In Glacialis Blog

Procul a novus placitum yesterday, Lavatio Caput chairman quod major domus erus Ted Leonsis orator of quam professio athletes es sepius laudabilis pro suum virtus. Is innotesco ut virtus can take plures vultus, ex vir nostri bellicus quod primoris respondeo ut nostrum liberi pugna morbus. Ut reperio a via ut suum universus norma quod fans could ostendo suum suscipio, they partum Virtus Caps.

Virtus Caps es team- proventus quod torqueo hats quod ero miles militis, satus October 26th, pro $20 procul defero consanguinei traba procul Caput domus venatus quod online proculWashingtonCaps.com quodNHL.com. “ut nostrum fans gero illa hats”, Leonsis persevero, “they ostendo suum suscipio pro fortis populus per nostrum defero”

Quod, taedium of Virtus Caps hats ostendo suscipio, venditio suggero financial suscipio. centum% of venditio pretium mos vado beneficium CureSearch Populus Childhood Baculus Crepidoinis. CureSearch est a Bethesda- substructio nonprofit “ quod an NHL charitable socius ut focuses in erigo crumens pro Children’s Oncology Humus, world’s amplus consensio cancer research norma ut tracto 90% of liberi per cancer”

team electus an vetus amicus iuvo debut is novus progressio, pro press placitum took locus per teams’ annual saluto ut Liberi’ Populus Medical Center. universus team, Leonsis quod socius Raul Fernandez erant procul hospitium pro press placitum.

Pro annus Audivi of teams’ saluto ut Liberi’ Populus Medical Center, tamen is eram prothoplastus vicis ut EGO eram in manus manus ut vigilo ludio ludius quod liberi penitus. Ut a abbas of a quattuor- annus- vetus per alter obvius, saluto eram heartwarming quod tear-jerking. ludio ludius — totus of lemma — sat down procul traba quod infucatus per liberi ut erant puteus satis dimitto suum beds quod exsisto patesco ut unmasked salutor quod untold germen. Is infractus meus pectus pectoris video vidi visum illa liberi, nonnullus in wheelchairs, alius per multiplex IV tubes quod fascia, quod admiratio qualis abyssus they quod suum parentes es victus. Tamen tunc vos animadverto smiles in suum visio ut Sarcalogos Expedio chirographum a hat pro lemma, vel Brent Johnson asks quis colo colui cultum is should colo colui cultum hockey ludio ludius’ galea, vel ut aliquantulus puella runs super ut Olie Kolzig ut inquit “Hi illic pigtails, quam es vos?” Illic est quoque a simplex tripudium of seeing illa amplus- quam- vita hockey ludio ludius sessio per suum ventus Crayola hue quod trying moror in versus.

EGO eram narro per hospitium’ procurator of publicus consanguinei, Emily Dammeyer, quisnam told mihi ut is est hospitium’ ventus vicis of annus. “They vere prodigo vicis per liberi, non iustus planto an vultus, singulariter upstairs qua venit es off.”

Quod no mihi recordor Olie, quisnam non tantum has been coming ut Liberi’ Populus Medical Center praeter quisquam alius in norma, tamen est quoque a abbas. EGO asked him quam is usus has changed ex pro is eram a dad ut secundum.

“Ive’ usquequaque had a fondness pro kids, quod been a magnus puto ut res a kid quod res infirmus shouldnt’ vado manus manus in manus manus … tunc vos fio a abbas tunc vos animadverto quam vital is est habeo a facility amo is”

Solus res absentis ex yesterdays’ vicis eram interventus. Press solvo renuntio vicis quod photo op erant sent sicco per Caput quod Liberi’ Populus Medical Center. Forsitan EGO requiro nonnullus visio quod nomen, tamen EGO puto tantum Ego, a Comcast SportsNet TV Cameraman, quod duos photographers famulor. Quam talis tremendous officina per an norma quod suus ludio ludius can vado unnoticed vel per parum penitus est repugnant.

Meus gratiae progredior ut Caput quod sulum procul Liberi’ Populus Medical Center, singulariter Emily Dammeyer quod Vestigium Miller, pro affording mihi beneficium arbitro arbitror is annual vicis of pietas quod charisma.

Pauci magis pictures of vicis can exsisto seen secundum effrego.

(persevero)

Ex vicis ut vicis, nos adepto emails ex nostrum lector informing nos of hockey tidbits vel alius happenings ut nos vires secus requiro. Nonnullus es blog dignus, nonnullus es non. Nostrum plurimus repens email adveho in vigoratus of OFBs’ primoris libri opinio. Mr. Leonsis attributa nos nostrum tunc libri per transporto nos a link ut a libriprofessor obviusParietis Vicus Iter itineris.

In suus tardus libri,Andy Roddick Pello pepulli pulsum Mihi per a Frying Pan: Captus Agri per Pro Athletes quod Olympic Legends respondeo Lusum Fans’ Igneus Questions, scriptor Todd Gallagher tackles nonnullus of lusum magis sententia provoking questions. Unus talis question est quare an NHL team has non indutus an obese calx ut plene repleo net sic contradictio couldnt’ possibly ustulo?

Gallagher scisco forensis, interventus, physical quod practical proventus question erigo. Reperio a morbidly obese calx est a challenge, sic is has a proprius- presencia guru molior a pinguis interpellatio ut replicate talis an “athlete”.

Solus via ut copiose expertus is ratio eram impetro an NHL team ut surculus obviam faux fatso. Meus suspicio emendator, Jed Datum, got in tactus per a socius Georgetown graduate quisnam eram effectus prope pariter ut sit: Ted Leonsis, billionaire erus of Lavatio Caput, quos Lusum Novus quondam accersitus unus of viginti plurimus validus populus in lusum. Leonsis, quisnam no suus sors obvius universitas of telecommunications quod technology, est aliquantulus of a visum. Quod dum suus visum may non have exemplar comprehendo sino professio hockey team is owns sumo slapshots procul a guy in a pinguis interpellatio, is saw potential quod gave attonitus viridis lux lucis.

Per a team of altus solers surculus in locus, nos necessarius quispiam impetro in interpellatio. EGO certainly wasnt’ iens efficio is (insert fake malum/ailment/ nota ex meus mom hic), sic EGO inscribo George Cimentarius Universitas calx Trevor Promus.

experiment eram obviously se gero pro terminus of permaneo season, tamen reactions es haud minor funny.

Suum reactions erant vel minor foveo quam Johannas’ glacialis respondeo erant. Plurimus ludio ludius volo nusquam efficio per an barrus calx. Tutaminis Ben Clymer eram sic verecundor of res socius per lacus ut is exertus ut identify sui per a fake nomen ( is adsuesco assuesco center Kris Beechs’). Volatilis Fastidiosus Zubrus loco is bluntly: “is would exsisto embarrassing si illic eram a calx ut big.” Tutaminis Steve Magnificentia affirmo meus pessimus vereor super quam nostrum magnus vir would exsisto suscipio ut is said adversus teams would simplex capto run him super in net. Verus Kris Beech had an vel magis cavum ineo pro nostrum novus astrum: “vos vires telum him quod animadverto si chocolate venit out.”

excerpt est a valde lego, quod dum is may exsisto solus hockey reference in libri, is est unus EGO vultus porro ut lectio.

Nostrum gratiae progredior utTed pro caput capitis sursum.

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 plumbum. Per three pre se ferre venatus, Caps have tantum quondam agri a iuste veteran versus — permaneo Thursday nox noctis in Ottawa. They patefacio in Carolina, obviam a comparatively veteran Turbo’ versus, vestio tantum John Erskine quod Mike Viridis in blueline ut guys per significant NHL usus ex permaneo season ( quod per BJ in net). In totus three venatus Caps have ludio ludius significant contentus per a plumbum ( bis per duos- calx plumbum). Illic subsisto erroris (poena) quod sollicitudo (poena) aplenty, tamen nos shouldnt’ perdo os of quod Cogo Hanlons’ ars of lascivio a magis puck possessio venatus est uberte perspicuus. Gratia lucror magis sepius, a team must primoris fundo competitiveness, tunc perficio plumbum in venatus. Caps have artificiosus utriusque mane huic preseason.

tunc step est occludo paciscor quondam vos have plumbum.

• Ut did Torontos’ procer interventus adeo opus in Lavatio? Semel in meus hockey vita, EGO excito sulum dies gnarus ut per meus oriens capulus EGO postulo ut saluto textus sites pro utriusque of Washingtons’ magnus newspapers gratia insisto occulto illic of Caps’ palaestra castra. Illic es lima illic basically cotidie. Quod bonus ones. Additionally, blog lima illic. Is est ut is should exsisto, tamen ut nostrum procer guys — quod plurimus singulariter Vicis’ Corey Masisak, cuius’ tantum captus in pello pepulli pulsum of a mortuus legend — bonus in vos.

• Acer- indutus men. Suus’ non usquam near ut maximus ut talentum upgrade, tamen huic autumn of similitudo mischief, Caps have showcased optimus- vultus novus threads in universus league. Quod suus’ non vel propinquus. Peius’ exsisto proprie memor ut illud snazzy niveus similitudo ratio tops es rightfully reverto ut taedium in domus glacies.

EGO valde appreciate meus bloggermate Orderedchaos’ coepi contemplatio of preseason divinatio silliness. Foris of Entertainment Tonight, illic can exsisto parum huic universitas ut vacuous quod vapid ut “ professor” engaged in summertime “prognosticating” super effectus of lusum teams.

Im’ a contraho football fanaticus, quod illic es utique a dimidium dozen vulgo preseason magazines in newsstands is mensis, totus vitualamen imprimis rankings pro totus 117 D- EGO contraho football teams. Sulum team has 85 scholarship ludio ludius, per inter 20 graduating quod 20 nuper adventum sulum season. Plures recidivus ludio ludius venalicium subsisto suum bodies super offseason per incrementabiliter sophisticated quod efficens physique- muto palaestra regimens. They quoque subolesco. Illic es, additionally, widespread alio changes inter ordo of teams’ suffragium cogo sulum offseason.

Totus illorum promulgatio have suum preseason forecasts appono cubile porro pro ludio ludius opinio pro physicals pro cado castra. Denique, variables of change in contraho football es staggeringly enormous ex season ut season, atqui pauci of lemma es pondero in illa “forecasts.” Etiam, emendator illorum magazines would have vos puto ut ex suum Novus York muneris they can sagaciter, veneficus divinus fata of prope 10,000 football ludio ludius sparsum trans rus ruris, potissimum quos theyve’ nunquam seen lascivio.

Is est per idem eadem idem skeptical, licentio oculus ut nos ought pondero NHL forecasts dedi sursum in estas. Illa nisus es suffragium of fraus. UtLusum Illustrated could titulus ‘05-’06 Carolina Turbo a lottery perdo tunc vigilo lemma vado in ut hoist Senior Sto septem mensis laxus should forever preclude magazine ex forecasting iterum. Illic’ questus is nefas tunc illic’ blindfolded telum- conicio. In theca of ‘05-’06 NHL season, telum conicio would have aided SI.

Iam futurus mediocris, league had been shut down preeo season per obfirmo. Tamen vel in instances of perpetuus competition, trans lusum, illa forecasts es exerceo in parum praeter lubricus venalicium, superficial guesswork. Quod they es unified in suum res firmus nefas. They futurus quoniam they praemium lusum fans’ diutinus quod insatiable sitis scio quis mos recubo ahead pro suum vir. Quod they es partim fueled per perturbo bivium of parcus lusum and high-stakes gambling (on- and off line). The fantastic popularity of fantasy sports participation has also mushroomed the popularity of the forecasting industry.

As mindless diversion for beach chair reading, they do no real harm. But they take on a larger-than-life credibility as their rankings and rationales are echoed about message boards and blogs and picked up and regurgitated by the electronic editions of mainstream media outlets. Hockey in particular ranks among the most difficult of sports to forecast; it is why there’s so little action on it in Vegas. How do you wager on or forecast a goalie standing on his head? On some nights, you know, Kerry Fraser doesn’t bring his best evaluative acumen to the sheet.

The Capitals, a few early prognosticators have weighed in upon, will make only modest improvement in the standings this season over the previous two. They will miss the postseason again, we are told.

Such assessments can only be premised on this variable: the team’s free agents signings were nice or decent but not on the order of rink shattering. But no one can know how Nicklas Backstrom will adjust to hockey in North America on the smaller sheet and over 80-plus games in his rookie season. The difference between his notching say 47 points versus 67 points almost certainly determines the team’s playoff viability, but who is confidently able to tell us which tally will prove true?

Who among the soothsayers knows how much if at all the team is improved in the shootout? Will Kolzig hold up and perform at an elite level for at least say 65 games? And certainly the team’s young blueline must have been judged in a development vacuum, within which none of Steve Eminger, Milan Jurcina, Shaone Morrisonn, and Mike Green could appreciably improve over a year ago . . . else, joined by the improvements up front, the team would have to seriously flirt with the postseason, if not outright qualify.

Hockey, too, has its future shrouded in a marvelous mystery of the unknown impact delivered from abroad. Raise your hand if last summer you saw 40 goals in Alexander Semin’s 2006-07 arsenal. You probably had Petr Prucha down for 30 in his rookie season on Broadway, too. It is North American media offering up these rigid preseason assessments, none with any notion of what impact virtually every team will enjoy from its new imports.

Hockey prose is fine for inclusion in any Labor Day beach reading list, just know that if it’s marketed as new season forecast, it’s fiction.

“Offense sells tickets, but defense wins games” is how the old adage goes, and in our on-going offseason look at the organization, we examine a blueline corps with a new face, an old face returning, and a bunch of fresh faces looking to make some noise.

Competition for the 7 projected defensive spots should be fierce, and even a few bad practices or scrimmages may be the difference between suiting up for an NHL club or returning to Juniors or Europe.

Karl Alzner – Washington’s first-round pick in June’s 2007 NHL Entry Draft, Alzner plays a surprisingly mature game, with high panic threshold and excellent on-ice awareness. Not a big banger, nor prone to unleash a slap shot from the point too often, Alzner plays a reliable, steady game that will eventually eat up big minutes in the NHL. For now, it seems, he’s slated to return to the WHL’s Calgary Hitmen, though there is speculation that he may get a taste of NHL duty at the start of the season before being returned to his junior club.

(Continued)

The Caps’ site has posted Mike Vogel’s excellent interview with defenceman Steve Eminger; check it out here.

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.

The Caps this morning announced the resigning of defenseman Steve Eminger and center Brian Sutherby. Terms were not disclosed.

Update: Tarik has the details — both received one-year pacts, Eminger’s for a million bucks, Suts at 800k. Also, the Caps today announced the signing of free agent, depth center Jason Morgan. The 30-year-old Morgan got a cup of coffee with the Minnesota Wild last season (four games) and 57 with Houston of the American Hockey League.

We are now full on in the throes of the end of the offseason’s offseason (mercifully, AMC last night offered up an 8:00 airing of ‘Slapshot,’ perhaps as a bit of a kickoff to the NHL’s off-ice action this month). By that I mean that any moment now we could see cross the transom the first of what typically is a string of trades clubs make to commence their offseason rebuilding. This June the pre-draft dealing buzz isn’t quite what it was last, but I’ve seen too many Draft-Eve seasons to know better. The first shoe will eventually drop, and off we’ll be. And unlike last June, when the Caps were just out of the first turn in its rebuild race, this summer management has pledged to be an active player for new players.

Likely we won’t see a blockbuster like last June’s Panthers’ dealing of Roberto Luongo (for junk; and we may not see such lopsidedness again in this lifetime). Then again, we may see Patrick Marleau moved. The game within the game taking place now through next Friday night involves the leagues GMs sorting through their UFA and RFA lists, comparing last season’s payroll with ‘07-’08’s projected cap, and charting a course for correction and improvement. For some clubs, payroll will be pared and some prime players moved. For others (the Caps), payroll will increase, assets added. A fair bit of this correction will take place over the course of the next 10 days.

Beyond being super submerged below the salary cap (by like tens of millions of dollars), this summer the Caps have consistently and publicly pledged to address their roster remedies through “trades,” Hershey graduations, and potentially the UFA market. In all of their public statements about offseason upgrades, all of management has consistently IDed dealing as a planned strategem, which struck me as brazen in its confidence. Notable, effective deals require willing dance partners. Two to tango. In mid-April, how could Caps’ management have been assured of them come mid-June?

The answer may not be all that secret or surprising. Because of the team’s plethora of draft picks dating back to 2002, and coupled with the Hershey Bears’ fabulous success the past two seasons, GM George McPhee has strong cards in his dealing hand. He is, for instance, loaded at left wing. And after last June’s work by his scouts in Vancouver, the organization suddenly seems deep in net. He is perhaps only a year or so away from being enviably deep on the blueline. And again with this Entry Draft, he has multiple picks up high (two picks each in rounds one and two). Add to these factors the team’s unrivaled cap space, and the Caps clearly are a power player on the phones the next 10 days. (Continued)

And back to reality for the Caps, with a visit to the high-flying Buffalo Sabres bringing the Caps back down to Earth. The Caps were very game in the first, but Buffalo’s talent rose to the top in the second, putting the game away.

• Shaone Morrisonn had a good pinch later in the game, and played some solid defense, but the high-sticking double-minor he took in the first put the Caps in a spot.
• The Caps’ power play looked, well, confused. The passing wasn’t really up to snuff, and Alex Ovechkin continued his season-long trouble of holding onto the puck, causing trouble in trying to gain the offensive zone.
• Speaking of things we’d like to see on the power play, Brian Pothier’s bomb from near the blueline was impressive. I’m not sure why he’s hesitant to use it on the man-up (or Milan Jurcina, for that matter), but it couldn’t hurt, at this point.
• The only real highlight for Caps fans is Brashear’s clear win over Andrew Peters.
• Brooks Laich continues to be offensively assertive, though it’s not paying off. He’s taking the puck to the cage and showing some good stick-handling. At some point he needs to pot a few, but hes going in the right direction.
• Milan Jurcina against pasted a few opponents, but his hooking penalty couldn’t have come at a worse time — the Caps get on the board, they may have a bit of momentum, then *boom*, time to go a man-down.
• Boyd Gordon has to find a way to keep his stick throughout his penalty-killing shifts. Seems like he’s broken or lost his twig a lot recently.
• The team has settled down, overall, in front of Kolzig, but you’d really like to see him make the stop on the second Buffalo goal.
• Drew Stafford looked pretty darn good. His move on Eminger was a thing of beauty.

Buffalo continues it’s march to the post-season, and the Caps get Carolina tonight, and get a chance to wipe the bad taste out of their mouth by trying to play the role of spoiler. While I don’t expect the ice to be as tilted as it was for the Sabres contest, it’s still an up-hill task.

With an alternate work schedule today, I was able to attend my first Caps practice since training camp and first visit to Kettler Capitals Iceplex since the ribbon cutting press conference. I took a few notes and will present them in typical OFB Knee-Jerk style.

• I’d estimate the attendance at about 50-75 fans. A practice at high-noon can’t hurt and it makes me wish I worked closer to Ballston. It’s probably just as well because an “extended lunch” would probably become a bad habit.

• Attendance from the MSM included Lindsay Czarniak. Here’s hoping her non-game day visit means improved quantity and quality of Caps’ coverage on News4.

• Team mood seemed to be quite good. Amazing what winning — and winning big — can do.

• Through most of the practice, the top two stars of Sunday’s game were skating on the same line. Semin on the right wing and Fleishmann on the left. Beech centered them.

• Ovechkin was sporting a fish tank off his helmet, courtesy of Dan Boyle.

• With the hand injury, Pettinger was still practicing, albeit he was the lone man wearing red.

• At some point during drills, both Ovechkin and Semin each tried to complete a “Wheeler goal.”

• The last 5 minutes of the “official” practice icluded a shootout competition. Chris Clark’s team, clad in black, pitted against the Russians & Co., donning white. The cheers grew louder with each goal scored by the Men in Black. I soon found out the reason for the commotion. The losing team in white, upon their loss, took to the ice, laid down on their backs, and began a series of crunches. I didn’t notice if Brent Johnson had to endure the punishment of loss.

• An impromptu unofficial drill took place after practice with Brent Johnson in net surrounded by Brashear, Clark, Laich, Eminger and others as a shot was taken from the top of the circle. BJ would leave a rebound for one of the masses to pick up the sluff and try to score. I did not keep track.

• I was able to thank Lindsay for dramatic reduction of News4 sports replays that include slowed down action and cheesy sound effects. The SportsMachine style of replay, mercifully, seems to be headed to pasture with its trainer.

• When asked if WRC had named a replacement for the top sports anchor, Lindsay told me that she and Dan Hellie will split those duties. Congrats to both. With split responsibilities, all sports not owned by Dan Snyder should get increased coverage.

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.

The Washington Capitals hosted the inaugural “Hockey ‘n Heels” event on Monday February 26, 2007. The event was intended to bring more female fans to the game by showcasing skills, rules and behind the scenes looks at the players. Over 250 women signed up and the event was a complete sell out.

When Gustaffson first encouraged me to attend, I was a little “iffy” on the whole thing. The idea of traipsing around the Verizon Center with a bunch of women for three hours did not sound like my idea of a good time. I had mental images of hundreds of women making mad dashes to the players that attended, similar to the scenes that you see on television for the big wedding gown sales. But Gustaffson is intent on making me a diehard hockey fan, so away I went.

I will be the first to admit that I had a great time and the event was very well planned. Everyone was split into smaller groups and rotated through the five different activities, so the chaos was kept to a minimum. There was a wide range of women there as well, from hockey moms to puck bunnies and everyone in between. Yes, there were plenty of ladies in attendance hoping to snag some quality time with the young, single players. However, there were just as many women asking thoughtful hockey related questions. Plus, we all got to shoot pucks on the ice with Jamie Heward, Shaone Morrisson and Coach Dean Evason. After initial reluctance to get out there (I did have on 2 inch heels) I can happily say I not only stayed on my feet, but also made contact with the puck and got it into the goal! So what if the goal was only ten feet away? (Continued)

Toronto is a terrific weekend getaway, and in 2002 I Entry Draft weekended there with a chum. The Caps owned three first round picks in 2002, were in search of a head coach at the time, and were gathering in a town offering Alexander Keiths on tap. June Ocean City sunbathing and boat drinks, alluring in many respects, is for me no match for spending a summer Saturday inside a hockey-less offseason rink, in the company of 5,000 colleague DraftGeeks, with so much at stake for the Caps.

By 2:00 that Saturday afternoon the Caps had already supplemented their prospect stable most promisingly. Steve Eminger and Alexander Semin were already nabbed. Then General Manager stepped behind the draft stage podium and with the first round’s 17th selection announced the name of Boyd Gordon. In the arena’s conspicuous silence that accompanied the selection, there was a palpable “Come again?” among the continent’s DraftGeeks. Seated high in the dimly lit Air Canada Centre, I fumbled through my litany of Draft guides for intelligence on Boyd Gordon. At Keiths-laden happy hour that evening, my buddy Chris and I were still trying to gather that lone bit of biography on Boyd that could help us see in him perhaps what the Caps had.

Fast forward two-and-a-half years, to the early spring of 2005, the season of no season. Roaming the interstates for our fix of pro puck, Empty Maybe and I beer-ed ourselves in the Norfolk Scope one March weekend to watch the Portland Pirates, then the AHL affiliate for the Caps, battle the Admirals. We went there keen on chronicling the progress of the likes of Jakub Klepis, Steve Eminger, Nolan Yonkman, and Tomas Fleischmann. But in both of that weekend’s games against Norfolk Empty and I noticed one Pirates’ player taking key defensive zone draws for Tim Army, one guy moving not with pure raw speed but rather sleuthful efficiency and conspicuous agility, a guy whose shifts consistently broadcasted loud and clear: hockey sense. We went home, logged on, and reported to our Caps email list this summary: “Boyd Gordon will play in the NHL.” I remember describing him as a more fluid skating Kelly Miller.

Fast forward to February 2007. In a season of middling progress by the Caps, Boyd Gordon has been a standout virtually from October’s opening puck-drop. Take a look at these plus-minus tallies among his teammates: Ovechkin, 14; Zubrus, 13; Pettinger, 14; Clymer, 14; Morrisonn, 7; Pothier, 9. Here’s Boyd’s: plus seven. But stats alone tell precious little of Gordon’s value to Glen Hanlon this season.

Lesson: Beware the Bellyache of the DraftGeek war room.

Incidentally, following Caps’ prospects soon will involve a lot less travel for the likes of Empty and me, as we learned yesterday on the CapsReport that this July’s rookie camp will be held at the team’s new Ballston practice facility. Expect us to be blogging late those afternoons from Baileys.

A complete effort by the boys tonight; outshooting the division leader 37-22 is impressive. In the early going the game had a nervous vibe, like it could be one of those nights when the Caps dominate but don’t finish. But the two Alexes put an end to those concerns.

• The Clark to Eminger to Semin goal in OT was a thing of beauty. Eminger’s no-look spin-a-rama pass to Semin was perfect, and Alex II flipped the backhand shot just under the crossbar. As friend of OFB ‘Capsaholic’ said, “Semin’s da MAN!”
• The refs were shaky tonight. The woodchopping that Semin took to the face in the third period deserved four minutes, not two. And the “boarding” call on Chris Clark was a joke — he clearly pulled up and clipped Slater on the shoulder, hardly penalty-worthy contact. I was perhaps 70 feet from the hit, and trust me, had Clark wanted to crush Slater then Slater’s teeth would have been embedded in the boards. But the Caps weathered the early penalty imbalance well, killing four of five.
• Olie took quite a hit right before the penalty shot. It was great to see him recover and finish the game, and the crowd went wild when that penalty shot failed. That was the turning point; a 3-1 deficit would have been quite a hill to climb. Nice to see Olie get that rare goalie assist too.
• Ovechkin’s PP goal was almost funny — Semin passed into Ovie’s feet, so Ovie passed back to Semin, as if he were saying, “Try again, and do it right this time!” Lo and behold, Semin sent a tape-to-tape pass right back to Ovechkin, who one-timed it in. Sweet.
• Kari Lehtonen played extremely well; he almost stole the game. Had a lesser netminder started, the Caps could have been up 3-1 after one. His glove hand is lightning-quick.
• Boyd Gordon continues to be the Caps’ best defensive forward; he plays full-throttle every shift, and generates some good scoring chances to boot. Surprisingly he also went 8-14 on faceoffs; only Kris Beech’s 7-12 was better tonight.
• Nice to see Cap-killer Jon Sim not get a goal for a change (though he assisted on Kovalchuk’s tally). Undrafted former Capital Glen Metropolit, however, notched his fourth point in six games against the Caps.

They’ve snagged four points against two very good teams. The Caps’ next three opponents are all under .500; then a scheduling quirk has the Caps facing Carolina 3 times, Ottawa twice, and Florida twice in their next nine games. If the team can sustain this effort then they have an excellent chance to gain serious ground in the playoff race.

Five years into his development with the Washington Capitals defenseman Steve Eminger invites the most discomforting of questions by fans and team officials alike, among them this: just what kind of defenseman is he?

Such uncertainty and pervasive, quiet disappointment would have been unthinkable a few years back. While a rookie Eminger took to the Air Canada Centre ice one night and made 20,000 seated in one of hockey’s cathedrals forget about Mats Sundin. He was named the game’s first star, dominating all three zones and logging like 25 minutes of ice time. At one point he drew gasps from the Ontario cognoscenti, deftly pirouetting the puck out of harm’s way, a la Denis Savard but from the backline, and rushing the puck up the ice with powerful strides, QB-ing the Caps toward a scoring chance. His future seemed not only bright but chock full of two-way impact.

And this was hardly a lone instance of brilliance. Eminger represented Canada at the 2003 World Junior Championships. You know what kind of talent you have to be to dress for the Canadian blueline in that tournament? He also led his junior team, the Kitchener Rangers, to the Memorial Cup Championship in the same season, posting 29 points in 23 games after making the Caps straight out of training camp that fall.

Secured by the Caps in their foundation-building 2002 draft class, Eminger was selected 12th overall, one pick ahead of Alexander Semin. (There’s something about Eminger and the Air Canada Centre — the 2002 draft was held there.) It’s additionally disquieting to read The Hockey News’ pre-draft profile of him that summer:

Eminger has great wheels and won the puck control event at the 2002 Top Prospects Game. He has exceptional puckhandling and playmaking skills and quarterbacked the Kitchener power play this season. He showed at times he can change the tempo of a game if he wants.”

Today, there’s little tempo changing to Eminger’s game. There’s little in the way of “great wheels” displayed. In his own end he often ambles about stiff and upright instead of trusting his ample physical skills to head off threats from opposing forwards. Deft puckhandling and playmaking among Capitals’ rearguards? You think Pothier and Green and Morrisonn before Eminger. (Continued)