a ticket will be needed to gain admission. To secure a ticket, fans will need to RSVP at WashingtonCaps.com. Since seating at Kettler Capitals Iceplex is limited there is a maximum of two tickets per person, and tickets are available on a first-come, first-served basis. A ticket will gain fans admission to the game, but because of seating limitations it does not necessarily guarantee a seat.

“Fans can begin to RSVP online on Thursday, Sept. 4, and will need to bring their printed confirmation with them to gain admission to the game. Fans will need to enter through the main entrance of Kettler Capitals Iceplex, which is on the eighth floor of the Ballston Common Mall parking garage. No copies or duplicate confirmation sheets will be permitted.

This will be a first-of-its-kind event at the facility, and given the opponent, not one to be missed.

Filed in Hockey Rinks, Kettler Capitals Iceplex, Philadelphia Flyers, The Great Old Patrick Division, Washington the Hockey Town| Permalink| Comments (1)

Rockin’ the Red Ushers in Global Cooling

By pucksandbooks
Saturday, August 9, 2008

Approximately eight feet away from my laptop station I have a patio screen door that’s opened this morning, to allow fresh Washington August air into my home.

It’s 69 degrees outside. In August. In mid-morning. In Washington. At 6 the other morning I had the top of my Wrangler lowered en route to the gym, and I needed a fleece top to ward off the morning chill. This morning I looked at the 10-day advance weather forecast for lower Montgomery County, and we’re not supposed to see a single day’s mercury north of 85, with evenings consistently in the lower and middle sixties. This is in the heart of August in Washington, D.C. I think the world must be coming to the end.

There are cooling patterns — merciful respites (almost always very temporary) — from Oven July and Oven August in Washington, but then there’s what we’ve had here this summer: namely, not really summer at all, by Washington’s standards. What the heck is going on?

We have had sticky sets of days, and we have had a handful of genuinely hot days, but we really have not had the twin agonies joined for any appreciable period. I remember well being in Colorado in early June and learning of 100-degree temps plaguing the District while I was playing in 10-foot snowdrifts in Rocky Mountain National Park. Flying home, I thought of a certain summer of agony ahead. But it’s never arrived. Indeed, that early June heatwave was the warmest it’s been here all summer.

The lifeguards in Ocean City must be seated at their observation posts this weekend in Reebok beach systems, to help retain body heat (and moisture).

Can Alexander Ovechkin actually will us cooler, more hockey-friendly, Moscow-like weather? It would appear. We’re on pace to attend the September Caps-Flyers’ rookie scrimmage at Kettler in parkas.

In such conditions, allow me to meteorologically dream a little.

Perhaps this New England summer in the Mid-Atlantic portends a deliciously crisp autumn and a Canal- and Reflecting Pool-freezing winter. Perhaps on fall Saturdays those of us who enjoy college football will tailgate in these parts in bluejeans and sweatshirts and perhaps even jackets on top of that. Or put another way: perhaps we’ll watch our football in football weather.

We’ve had a decent bit of rain this spring and summer — particularly relative to last summer — and so weather-cooperating late September and October weekends should afford us spectacular autumnal colors amid drives in the Shenandoah National Park or up along Skyline Drive. The way things are going with crude oil prices these days, we might actually be able to afford to take those drives.

And then there’s the possibility of an old fashioned Washington winter. One from my youth. Chilly at Thanksgiving. Cold at Christmas. Frozen in January and February.

Many of you have seen (or own) photographs of Georgetown under a heavenly dumping of snow. Cars can’t navigate the unplowed streets, so you see then Washington the pedestrian city it was designed to be. You know that Saturday matinee we have with the Wings on the final day of January this season? How wonderful would it be to get belted good with the white stuff that Friday, to plan an early Saturday morning, Metro-free commute to the game, all bundled up with a few puck buddies (one of them named Flask)?

I think I’ll make that thought my August Saturday night mood-enhancer. I also think I’ll wear a hockey sweater while tending to my patio barbeque this evening. I’m gonna need it, after all.

Washington the Hockey Weather Town. Has a nice ring to it.

Filed in Detroit Red Wings, Frivolous Summer File, Kettler Capitals Iceplex, Morning cup-a-joe, Washington Capitals, Washington the Hockey Town| Permalink| Comments (3)

Dates for Camping

By The OFB Team
Wednesday, July 23, 2008

The Capitals today announced dates for fall camp. Rookies and prospects will arrive at Kettler Capitals for workouts that begin on September 14. Regular training camp will commence on Saturday, September 20.

A highlight of September’s training sessions will be a scrimmage between Washington’s rookies and Philadelphia’s, at Kettler, at 3:00 on Thursday, September 18 — the first of its kind at the Capitals’ training facility. The game will be free for fans but will require a ticket for admission, with the team to announce protocols for that at a later date.

All of September’s on-ice sessions will be free and open to the public.

Filed in Hockey, Kettler Capitals Iceplex, National Hockey League, Rookie Camp, Training Camp, Washington Capitals| Permalink| Comments (1)

Ahead, a Promising Harvest on the Farm

By pucksandbooks
Tuesday, July 15, 2008

Development camps such as that recently completed by the Capitals have a way of imbuing DraftGeeks and even the more balanced of hockey fan with horizons of heightened optimism. Always it seems there are a handful of young standouts there, among them compelling stories of no-name collegians or free agents making next-season names for themselves. This July’s camp in Washington was no different. Jake Hausworth, a USHL graduate (Omaha) headed for Michigan Tech this autumn, may in his hockey career make no greater imprint than what he did in Washington this past week. All that would make him, then, would be a special hockey player.

Capitals’ fans, I think, ought to delight in the accomplishments of the team’s scouts — high in drafts with lottery selections but also deep into draft Saturdays (Perreault, Gordon). Hershey Bears’ fans, however, ought to be downright giddy at what’s coming their way this autumn, in year four of the team’s affiliation with the Caps.

It’s not out of the realm of possibility, for instance, that Hershey hockey fans could see more of Eric Fehr this coming season. The injury-hampered right wing signed a two-way deal with the Caps last week. He gave great effort in D.C. upon his recall last spring, but a full season of apprentice seasoning in Hershey, earning top line minutes, may not be the worst thing for his career development.

I’m imagining an Eric Fehr, Chris Bourque, Mathieu Perreault, Sami Lepisto, and Andrew Gordon Bears power play at the moment . . . Fehr and Gordon owning the corners, Perreault and CBourque with the puck Krazy-Glued to their sticks, Lepisto making like Mike Green with his passing and hockey sense on the point . . .

Mother, hold me.

Oh, and there’s a bit of a talent infusion in net in the organization to discuss this summer.

Last September, Capitals’ rookies reported first to fall camp and, on Saturday, September 8, skated an exhibition game at the Philadelphia Flyers’ practice facility in Voorhees, N.J. Plans call for the Flyers to reciprocate, and visit Kettler Capitals this September. The Caps haven’t finalized a date for that game yet, but it promises to be a spirited, first-of-its kind event for the facility. If this past Saturday’s SRO turnout for Development Camp’s concluding scrimmage is any indication, Craigslist and or eBay may be involved in admissions with that Rookie Camp tilt.

That game may also inaugurate a season-long intrigue affair between Washington hockey fans and the team’s prospects in Hershey. It’s no secret that the affiliation between the Caps and Bears has been a fruitful one — really a perfect one in terms of the parent club drafting well and feeding quality to the farm, as well as offering fans a friendly proximity by which to travel to one another’s games. But what’s in store this coming season on the farm may be the most appealing that the affiliation has offered to date.

For this coming season in Hershey there will be bluechip prospects for the Caps dressed in Bears’ sweaters at virtually every position, from the goal cage on out: a Rookie of the Year in Finland’s top professional league; an MVP of the QMJHL; the two most recent scoring champions from the Q; at least one member of Team Canada’s gold-medal-winning World Junior champions last year; the backstopper of five shutouts in Russia’s top professional league this most recent postseason; potentially two OHL All -Stars. In other words: fairly an embarrassment of prospect riches.

We live-blogged from Kettler this past Saturday, and joining us in the fun was Bears’ PR guy Chris Poisal. If you followed our musings you absorbed Chris’ significant enthusiasm for the coming campaign. Last year’s Bears may have been somewhat short in the leadership department, and ravaged by injury beyond belief, but this summer’s signings of Dean Arsene, Keith Aucoin, and Hershey 2006 Calder Cup hero Graham Mink have vanquished any leadership concerns. They’ll be expected to mentor a crop of recent Caps’ draft picks abundant in skill but relatively short on pro league experience.

Alluding to Hershey’s offseason signings, and the promise of more help arriving from the parent club, Bears’ head coach Bob Woods on Saturday said, “Leadership was the big thing we were looking to move on, and while we don’t know what’s going to happen here [in Washington] in the fall, you get a [Keith] Aucoin, you get a [Graham] Mink, a healthy [Dean] Arsene back, now you’ve filled a lot of those voids.

“We’ve got a great group of young guys returning,” he added.

Woods admitted that in net, “we’re gonna be young, but from what I’ve seen this week, there’s a lot of promise there.

“Look at a team like Wilkes Barre last year,” he added, “They had two rookie goaltenders and they went right to the finals.”

The ride ought to be fun, and entertaining. A potent potential lineup could include a lot of these names:

Alexandre Giroux Keith Aucoin Eric Fehr/Graham Mink
Chris Bourque Kyle Wilson Andrew Gordon
Oskar Osala Mathieu Perreault / Jay Beagle Francois Bouchard
Maxime Lacroix Andrew Joudrey Scott Barney
Dean Arsene Sami Lepisto
Josh Godfrey Tyler Sloan
Patrick McNeill/Sasha Pokulok
Machesney / Varlamov
Filed in American Hockey League, Andrew Gordon, Chris Bourque, College Hockey, Development Camp, Eric Fehr, Free Agents, Hershey Bears, Kettler Capitals Iceplex, Mathieu Perreault, Minor Pro Hockey, Morning cup-a-joe, Oskar Osala, Prospects, Rookie Camp, Sami Lepisto, Simeon Varlamov, Training Camp, Washington Capitals| Permalink| Comments (19)

Should Big Joe Go Pro?

By The OFB Team
Friday, July 11, 2008

For a promising athlete, the decision on whether to remain in college or depart early before earning a degree, in pursuit of pro sport riches, is an intensely personal and private endeavor — and not a subject fit for whimsical debate in Internet forums. It may well be the case that today Joe Finley (first round, ‘05) is in his hockey development absolutely ready to commence a career in pro puck. Nonetheless, that is a decision for him to make, perhaps in consultation with his family. We would do well to keep our worthless opinions on the matter to ourselves.

However . . . were he interested in outside opinion on the matter, and specifically, solicitious of the views of a set of sometimes respected bloggers who monitor the state of his drafting organization, we’d offer the reflection that his prowess as a purveyor of intense pain is one that would be well directed, shift after shift, at the Penguins’ crybaby captain. Beginning yesterday.

To amplify this general viewpoint, we’ve devised a table of pros and cons related to the decision. We’ve assigned value checks to an array of priority criteria, and we’ve tallied them. Tell us if you would have arrived at a different recommendation.

Evaluative Criteria Senior Year,
U of North Dakota		 Pro Hockey in
Hershey, PA
Temperate winter weather
Writing papers, taking exams, rising for morning classes
Proximity to clustered living by hard-bodied, experimentally inclined women under the age of 22
Keggers
The Ralph vs. Giant Center
Called Up to Skate on a Sheet with Ovechkin
Thursday (sometimes Wednesday) Starts to Weekends
Ditching Mandatory, Full-Face Shields, Immersion in Fighting Friendly Culture
Booze-Induced, Care- and Consequence-free Hookups
Playing for the Jacks Adams-winning Coach
Chance, if Called Up, to Bloody Crosby
Having John Walton Narrate Your Beatdowns of Wilkes Barre-Scranton Penguins for Central Pa. Radio Listeners

Recommendation: Go pro, Joe!

Filed in American Hockey, College Hockey, Development Camp, Joe Finley, Kettler Capitals Iceplex, Prospects, Washington Capitals| Permalink| Comments (18)

Saturday Live Blogging from Kettler Capitals

By The OFB Team
Thursday, July 10, 2008
For this Saturday’s Development Camp concluding scrimmage at 10:00, we’ll join Eric McErlain of the Sporting News and the AOL Fanhouse and Chris Poisal, Public Relations Assistant for the Hershey Bears, for some live blogging of the action. For those of you who cannot make it out to Kettler, join us right here with your Saturday morning cup-a-joe.
Filed in Blogs, Development Camp, Hershey Bears, Internet, Kettler Capitals Iceplex, Media, Prospects, Washington Capitals| Permalink| Comments (0)

Simeon Varlamov: Stranger in a Strange Land

By pucksandbooks
Thursday, July 10, 2008
Varlamov contemplates his future

Varlamov contemplates his future

Simeon Varlamov is an exceptionally driven competitor, and like all of his prospect peers, passionate about his sport. But today he is very much a stranger in a strange land. We hope that our video of his first formal press conference in Washington yesterday illustrated how isolated he is here. According to Varlamov, his father will be coming over at some point to offer support, but today he speaks zero English, and he told us yesterday that he can receive precious little instruction and guidance from anyone affiliated with the Caps, on or off the ice. That’s a remarkable realm of isolation, and frankly, I find it deeply lamentable.

As a native Washingtonian, I abhor the thought of any young man or woman seeking some manner of the American dream, however that’s defined, so isolated. This existence highlights the global origins of elite hockey talent, but also, from my vantage, the dire need for some manner of warm welcoming to be institutionalized not just by the Capitals but by all NHL clubs.

During yesterday’s presser, I imagined ahead to Varlamov being on the Hershey Bears’ long bus rides this coming season. I thought it harrowing for him to be riding those linguistically isolated from his teammates. It’s a real challenge I think for the Capitals’ organization. But I don’t think that hockey clubs should be singled out for more or less “hoping” that a foreign player’s presence here and immersion in our culture will eventually render them, at some point, comfortable; I think it’s a part of a long-standing American creed – a “tough love” expectation, a rough “rite of passage” into America for our newcomers. But I also believe it’s one that we ought to rigorously revisit.

Simeon expressed his intent to enroll in English classes yesterday, and hopefully he will arrive in Hershey this autumn with at least a rudimentary command of English basics. But like every other member of the Capitals’ organization, he ought to feel every bit as welcomed in the room as the right wing from Connecticut. How can one, though, when the most basic communication with teammates is impossible?

Our friend Dmitry Chesnokov was 14 when he moved from Moscow to the UK to study. “The first few weeks away from home were the toughest in terms of the language barrier, even though I had, what I thought at the time, was a very good grip on English. It wasn’t,” he told me.  Chesnokov found that adjusting to the culture took much longer.

“It was still somewhat easier for me, than what Varlamov will have to go through,” he added. “I came from a large city with a lot of Western influence — you know that Moscow is anything but a small Russian town.  Varlamov is from a much smaller Russian city. Thus, it will be harder for him.

“Language barrier is the most important factor,” Chesnokov noted. “Without [command of English] one cannot go grocery shopping, rent an apartment, buy a car, learn the rules of life in America. And most importantly, one cannot communicate with others here. Communication is vital to learning the way of life in America, to making friends — which is important! – and to get the job done well in net because one would not be able to understand coaches’ instructions.

“In Russia each team holds camp for a couple of months. They live together, train together, travel together, etc. A lot of times before games Russian teams do not live at home with their families, but at a hotel adjacent to or incorporated into their practice facility. It might be changing now, but it is still very different from the NHL. Varlamov will have to learn to train on his own, get ready for the season alone: rent a rink, hire a personal trainer, etc.

And last but certainly not least, Chesnokov pointed out, there is the issue of homesickness.

“Living in a different city in the same country could be lonely, let alone half across the world where food is different, people have different habits — like smiling to others, as weird as that sounds.

“After the official presser when I asked him whether he was staying in the U.S. to look for a house, buy a car, etc., he told me there was no way, because he would “die” of boredom with no one to talk to.”

Filed in Development Camp, Dmitry Chesnokov, Hockey, Kettler Capitals Iceplex, Prospects, Simeon Varlamov, Sovetsky Sport, Washington Capitals| Permalink| Comments (30)

Caps Camp Candids

By The OFB Team
Wednesday, July 9, 2008

Official OFB spouse and unofficial OFB photographer Chanuck was at Kettler on Monday and Tuesday to check things out. Here are some of the highlights.

Alzner's version of Blue Steel
Gabby demonstrates how he got his nickname
Varlamov contemplates his future with the Caps

Continue reading ›

Filed in Bruce Boudreau, Development Camp, Josh Godfrey, Karl Alzner, Kettler Capitals Iceplex, Prospects, Washington Capitals| Permalink| Comments (3)

Postcards from Development Camp, Day 2

By The OFB Team
Wednesday, July 9, 2008
Ted - We hope you’re enjoying your summer vacation, and knowing that you’re out of town, we thought we’d send you a postcard from Development Camp to give you a flavor of what’s transpiring back at Ballston.

We went to camp today with two questions we wanted to pose to Capitals’ campers: (1) “At what age did you fall in love with hockey, and what specifically about the sport made you fall in love with it?” And, (2) “Hockey fans miss hockey most particularly, and most terribly, in the dead of summer. As an elite hockey talent, do you, like your sport’s fans, miss hockey in summer, or do you enjoy keeping your feet out of stiff skate boots, avoiding the bumps and bruises of the season, and avoiding hockey’s long travels and instead staying put in one warm place (home) in the offseason?”

They weren’t your conventional media kind of questions, which is why we asked them.

We got to pose them to three really exciting and promising Capitals’ prospects — Jay Beagle, Andrew Gordon, and Mathieu Perreault. We think you’ll enjoy reading their responses — they all gave us fantastically thoughtful and enthusiastic replies.

It just now occurs to us that we’ll need to pass along a few postcards to convey the entirety of their reactions to you, but you’ve got the reading time — you’re on vacation!

Here’s hoping the beach drinks are potent and the island views curvacious.

OFB
Ted Leonsis
1998 Lincoln Holdings St.
Great Falls, VA
22006
USA
Jay Beagle, on discovering his passion for hockey: “I was 2 years old. My dad always had hockey games on [TV] while I was a kid, and I was watching hockey — I’d sit down with him after work. They put me in skates when I was 2 years old and I just kind of stood there — they have a picture of me standing on skates with a puck in front of me. From there I just wanted to be on the ice every day.

My mom would take me skating every day she could. First time I was on the ice was when I was 2. I don’t remember it ’cause I was 2, but my mom says all I would say is “Hockey!Hockey!Hockey!” And then, later, I’d be ripping pucks down in the basement all day long . . .

OFB: Doing damage?

Beagle: “Yea, yea.”

On summer and missing hockey or savoring the break: “It’s a combination of both. There’s a part of you that’s missing hockey like crazy and wants to get back on the ice and get working hard again and get the legs going. And there’s another side of you that loves to go to the beach and just relax and kind of get away from stuff, just to take time for yourself. But I’m always missing hockey [in summer]. I love coming out, every time, every chance I can get to skate and work on stuff.”
Ted Leonsis
1998 Lincoln Holdings St.
Great Falls, VA
22006
USA
Andrew Gordon, on discovering his passion for hockey: “I was probably about 3 or 4 years old, and there was a documentary on TV, the ‘72 Series, the Canada-Russia series — my dad was big into it. We used to sit there and watch it — we’d recorded it. Instead of watching cartoons I’d come home and watch that ‘72 tape about four or five times a day. The ‘72 series, there’s so much passion in it. I remember being 5 or 6 years old and just glued to it.

OFB: You still watch it today?

AG: “I get new documentaries on DVD and stuff like that at Christmas every year, and every now and then I watch it — you can’t deny the passion that those guys played with back then.

“My dad’s favorite team was Montreal growing up, so I got into that, and they won the Cup in ‘93, when I was still young enough to get excited about what it was all about. There are all kinds of factors [influencing passion], but that ‘72 series is what really turned my passion.”

On summer and missing hockey or savoring the break: “The first couple of weeks are nice when you can just relax and are enjoying time with your friends and stuff, but for me the itch comes back pretty quickly. I miss gamedays more than anything. You know you wake up and you don’t think about anything but the game that day. You’re not going out and paying bills, you’re not running around town, you go to the rink, you go home, you go to sleep, you think about the game.

“Whatever you do that day is solely focused on game time. All you focus on is 7:00, and in the summer, I don’t wake up with that focus for the full day. I’ll wake up and focus for two hours, three hours in the weight room and then . . . I’m just daydreaming all day. I miss gamedays the most.”
Ted Leonsis
1998 Lincoln Holdings St.
Great Falls, VA
22006
USA
Mathieu Perreault, on discovering his passion for hockey: “I was 2 years old and I had a stick in my hand and I already start to love hockey. Since I was born I love hockey! [Emphasis Perreault's] When I was 4 years old I was loving the game and playing it every day.”

OFB: At 2 years old, were you even on the ice then, when you were in love with the game?

MP: “No, just home with the stick in my hand. Since I was born I, I love hockey! [MP eyes glimmer]

On summer and missing hockey or savoring the break: “It’s good to come here every year — it’s my third year here. You train at home, you don’t see so much ice; it’s more like off-ice training and it’s good for skating.

“It’s a fun week, too. You see all of the guys that I’ve met since I was drafted here. We’ve all become good friends. It’s fun to see them, too.”
Ted Leonsis
1998 Lincoln Holdings St.
Great Falls, VA
22006
USA
Filed in Andrew Gordon, Development Camp, Hardcore Hockey Fans, Hockey Rituals, Jay Beagle, Kettler Capitals Iceplex, Mathieu Perreault, Prospects, Ted Leonsis, Washington Capitals| Permalink| Comments (3)

Postcards from Summer Development Camp, Day 1

By The OFB Team
Tuesday, July 8, 2008
In March and April, when the Washington Capitals were engaged in a torrid, must-win-every-night, city-consuming adventure-run to a Southeast division title, 20-year-old Oskar Osala was four thousand miles and seven hours’ worth of time zones away, in his native Finland . . . glued to every minute of it.

“I had channels that I could watch the games, I was really amazed at how good they played,” Osala said Monday afternoon, after his first on-ice session at the Capitals’ 2008 Development Camp. “It was such great hockey, so great to watch. I saw a few playoffs games yes, but the end of the regular season more.

“I was — how do you say?”

“Rock the Red?” his blogger inquisitor offered.

“Yes,” the easygoing left winger replied with a smile.

“I hope I will one day . . . I can be a part of that team, they play such great hockey. It’s really nice to watch, very exciting, hard working hockey.”

[OFB reader, we're running out of space with this first postcard from Camp Kettler, so we're gonna send you a second one pronto.]
On Frozen Blog Reader
www.onfrozenblog.com
Washington, DC
20004
USA
The Vaasa, Finland, native was the Capitals’ fourth-round choice, 97th overall, in the 2006 NHL Entry Draft. He played for Mississauga in the OHL from 2005-07, totaling 87 points (39 goals, 48 assists) in 122 games over two seasons. But it was at the 2007 World Junior Championships that Osala may have enjoyed his breakthrough development experience. He shared the 2007 tournament lead with five goals (and eight points in six games total) for Finland.

Osala left North America for Finland for the 2007-08 season. Skating as a 19-year-old for the Espoo Blues of the SM-liiga, Finland’s top professional hockey league and, along with the Swedish Elite League and the former Russian Super League, widely regarded as one of the top professional leagues in the world, all Osala accomplished was being named Rookie of the Year in the 14-team league.

Returned to North America this month, he quickly made a big impression in the opening moments of this summer’s development camp. He was among the first skaters Monday morning, and a veteran reporter who took in the session approached OFB early in the afternoon and claimed that Osala was a standout in the drills. [Looks like a 3rd card needed. We'll be better with other postcards, but who doesn't like getting mail?]
On Frozen Blog Reader
www.onfrozenblog.com
Washington, DC
20004
USA
Osala was asked by a reporter Monday if he was surprised at being named Rookie of the Year in Finland’s top pro league.

“If you’d asked me that before the year yes, but now after the year, I had a pretty strong year, I led the rookies in pretty much every category throughout the year.”

Osala’s decision to return to Finland not only offered him superb competition but allowed him to finish his schooling. Now, though, he’s where he wants to be — and where he wants to remain.

“I’m really excited. This has been my dream since I was a little kid. I will do everything — work as hard as I can to make the Caps, but if not, I will do everything in my power to help Hershey be a successful team next year.”

[Hey, it's only been one day, but we're really having a blast at summer camp. Love, OFB]
On Frozen Blog Reader
www.onfrozenblog.com
Washington, DC
20004
USA
Filed in Development Camp, Kettler Capitals Iceplex, Oskar Osala, Prospects, Washington Capitals| Permalink| Comments (24)

Ten Top Storylines for Development Camp 2008

By pucksandbooks
Monday, July 7, 2008

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.

Filed in American Hockey League, College Hockey, Development Camp, Francois Bouchard, Frozen Four, Hardcore Hockey Fans, Hershey Bears, Hockey Rituals, Joe Finley, John Carlson, Karl Alzner, Kettler Capitals Iceplex, Mathieu Perreault, Michal Neuvirth, Prospects, Sasha Pokulok, Simeon Varlamov, WJC, Washington Capitals| Permalink| Comments (10)

Monday Morning with George McPhee

By The OFB Team
Monday, June 16, 2008

On Monday morning we joined Tarik and Corey and a few other media outlets out at Kettler Capitals Iceplex for a pre-draft gab session with Capitals’ General Manager George McPhee. We put a tough question to him:

“A two-part question for you. The team’s enjoyed terrific success at the draft the last four or five years, particularly relative to say your first years here. How do you account for the remarkable discprepancy in success? Also, do you conduct a lessons learned on drafts with your scouting team after say 5 years’ time — lessons learned in terms of hits and misses?”

He told us, “That’s a very good question. I agree with you that our drafting recently has been a lot better than early on.

“A lot of it has to do with experience. We hired a young staff, and it was going to take them some time to get up and get going. And that’s a lesson you learn as a manager. We had a young staff, and we’ve constantly tried to upgrade our systems and how we do things, and we do review every draft.

“We do it basically three years out. At our January meeting we go through who did we draft three years ago, and I try to take notes after every draft — what we were thinking going in; what happened in each round; what happened before each pick; what did we want to do and what did we do; who said what. And then we pull out all those notes three years later and start talking to our scouts about it in our meeting. And if you do it right it’s really helpful. You learn a lot from it.

“In the early years the scouts were sort of walking on eggshells when we were doing it. But if you do it right and people are comfortable with being accountable you get better. And we have been getting better. We’ve found different ways to process information we’ve been getting for the drafts.”

McPhee also was asked about picking much deeper in rounds beginning this June after choosing from a lottery perch the past couple of drafts. “It’s always hard picking,” he said. “If you’re picking in the top four or five, you better get the right guy — you can’t miss [on] them.”

“You don’t get to pick in the top three or four or five very often — if you are, somebody else is going to be making the picks pretty soon.”

Filed in Blogs, DraftGeek, Entry Draft, Front Office, George McPhee, Internet, Kettler Capitals Iceplex, Media, OFB, Washington Capitals| Permalink| Comments (1)

This Ain’t a Bet on Big Brown

By The OFB Team
Thursday, June 12, 2008

About the worst-kept secret in Washington these days is that Alexander Ovechkin later today will accept the Hart Trophy as the league’s MVP. You know already of leaked t-shirts that speak to the feat. The Capitals earlier this week announced that tomorrow they’ll host a showcasing of NHL trophy hardware and a free skate out at Kettler during mid-day. Now comes word that should AO prevail tonight he’ll appear before D.C. Mayor Adrian Fenty tomorrow to receive the key to the city!

What a letdown should Jarome Iginla instead win the Hart!

Ain’t happening.

Here’s how the Caps’ communications pros relayed the word late yesterday:

“In the event that Alex Ovechkin is awarded the National Hockey League’s Hart Trophy naming him the league’s Most Valuable Player on June 12, DC Mayor Adrian M. Fenty will present Ovechkin with a key to the city during a fan celebration.”

The ceremony, should it be suitable to acknowledge, will be in front of the John A. Wilson Building at 1350 Pennsylvania Ave. NW at 4:00. Alex and the mayor would be joined by Ted Leonsis, George McPhee, and the Ballou High marching band.

Filed in Alexander Ovechkin, George McPhee, Kettler Capitals Iceplex, National Hockey League, Ted Leonsis, Washington the Hockey Town| Permalink| Comments (2)

Friday Skate at Kettler, With Trophies

By The OFB Team
Wednesday, June 11, 2008

Take the day off on Friday and hit the ice:

Washington Capitals fans are invited to beat the heat with a free public skate on Friday, June 13, at Kettler Capitals Iceplex and view major NHL trophies on display from the Hockey Hall of Fame.

The ice will be available for a free public skate from 11 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. The trophies will be on display on the mezzanine level between the two rinks from 12 to 1 p.m.

Filed in Alexander Ovechkin, Kettler Capitals Iceplex, Washington Capitals| Permalink| Comments (1)

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)