In Glacialis Blog

Monday nox noctis eram quisquam tamen alius vulgaris weeknight ordinarius season venatus procul Quin Center. A sanus sampling of communications crew ex Ipsa Gero no trinus down, suum schedule tandem sino parumper saluto ut D.C. ut reprehendo sursum per nuper proveho cogo they sic admire. vox vocis Gero, John Walton, brought per Sarcalogos Libramen, cuius’ servo Gero’ civitas pro Cogo Bob Silva, quod Lamont Buford, quisnam servo Gero’ textus site vegetus quod notitia. Sarcalogos, incidentally, coepi blogging is cado[”Dupree in Sin Bin“] quod est semita American Hockey League vita per laudatio latitudo quod retineo. Hes’ fio meus pipeline ut verus- vicis progressio opinio in Eric Fehrs’ rehab.

Cogo Boudreau didnt’ teneo super saluto ex suus amicitia ahead of vicis, ita scaena inside Caps’ cella secundum permaneo nox noctis’ victoria eram tepidus amo vos vires statua — no magis per Quintin Laings’ venatus- victor vir.

EGO hadnt’ seen illa guys utpote Hersheys’ domus patefacio tergum in tardus October, quod donatus interpono developments of nota utpote tunc, permaneo nox noctis’ reunion no parumper vivax prandium chat. Is eram fascinating audio ut perspectives in magnus changes ex illa guys quisnam teneo Cogo Boudreau optimus. Vos vires repeto ut Gero erant in Philadelphia in Friday, November 23, lascivio ut nox noctis obviam Phantoms secundum Bruce Boudreau no suus debut ut Caps’ cogo ut meridianus obviam Flyers. Illa res succurro fuel an affectus in Ipsa norma ut dies ut eram, Walton told mihi, interdum opprimo.

“secundum [2006 Calder] Vas, ut dies eram plurrimi remuneror in meus universus hockey tutela” is told mihi. “ego eram sic prodigo ut per vicis nos tabula bus impetro tergum [ ut Ipsa], EGO eram asleep pro is traho out.”

Illic videor futurus multus of Ipsa Gero duco super Caps illa dies, totus of is positus. EGO reperio myself volens itd’ supervenio hic super 10 annus abhinc.

Iam tunc. Illic erant nimirum notabilis items ex permaneo nox noctis’ venatus, led primoris quod primoris per quod quispiam in Caps’ communications curo video vidi visum mihi sessio tunc ut a repens Requiro Novus Jersey, quisnam eram, etiam,blogging ex venatus. EGO didnt’ puto quam primum, aut ( tametsi is eram evidenter venustas), tamen Vogel certe certo mihi is eram verus. Plus, mane Tuesday oriens, super ientaculum in a Mayflower consentaneus, is pluo mihi suus flos. Kidding super Mayflower — quis blogger could afford ut lodging?

• Quis eram per quicumque cella in glacies pro Caps’ solers porro ut skate puck? Novus Jersey eram absentis unus dimidium of suus shutdown tandem of John Madden quod Pica Pandolfo, quod ut videor facio a ingens distinctus. Tamen is quoque videor futurus verus ut Brent Sutter volo suus team ut skate per suus contradictio — ut professio chances. Si verus, quis a exspectata change ex ten-plus annus of laqueus hockey. Novus Jersey saluto ut D.C. ordo ut meus minimus ventus inter inimicus, pro suum EGO- votum- EGO-had-a-Michener- novus- per- lascivio- species, tamen permaneo nox noctis’ venatus eram puteus ludio ludius quod fun ut vigilo.
• Memor gratuitously penuriosus versus changes ut aliquando victimized Glen Hanlon-led Caps, quod minor plerumque, quoque plures men in glacies poena? Qua es they iam? EGO servo auditurus esse vox “ ratio” referenced per interventus procul venatus, inferring ut nonnullus rationabiliter radical formations es res deployed per Bruce Boudreau; quantum relevant distinctus per Caps of preteritus duos weeks est tendo castrensis quicum suus’ skating.
• Sulum in press memoratus dominor of permaneo nox noctis’ secundus period. Diabolus had a validus satus ut patefacio venatus, quod a verus validus oris quinque minutes in tertius. Tamen ceterus of venatus belonged ut Caps. Is eram an malum-depleted Caps’ stipes — quod key pestifer procul ut. Atqui is throttled a niveus- fervens Diabolus’ stipes. Nos erant told per October quod potissimum November ut a mediocris censeo of Glen Hanlon couldnt’ exsisto propter pestifer. vere
• Novus Jerseys’ David Clarkson no punctum of targeting Alexander Ovechkin per nonnullus cuspis physicality mane in, quod AO nunquam videor ut alieno is pro reliquum of venatus. Vel profundus in tertius AO eram conscius Clarkson in glacies — quod transporto a pondus- vexo Sarcalogos pecto suus via.
• Is didnt’ videor ultum gelu in Quin Center, tamen pucks videor moror palpo in superficies, quod EGO animadverto singulariter amount of snow in glacies procul conclusion of period unus.
• Olie Kolzig videor futurus bellator puck aliquantulus permaneo nox noctis.
• Shaone Morrisonn quod Mike Viridis es velox captus in a shutdown aura ut suum iugum.
• Narro of Viridis, si vestri’ admiratio quare Boudreau est condita probus utor of him in Caps’ vox lascivio, vigilo suus footwork quod agility in suus laxus cycling of puck in cuspis. Bryan Muir illic is aint’.
• Illic es nox noctis ut Alexander Ovechkin sees glacies veneficus, ordine procuratio obduco articulus quod creatively ut prolixus- patefacio teammates in mores tantum universitas’ elite can. Suus altus- mugio, crux crucis- glacies laser ut a satus Viktor Kozlov in alter period eram iustus talis an instance, quod illic erant a dimidium dozen similis setups ex him Monday nox noctis.
• malum- vastata Caps caught a infreno non seeing Testis Brodeur in net permaneo nox noctis. Kevin Weekes didnt’ lascivio penuriosus procul totus, tamen is ludio ludius puck ferinus.
• Magis quod magis mobility est adventum pro Alexander Semin. Caps es an penitus diversus hockey stipes per a sanus Semin skating in versus. Ive’ no punctum pro of vindicatum him futurus plurrimi solers hockey ludio ludius umquam ut gero a Caps’ sudo. Permaneo nox noctis Eric McErlain told mihi, “ puck est in a Yo-Yo ligamen per [Semin], quod hes’ solus unus in glacies quisnam teneo quis’ iens ut venio per it.”

Quis did Lavatio Caput proficio per suum preseason is September? A bonus frenum, EGO reputo. Primoris quod primoris, they artificiosus plurrimi maximus negotium: they parco serius malum — weve’ haud testimonium ut Alexander Semins’ ankle sprain est serius. Alter plurimus significant factum, in meus sententia, eram seeing a sanus numerus of vegetus visio tractare procul a altus campester quod puteus integrate per recidivus Caps’ core. Tomas Fleischmann, is videor, has won primoris versus vox pennae officium. Abyssus’ exsisto centered, utique coepi, per Viktor Kozlov. Sic duos- tertius of Washingtons’ caput capitis versus est novus is season. Is vultus magis lascivio dignus quam aut of suus praevius incarnations preteritus duos seasons.

Narro of vultus lascivio dignus, Caps effrego castra iactantia unus of plurrimi intriguing secundus versus in totus of hockey — vindicatum Alexander Semins’ ankle est mereo a dies- ut- dies ailment. Nicklas Backstroms’ libramen quod uber ex suus valde primoris pre se ferre venatus in validus EGO reputo vel procuratio’ rosiest forecast. Requiro him ut amplio mensis per mensis ut suus vegetus season progressio, quod pro him ut exsisto lodged in everybodys’ brevis album of Calder candidates adveho ver. Amo Caps’ caput capitis versus, alter, centered per Michael Nylander, est 66 sentio novus is autumn.

Versus three mos have a novus vultus pariter. Boyd Gordon mos center is, quod Res Pettinger mos latuseris him in left. Tamen alius Ipsa Gero, Dave Steckel, no verus loud sonitus ( singulariter in visio orbis) is palaestra castra. Is may optimus duco vir in universus norma, is lascivio a smart venatus, quod is consortio maxime puteus per Gordon. (Caps’ fans can tantum spes Gordon quod Steckel replicate in Lavatio suum duos- via opus ex Hersheys’ postseason run ut Calder glorior 2006.) Caput Sarcalogos Expedio videor futurus aliquantulus of utilitas infielder pro prothoplastus three versus — hes’ amo video vidi visum officium in totus three is season. Interdum is should skate in Gordons’ vox, procul alius — forsitan ut per is week, ut a teammate sursum caput capitis est vulnero — abyssus’ skate in caput capitis 6.

Ut Caps’ quartus versus, iustus 30 hora pro oris nox noctis rosters must exsisto summitto ut league, may etiam have quinque bodies vying pro assignment: Datum Procax, Res Bradley, Vepres Sutherby, Revolvo Laich, quod Ben Clymer. In repens seasons Caps’ roster has had vultus quod sentio of nimium muck quod grit quoque altus sursum frons. Is autumn, multus of is has been pulsus pessum, quod a logjam has emerged. Suus’ been utique quinquennis utpote Caps could probabilis vindicatum three versus idoneus of exhibitio cuspis per ullus reliability. Theyll’ polleo ut in 2007-08.

Illic’ aliquanto minor turnover quod templum in blueline: tantum Tom Venenum supervenio foris in caput capitis 6. Caps’ procuratio est vultus pro suus blueline somes ut subolesco quod blossom organically, quod is September, illic erant foveo subcribo of venalicium lenimentus e. Milan Jurcina reverto ut Lavatio brimming per bulging biceps; suus teammates lamnia lammina lamna pro him cognomen “Juice.” Is flebilis sicco dozens of frendo hits permaneo season secundum adventum ex Boston, quod 2007-08 could animadverto him talea a legitiums vindicatum ut an labefactum, caput capitis-2 physical vis.

Ut Caps sent Mike Viridis tergum ut Ipsa permaneo ver they instructed him ut vado obscoena. Is did. Ut burst of uber ex blueline persevero is preseason, ut pro ultum of is Viridis led Caps in ustulo. Is eram in nemo’ radar pro vox lascivio cuspis officium three weeks abhinc; iam is may exsisto secui of iunctum’ secundus iugum.

Permaneo season Vepres Pothier, ex necesse, eram vis in persona quod minutes is wasnt’ solitus quod consentaneus. Requiro him vigeo in a magis stabilis — quod intus an super magis ingeniosus — defensabiliter iunctum. Tamen sit quoque idoneus of tractare procul a altus campester — quisquam quisnam saw him skate pro Mike Sullivan quod Iunctus Civitas tandem ver’ Universitas Championships would congruo.

Illic erant haud questions super Caps in net caput capitis in castra. Illic es nullus recedo is.

Illic est valetudo. Illic est league- prolixus voluntas ut dum ceterus of Inferus scamnum pat, Caps upgraded. Illic est susurro. Illic est bene. Totus est bonus. Iam, suus’ vicis ut occumbo puck.

Suus’ a dies of sileo non tantum pro Lavatio Caput’ ludio ludius quod cogo — puteus, ludio ludius utique — tamen pro teams’ fanaticus communications baculus pariter. Res sicco procul Kettler quantus quantus EGO have been preteritus 10 dies, EGO lucrum a profundus appreciation pro commitment of Nate Ewell, Julie Petri, Paul Rovnak, quod Mike Vogel, inter alius. Suum dies per castra suscipio mane quod terminus tardus, quod nunc of annus theyre’ non tantum facilitating unus of graviter interventus flows subsequens castra in annus tamen quoque putting una in-season communications uber, talis ut Interventus Rector. Suus’ forecast futurus a attonitus tardus September Sunday hodie, quod Spero theyre’ totus sicco having fun in fun quod recharging suum batteries.

pause in in- glacies factum est a bonus vicis sumo prosapia of quis Caps have perficio eatenus in quis EGO puto est plurrimi maximus palaestra castra in norma’ history. EGO no punctum per meus saluto lustro hockey-savvy caput capitis quoque captus in cotidie effectus procul Kettler, ex procer quod broadcast opinio ut socius bloggers ut fans in sto, quod herewith Im’ misceo suum plumbum storylines of castra ut balanus per meus own.

• Superbus Papa. Ive’ ordine seen Erus Leonsis ut palaestra castra testis per preteritus 10 dies, quod dum suus’ verus hes’ haud diutius involved per dies- ut- dies operations of AOL, is somes a districtus communications vir. EGO reputo quis’ venio per suus palaestra castra penitus campester speculum ut of ceterus nostrum: species quod depth of norma in propono est sic infigo vos es iuste subigo facio trinus sicco illic quod simplex ostendo sum in verto angulus of teams’ competitiveness.

• Nylander ut versus 2. Duos annus abhinc Michael Nylander left Lavatio ut a valde bonus hockey ludio ludius. Is cado hes’ reverto tamen perfectus sic videor ut exsisto magis a astrum. Hes’ a dynamic playmaker, in confuto valetudo. Quod dum fere sulum in hockey is estas forecasted an Ovechkin-Nylander caput capitis- versus iugum, via tergum in July Caput capitis Cogo Glen Hanlon valde palam civitas suus intention of experimenting per caput capitis-6 porro iunctura, quod eatenus in castra, emineo chemistry videor habeo melded inter Alexander Semin, Michael Nylander, quod Nicklas Backstrom ut Hanlons’ secundus iunctum.

• Lubricus Swede Secui II. Narro of Backstrom, sit irrefutably questus levamentum in North American- amplitudo ovis of glacies — condita progressio “ in a cotidie basis,” ut laudo meus amicus Mike Vogel. Procul orbis terrarum Championships in Moscow in May, quondam Solio quod Swedish Populus Team Caput capitis Cogo Bengt Gustafsson told nos ut Backstrom would planto ut transitus successfully quod rationabiliter celeriter, quod is eram vox. Tim Leone sursum in Ipsa reputo is in Backstroms’, quod Caps’, optimus penitus pro him habeo a vas of capulus per Gero is season. Aint’ venio.

• Suus’ meus puck, quod Im’ servo is. Caps dont’ ( etiamnunc) have a dominor shut-down tutaminis, sic Glen Hanlons’ ars pro amplio defensabiliter lascivio is season sileo per suus stipes suscipio possessio of puck magis sepius quam in preteritus duos seasons, ut sepius they fugo is inter rink in futile formo. Si vos have puck magis sepius quam vestri contradictio, vestri calx isnt’ adepto apt ut visio 40 vel 50 offa sulum nox noctis, quod trado quinque vel six calx plurimus nox noctis. Eatenus, is ars videor futurus captus habitum. In palaestra castra’ scrimmages quod per Caps’ primoris three preseason venatus, vos can animadverto magis puck possessio quod fewer netminders collapsing ex fatigo.

• Caput, Meus Caput/ Filius of Kono-Dahlen-Halpern. Ive’ changed meus visum in cloning, propter Sarcalogos Expedio. Voluntas haud irreverens ut Dale quod suus secretum sudo, tamen should Expedio caput Caps ut a Sto Vas titulus una of tunc three seasons, is mos have futurus contemplor ut optimus quod plurimus maximus caput in team history, having rector team ex sterilis of an unprecedented solum sicco ut pollicitus terra. Quod sitting hic in September 2007, EGO wouldnt’ sto in versus ut beneficium obviam is. (animadverto Carolina ‘05-06, Tampa ‘03-04.)

Is est Sarcalogos Expedio’ team- primoris, duos- via versatility ut has Glen Hanlon fantasizing super a duos- via, labefactum tertius versus per versus of valde Steve Konowalchuk, Jeff Halpern, Ulf Dahlen trio of pauci annus abhinc. Ut versus, youll’ repeto, eram sic dominor ut Ron Wilson patefacio iustus super sulum venatus per is. Is eram quoque unus ut eram a lynchpin ut Caps’ postseason participation. cogo has told interventus ut hes’ vultus pro 60 calx ex suus tertius versus is season, quod donatus defensabiliter acumen of Expedio quod Boyd Gordon, quod Res Pettingers’ obscoena pop, suus’ rectus ut precor KDH comparison.

Im’ quoque non wagering in Expedio’ obscoena uber stringo, dramatically, per rectum of suus dropping tenus versus 3. Ut is innotesco sui in Interventus Dies, hes’ prodigo preteritus duos seasons captus amoveo obviam amo of Zdeno Tutela quod caput capitis defensabiliter pairings. Minor sic, is would videor, orsa is season.

• Profundus Depth. Caps is weekend have 35 ludio ludius pugna pro macula in oris nox noctis roster. Suus’ rationabiliter securus ut forecast alius quinque cuts, tamen insulto ex super 30 ut 23 est alius res. Ut loco is charitably, Caps’ es in uncharted tractus, stipes- obfirmo, in terms of skater species theyll’ exsisto showcasing sicco procul Kettler in week duos of castra. Is est plurrimi basic quod foveo subcribo of super prosperitas of redivivus.

• Three venatus, three leads. Through three exhibition games, the Caps have only once fielded a fairly veteran lineup — last Thursday night in Ottawa. They opened in Carolina, against a comparatively veteran Hurricanes’ lineup, dressing only John Erskine and Mike Green on the blueline as guys with significant NHL experience from last season (and with BJ in net). In all three games the Caps have played significant stretches with a lead (twice with two-goal leads). There remain mistakes (penalties) and concerns (penalties) aplenty, but we shouldn’t lose sight of the fact that Coach Hanlon’s strategy of playing a more puck possession game is abundantly evident. In order to win more often, a team must first establish competitiveness, then achieve leads in games. The Caps have accomplished both early in this preseason.

The next step is to close the deal once you have the lead.

• When did Toronto’s print media come to work in Washington? For the first time in my hockey life, I wake each day knowing that with my morning coffee I need to visit the web sites for both of Washington’s big newspapers in order to follow coverage there of Caps’ training camp. There are files there basically every day. And good ones. Additionally, blog files there. This is as it should be, but to our print guys — and most especially the Times’ Corey Masisak, who’s only taking on the beat of a departed legend — good on you.

• Sharp-dressed men. It’s not anywhere near as important as the talent upgrade, but in this the autumn of uniform mischief, the Caps have showcased the best-looking new threads in the entire league. And it’s not even close. I’ll be particularly grateful when those snazzy white uniform system tops are rightfully returned to wearing on home ice.

On 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.

Another 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.

How exactly does an NHLer spend his summer preparing for the rigors of the NHL’s 82 games-plus season? We know vaguely that many of them retain the services of personal trainers, that they skate a fair bit with other NHLers in informal gatherings at rinks across North America, and that few sit around indolent all summer chugging beers (hockey bloggers fill in capably in that task). Specifically, though, how do these remarkable athletes train and prepare for their lengthy immersion in the planet’s fastest, roughest, and, come playoff time, most grueling team sport? It’s a question I wanted to pose to a Capitals’ player this summer, and with the help of Capitals’ Director of Media Relations Nate Ewell this week, I was able to.

When I first learned that Boyd Gordon had arrived back in D.C. in the first week of August, I was startled. Western Canadian Caps have historically trained back home in Western Canada and arrived in town much closer to the start of September’s training camp. But far from cutting short his offseason training regimen, Gordon told me that he’d completed a demanding training schedule in Vancouver, of fully three months, in British Columbia’s mountains and at a fitness facility among the likes of Trevor Linden and Kris Beech. Now he was back in D.C. to continue his preparations for the upcoming season  largely because so many of his Caps’ teammates want to start skating together well in advance of camp. Beginning next week, Gordon told me, a healthy contingent of Caps will be skating together out at Kettler Capitals five times a week, in “hour-and-a-half, maybe hour-and-forty-five [minute]” conditioning stints featuring “drills, scrimmaging . . . and then the [serious] skating.”

I got fatigued just listening to Gordon’s description of “running mountains” in Vancouver for three months and then getting serious on the ice out at Kettler this month. On Wednesday Gordon was giving Caps’ broadcaster Craig Laughlin a hand with the instruction of 25 or so summer camp Mites on the Kettler ice. I began my inquiry of him wondering when he individually transitioned from the rest and relaxation NHLers needed after completing the bruises-and-bone-battering slate of last season to the get-serious-about-next-season training regimen.

“I don’t usually take that much time off from working out,” he told me. “I had surgery on my ankle at the end of last season and took off four weeks. The ankle feels great,” he claimed.

“So about four weeks off with the surgery, but then I get stir crazy.”

Vancouver has some pretty serious mountains and hills, and apparently Gordon views their variety and severity as a training lure. He is also drawn to British Columbia’s temperate summers.

“It’s cool, you don’t have to get up early to go running and stuff. Every day’s different. You go five days a week, sometimes four depending on how early in the summer [it is].”

The fatigued-from-listening blogger interrupted to inquire about the possibility of training-free weekends. Beers with buddies . . . a furlough from the fitness frenzy. Weekends, Gordon assured me, are for recovery and a bit of a mental break.

“Every guy’s different [in specific fitness routine], but June [workouts], it’s almost exclusively off ice,” he explained. Gordon spent his June pumping his legs up the British Columbia peaks and working with equipment and weights at a Vancouver facility frequented by pro hockey players. Summer’s schedule for NHLers appears designed to deliver them to September training camp emerged from fitness routines that improve their overall strength and conditioning but also address areas of need in their physical development. But the programs also have to guard against training extremes that could burn out or injure the players. (Continued)

Herewith, our attempt to devise a depth chart for the Caps to coincide with the recent completion of the team’s annual Rookie Development Camp. It’s important to note that with it we are not forecasting specific line combos but rather attempting to slot players by position according to their professional production and most recent performances in evaluative settings. It’s also important to note that a number of forwards in the Caps’ system play more than one position up front. The Russian elites and Matt Pettinger appear locks on the left side for well into the next decade, whereas the right side seems to carry many more question marks.

We’ve envisioned this as a file hopefully sparking spirited reaction and respectful challenge. We welcome your proposed modifications.

Consider that this Hershey Bears’ postseason machine is missing some notable parts from its Calder Cup run of last spring: no Boyd Gordon, no captain Graham Mink, no power play QB Lawrence Nycholat, no Kris Beech, no Brooks Laich, no minutes-eating Jake Cutta. Among others. But the symphony song of victory remains the same under maestro Boudreau. A formidable Manchester Monarchs’ club was run out of the Giant Center Saturday night, 7-2. The first post-game beer among the press pack hadn’t been killed before one scribe openly wondered, “Did you guys see anything that suggests this won’t be a sweep?”

A series-opening thrashing doesn’t always foretell a team’s demise, but in this instance, Manchester has to have grave concern about the mindset of its most important player, netminder Jason LaBarbera. LaBarbera won the league’s best goaltender award this season for the second time in his AHL career, but his worst performances of the season have occurred against Hershey. He added to them Saturday night, with Head Coach Mark Morris yanking him after he surrendered his sixth goal of the contest with more than eight minutes remaining in the game. LaBarbera has faced the Bears three times this season and been yanked in two of them.

The Hershey power play Saturday night, afforded six opportunities, converted on 50 percent of them. The Bears’ penalty killers snuffed out all six Manchester man-up opportunities, and added a shortie for good measure.

Yet again Tomas Fleischmann looked sublime and spectacular, distributing savvy setups for his teammates time after time. His three helpers Saturday night gave him eight points in his last two games, both of them big games for his hockey club. Officially, the game’s three stars were awarded to Dave Steckel, Mike Green, and Frederic Cassivi, but Mike Vogel and I had identical standout designee lists of Steckel, Flash, and Chris Bourque. Bourque had been named the no. 1 star in each of the regular season meetings with Manchester, and he added another strong performance (two assists) Saturday.

The point is that Boudreau this postseason is getting quality and production from all four of his forward lines, and efficient puck movement from all three of his defensive pairs.

Early in the third period Saturday night Comcast’s Joe Reekie leaned over to me and said, “Do you realize how far Chris Bourque has progressed in one year?” I do. And I should have told Joe that Dave Steckel’s progression the last two seasons under Boudreau has been even more impressive. And the list of the well developed under Boudreau hardly ends there.

Vogel and I were left slack-jawed a half dozen times Saturday night by the stick wizardry of Fleischmann. He’s going to play in the NHL, somewhere, we agreed. “He’s got the stuff you can’t teach,” Vogel told me. But I worry about Flash getting lost in the grand numbers game in D.C., particularly as we approach the high stakes ‘07-08 season and there’s seemingly less room for young guy minutes during the drive for spot no. 8 in the East. “I worry about us giving up on Flash and seeing another [Andrew] Brunnette slip out of our hands,” I told Vogel.

Many of the names on the back of the Bears’ sweaters change, but the postseason results remain the same. Should the Bears go on to oust Manchester, they will tie an AHL record in winning seven consecutive postseason series. Since Boudreau stepped behind the Bears’ bench they’ve lost just one series-opening game, to Milwaukee in last season’s Calder finals. They’ve played 32 postseason games overall under his direction, and they’ve won an astounding 25 of them. More amazingly, only four of the team’s seven postseason losses have come in regulation. I need to type that again for myself to believe it: four regulation losses in 32 playoff games over two seasons.

And many of those games have been contested against 100-pt. AHL foes.

Seemingly sixty guys have worn Bears’ sweaters this season as a regular rotation of callups and significant injuries ravaged the Hershey roster. No matter. Wins and line cohesion remained.

Boudreau has been named Coach of the Year in the IHL, he’s won the ECHL’s Kelly Cup, and he’s won a Calder Cup and may be on the verge of adding another. You have to wonder how much longer his extraordinary winning ways will last unnoticed by the NHL.

The East finals are being contested in a 2-3-2 slate, making Sunday’s quick turnaround rematch a must-win affair for the visitors. Mark Morris needs a Jason LaBarbera we haven’t seen against Hershey yet this season. And meaning no disrespect to the coach, but a lot of folks up in New Hampshire who witnessed first-hand Bruce Boudreau’s work there over four seasons would this morning probably tell you that having him back would help too.

When the management decided to rebuild the Caps organization in early 2004, it was made known that drafting and developing young talent was one of the main avenues that the team would use to improve. The Caps have made due on that promise, featuring several youngsters on their roster this year at different times, with varying degrees of success.

2003 first-round pick Eric Fehr, a rangy winger, was called up to Washington twice, getting a brief two-game look in November, followed by a longer stint in February. His play in November was as expected: tentative and overwhelmed. His time in February, however, showed definite improvement, with a pair of goals, and several near-misses. While not overly physical (and not likely to be), he did try to do all the little things, finishing his checks, making himself available for the first pass out of the defensive zone, and getting back on defense.

The main concern with Fehr is his wonky back, which sidelined the big sniper February 22nd, and he hasn’t played since. Back injuries are always temperamental, and even more worrisome with a tall guy. It looks like Fehr won’t be playing with Hershey for the playoffs due to the ailment, and it’s definitely a concern for Caps fans.

(Continued)

From our vantage, the Washington Capitals have not yet assembled the key roster pieces that ownership and management need to supplement the rebuilding blocks laid during the first two post-lockout seasons — and which can deliver the Caps to springtime viability. Even prior to the trade of Dainius Zubrus, the team lacked a true first-line, playmaking pivot. This offseason, it needs to bring in skilled centers for the first two lines. One position presumably will be filled by 2006 draft gem Nicklas Backstrom of Sweden. Almost certainly the other will have to come from free agency or a trade this summer.

Despite Captain Chris Clark’s 30 goals, there are question marks on right wing. Is Eric Fehr’s back injury chronic? Is there durable chemistry between Alexander Semin and Tomas Fleischmann, and if so, can Semin settle in on the wing to Flash’s right?

Without question Alexander Ovechkin is the face and future of this organization, but his sophomore season brought struggles and frustrations few of us would have imagined last June, when we watched him best Sidney Crosby for the Calder Trophy. Eric McErlain last week well chronicled AO’s season of comparative discontent. He is one of the five most gifted hockey players on the planet today, but his defensive game, underscored by his 19 rating, has a long way to go. An important reminder: he is still a very young hockey player, and developing consistent defensive play takes time.

On the blueline, optimism is to be found with the maturation of Shaone Morrisonn, the precocious promise of Mike Green, the discipline and savvy instincts of Jeff Schultz, and most especially the two-way, bruising play of Milan Jurcina. George McPhee’s highway robbery of Jurcina from the Bs appears to rank among the best trade work of his 10-year tenure in town. But missing from the rearguard corps is a genuine #1 stud: a smooth puck-moving, minutes-eating threat from the point. There’s some shopping to do.

This past campaign was a tale of three seasons: that which ended on Dec. 16, with the team 5 games above .500; the next 25 games, when injury and illness and a brutally congested and difficult schedule sent the squad into a standings free fall; and the trade deadline purging of key veterans as the team settled into the Southeast’s basement. Again.

On the surface, 2006-07’s 70 points suggest a hockey club in standings stagnation. We don’t see it like that. Owner Ted Leonsis this past weekend claimed his team had taken “two steps forward and one back” this season. He also claimed in the season’s final week that the time for “rebuilding” was finished and intimated that “reloading” was more this offseason’s operative word. That seems about right to us.

But this past weekend Ted also made an important point about the imperative of fans trusting in a team’s organic growth. Alexander Semin and his spectacular season, he noted, weren’t achieved via free agency splurging but rather from the astute labor of the team’s scouts as well as Semin’s years of development. That indeed is a blueprint to follow.

The Caps this season shaved off about 20 goals from the 300-plus they surrendered in 2005-06, but next season, they’ll need to lop off at least another 30 to rise to postseason contention. Olie Kolzig, newly turned 37, appears to have at least a couple more high-quality seasons in him (his general manager near the end of this season claimed he could remain an elite netminder through his 40th birthday), and it is our expectation that beginning next season, markedly less of a nightly workload will be thrust upon him: both volume and quality of shots faced need to be reduced.

A repeat disappointment: the Capitals finished near the bottom of the league again in power play efficiency, and in the “new NHL” that is a supreme no-no — special teams are more critical than ever. The team was consistently unable to generate one-timers, and its frustrating pass-pass-pass approach was often painful to watch. Low power play shot production and the lack of anyone camped in the opposing netminder’s crease to provide screens and bang in rebounds (a la Konowalchuk back in the day) made for too much extra-man misery.

Another indication of the team’s anemic power play: only Boston allowed more shorthanded goals than the Capitals. For approximately every five goals the Caps scored with the man advantage, they allowed one the other way. For comparison, Florida (13th overall in power play success) scored more than ten extra-man goals for every shorty allowed.

The lack of an experienced power play quarterback certainly looms over both the team’s poor power play production and its ineffective defensive coverage. With the addition of an experienced defenseman, another year of growth among the Caps’ young d-men, and the continued presence of the Alexes on the top-line power play, one expects to see a marked improvement in the fine alchemy of converting PPs to goals next season. Hopefully Coach Hanlon can convince the players to shoot first and ask questions later.

But the bottom has truly fallen out when it comes to overtime hockey. The Caps lost their last 15 overtime games of the season. It has a fanbase all but averting its eyes during shootouts. It’s not enough to attribute the unwavering extra-session failures merely to inexperience or bad luck. The shootout showings in particular are nothing short of harrowing.

The team is simply surrendering too many pivotal points in extra play. Management’s summer work, it seems to us, must acknowledge and address this. But how? Coach Hanlon has tried allotting the concluding minutes of practices to the shootout, and he tried in the second half of the season to inject new names as his shooters. Nothing has helped. Would a shootout ’specialist’ be included in the team’s offseason wish list?

A fixture of future shootouts will be Alexander Semin. Way back last autumn we thought we saw something special taking place with Semin and this team, and we were right. There were a lot of Semin doubters within the fanbase and media back then, and while his season was marred at times by wretched penalties, his game-breaking talent has few if any rivals in the history of this organization.

Another startling emergence was that of Boyd Gordon. He earned Glen Hanlon’s trust as the team’s most reliable and accountable forward. By January Sidney Crosby was calling him the toughest forward for him to play against. By March he was taking seemingly every important defensive zone draw. A virtual afterthought of the 2002 first round Caps’ draft class, today he joins Semin as another jewel from it.

There were, however, numerous and in some instances surprising struggles. We thought 2005-06 was a breakout year for Brian Sutherby. But we saw little of that two-zone effectiveness this season. Brooks Laich struggled in the season’s first half, after so strong a showing last season, but his game we thought improved appreciably from late January on. Both Matt Bradley and Ben Clymer received multi-year deals this past offseason, but they suffered nagging injuries for most of this season and never seemed able to get in their typical feisty grooves.

Our prediction is that there will be unprecedented competition for roster spots at Kettler Capitals Iceplex this coming autumn, and some prominent names today under contract may be in for a rude awakening then — if not sooner.

For better or for worse, the Caps these days regularly suffer from comparisons with the Pittsburgh Penguins. It’s unavoidable. The league’s marquee stars of the next decade arrived last year in these two cities, both teams have spent most of this decade disappointing their supporters, and they are both endeavoring to arrive at annual and durable Cup contender status with years of patient rebuilding through good drafting. Oh, and they have a bit of a rivalry thing going.

But Pittsburgh’s 47-point improvement this season over last is abberant historically, and it’s replicability is virtually impossible. Seldom does any NHL team enjoy the arrival of game-breaking talents delivered to the roster the same summer, before both knew their 20th birthdays, as the Pens did with both Evgeni Malkin and Jordan Staal this season. And whereas Pittsburgh has benefited from spending most of this decade drafting from the league’s lottery perch, the Caps have but two such selections. A third arrives this June. A year from now would deliver a far fairer barometer of the relative standing of the two clubs.

What looms ahead is the most important offseason for the club in at least 20 years. For the third straight season the Caps finished fifth in the Southeast division. Mandatory improvement next season must be charted less in an arbitrary or specific point total and more in how many division foes the Caps finish ahead of.

We see little value in ascribing a “grade” to a team clearly transitioning from the roster-gutting, rebuild-from-the-ground-up course embarked upon by management in the spring of 2004. Instead, we’d call this season the culmination of a rough continuum begun three springs back by General Manager McPhee. The largess of losing during this period has been painful, but necessary. Now, however, it is both fair and appropriate to hold the architects accountable for robust improvement with the very first game of 2007-08.

The team will have a new look in 2007-08 — new colors and, we’re pretty sure, new logos — but will the roster be overhauled in a volume and substance sufficient to dislodge it from its Eastern conference bottom feeding of recent years? It’s our belief that chronicling that task is going to make for one fun summer.

Just my humble opinion, but from 2002 through 2006 there is an exceptionally impressive body of scouting and drafting work accomplished by George McPhee and his team of scouts. Having said that, my sense is that they seldom look back on the 2001 Entry Draft — much anticipated, highly lauded for its overal quality and depth — with much fondness. In their defense, the Caps were without a first-round pick that year. Their first selection came 58th overall, which they used to select Nathan Paetsch. In the third round, they tabbed Owen Fussey with the 90th pick. In the fourth round, Jeff Lucky at no. 125. None are with the organization today.

I’ve long been of the opinion that a healthy, playoff-viable NHL club cannot strike out with its selections at any draft; the compensation required for it is too implausible in succeeding drafts. Even with 2002’s success (Semin, Gordon, Eminger, Max II, and through trades Fleischmann and Klepis), there’s a price to be paid for 2001’s failure, and to some extent I think we’re seeing that this season. A lot of the league strengthened itself with that terrific ‘01 class, and the Caps did not.

Jiri Novotny’s acquisition from Buffalo yesterday can be viewed within the prism of belatedly addressing the Caps’ ‘01 shortcomings. An ‘01 draftee, 22nd overall by the Sabres, Novotny now joins new teammate Shaone Morrisonn (Bruins, no. 19 overall) from that class. The Caps at long last have somewhat filled the gaping hole left by summer ’01’s poor drafting.

Speaking of entry drafts, the fax ink from yesterday’s deal with Buffalo wasn’t dry before visitors to the Caps’ message boards could download seemingly dozens of pages of protest from the glass-is-not-only-half-empty, it’s-got-a-chipped-edge-to-meet-your-mouth crowd. At OFB, we’ve long referred to them as the Doom and Gloom set. Their chief point of outrage, it seemed, was a collective sense that the ‘07 Entry Draft was “weak,” and so the Buffalo first rounder, late as it was certain be, wasn’t anything to be happy over. Interesting. 2002, I remember vividly, was alleged to be among the worst pool of talent ever. Even 1996’s draft, which genuinely can be labeled atrocious, eventually delivered Dainius Zubrus to D.C. My point is, every NHL draft possesses talented young hockey players; the job of McPhee and his scouts is to find it.

I’ve another bone to pick with the message board GMs: for years we’ve had to endure their claims that when it comes to Dainius Zubrus, he was a hopelessly misplaced, “non-finishing” top-line center. Let’s all agree that he’s not a no. 1 pivot on a playoff club. But doesn’t it stand to reason that were he more the checking line kind of guy, he most assuredly wouldn’t fetch a no. 1 pick . . . let alone two? And yet, when that’s what Buffalo returned yesterday, these same naysayers wrung their hands over the “poor” return. Hypocrites.

Yesterday was a frenzy of attempted fact gathering by fans and media related to player movement, all of it more or less pursued on line. TSN and the NHL Network were broadcasting breathless accounts of the transactions all day long. One GM recently told Sports Illustrated that deadline day “ought to be a holiday in Canada.” Locally, we in the Capitals’ community are indebted to the committed labor of Tarik El-Bashir, who was lodged all morning, afternoon, and evening at Verizon Center, regularly updating his blog with trade intelligence, and Mike Vogel, who for a period of time yesterday afternoon was brought into the Caps’ hockey operations’ inner circle. The efforts of both men made for a marvelously compelling afternoon. If you weren’t convinced before about the revolution taking place in hockey news coverage — most particularly this season — yesterday ought to have ushered in a fresh reconsideration for you.

What kind of fan does this make me — the Caps aren’t going to qualify for the postseason this year, but I don’t even want them to? I acknowledge that professional athletes have fiery competitiveness in their DNA, and I am aware of GMGM’s longtsanding assertion that there’s a real crapshoot quality to the NHL’s postseason, but to me conspicuously flawed clubs have no business bearing brass ring aspirations. I have no interest in seeing this Caps’ team, as it’s currently comprised, go into a round one series with a second-line center by committee, a mish-mash of mid-level and inexperienced blueliners, and wildly unbalanced scoring among four lines.

I can speak only as a fan, but it seems to me there’s only one reason to venture into the postseason: to win. How plausible is postseason winning for an outfit that’s yet to prove it can be competitive regularly with the Florida Panthers? All manner of consolation prizes to the postseason — of “experience” and “character” building — strikes me as diversionary prittle-prat, the domain of losers. Me = not interested in door prizes.

Generally by February the interminable NHL season reveals the true identity of its member clubs, and what we know of the Caps after nearly 60 games this season is that they’re still searching for their durable identity. Mercifully, the organization allowed the delusionally inaccurate marketing slogan “Always Intense” of a couple of seasons ago to wither into oblivion. (They’re rarely intense in Sunrise.) Here’s my free marketing advice for a slogan: “We’re building something.”

And that’s really good news.

Olie Kolzig’s injury yesterday occasioned what I regarded as a surprising torrent of “our playoff hopes are dashed now” reactions from fans and media. (Tarik this morning at least termed them “feint.”) Those plausible hopes were dashed a couple of weeks ago. How does a battered 12th or 13th place in the conference outfit consistently better the points tallies of upwards of a half dozen clubs above them, all of whom possess more experienced bluelines and better balanced scoring? And above them aren’t the Florida Panthers.

I understand as well as anybody the accumulated shoulder slumping of years’ worth of being on the outside looking in as far as the playoffs are conce