09 Ales, 2008

Numerus Archives: Suffragium Bouchard

NHL.com Prospicio Spotlight: League Amo Vultus of Caps’ Q Leaguers

spondeo of Caps’ praemium prospicio ex Quebec League, Mathieu Perreault quod Suffragium Bouchard, has caught intentio of NHLs’ textus site. Tuesdays’ eximius pluma comprehendo nonnullus oculus- oris assessments ex Caps’ GM George McPhee. In Perreaults’ amplitudo:

“dum infligo in 5- pes-8, 151- talentum Perreault est suus vegrandis frame, Lavatio Imperator Procurator George McPhee has vultus ultra ut in condita suus censeo.

“Hes’ non a magnus kid, tamen hes’ a valde perspicuus ludio ludius quod weve’ usquequaque said ut si vestri’ bonus satis, vestri’ magnus satis” McPhee told NHL.com.

Weve’ been magnus solator of Perreaults’ utpote nos laid primoris laid eyes in him procul suus primoris Development Castra, tamen huic piece is lentesco aliquantulus of moxie in respondeo ut velico quisnam animadverto tantum suus amplitudo: “ego sentio Ive’ iam expertus Im’ melior quam a sedecim rotundus ludio ludius” is told NHL.com. Sit quoque inspired per alius undersized Q graduate — Daniel Concisus.

“(concisus) est a minor ludio ludius amo mihi, tamen hes’ non vix of quisquam quod valde smart in ice,” Perreault told NHL.com. “Hes’ typus of ludio ludius Volo ingravesco. Umquam utpote EGO coepi lascivio hockey, meus amplitudo has vere been a motivating officina quod res (McPhee) would narro quispiam amo ut opes multus. Vere, sententia, meus amplitudo est nunquam quispiam EGO reputo super in glacies. EGO iustus progredior illic quod lascivio meus venatus tanquam EGO erant a maior hockey ludio ludius. EGO moris’ change a res quod si (McPhee) reputo Im’ effectus puteus, Peius’ servo effectus quis Im’ effectus”

Est illic species character stacking sursum altus huic norma vel quis? In animadverto ut Bouchard eram inter denique cuts no procul 2007s’ palaestra castra NHL.com probo ut is had perfectus suus research in Caps’ alius Quebec prospicio. Is est typus of opinio ut’ totus quoque infrequens in mainstream hockey interventus.

2008 Development Castra Denique Scrimmage Ago Blog

Suo nos procul 1000am: hodie ut nos mos suo Eric McErlain of Lusum Novus quod AOL Fanhouse quod Sarcalogos Libramen, Publicus Consanguinei Suffragium pro Ipsa Gero, pro nonnullus ago blogging of factum. Si vos cannot planto is sicco ut Kettler, suo nos vox hic per vestri Imbuo oriens vas-a-joe.

Ten Caput capitis Storylines pro Development Castra 2008

Is oriens Caput exspectata21 skaters quod 4 goaltenders ut suum 2008 Development Castra. Fere totus of castra es repens Caps’ draft picks, quod primoris- teres ex sulum of teams’ preteritus quattuor drafts es tendo (Alzner, Varlamov, Carlson, Pokulok).

Castra mos culminate per a 1000: scrimmage in Imbuo. Hockey est tergum! Herewith, 10 caput capitis storylines insequor procul is Julys’ castra:

(10) Totus Eyes in Alzner. 2007 primoris rotundus pick Karl Alzner infigo video of Development Castra permaneo July, tunc is went in ut caput aurum medal victor Canadians procul orbis terrarum Junior Championships in December quod mereo WHL Tutaminis of Annus quod Ludio ludius of Annus veneratio per Calgary Hitmen. Non a nocens season, huh? Ubi suus season in Calgary eram universa is eram accersitus sursum per Ipsa, tamen Gero didnt’ provectus ex American League postseasons’ primoris rotundus, sic hes’ etiamnunc impetro a sapor of pro hockey. Abyssus’ adepto a chance procul palaestra castra in September ut fragor Caps’ oris nox noctis roster, tamen is can planto a verus validus infigo in quod off glacies is week.

(9) Acidus in Sasha? Haud team got screwed magis per Gary Bettmans’ inanis Viscus Draft propositum per estas obfirmo of 2005 quam Caps. league totus tamen venit sicco quod said ut per rectum of having had prothoplastus pick in 2004, Caps shouldnt’ have a oportet offa procul is iterum. Tamen foris caput capitis 10? A pre- obfirmo cellar habito, Caps drew 14th pick in prothoplastus rotundus in ‘05 draft. Multus of species eram iam off traba per tunc, comprehendo Sidney Crux crucis, Tutela Pretium, Anze Kopitar, quod Jack Johnson. Caps took a ausus in Inda tutaminis Sasha Pokulok. Is Hasnonium’ infigo. Is could exsisto a planto- vel- effrego annus pro him. Hed’ operor puteus habeo a firmus week.

(8) Contraho Hockeys’ Maximus Weekend Isnt’ ut Recedentia Absentis. Lavatio mos populus suus primoris- umquam Glacialis Quattuor tunc ver, quod Glacialis Quattuor Organizing Trado mos saluto Kettler in Wednesday, se gero congressus illic, quod concipio ut dies’ scrimmage. EGO have ubertas of questions Id’ amo ut appono lemma.

(7) Magnus Finn per Magnus Venatus. Oskar Osala had a magnus annus in 2007-08 per 18 calx quod 35 cuspis in 53 venatus per Espoo Puteulanus in Finlands’ caput capitis pro league. 6 ‘4, 217-lb. left pennae eram nomen Finnish Leagues’ Rookie of Annus. Is quoque fulsi procul 2007 Universitas Junior Championships, qua is partis plumbum in calx ustulo per 5 calx in 6 venatus. Multus of folks ex Ipsa es fervidus video vidi visum him.

(6) Nonut Carlson, tamen Johns’ Magnus quod Physical Quoque. Haud consanguinei ut Jack, tamen John Carlson may puteus planto a nomen pro sui in pro hockey, quoque. Caps may have terra alius tardus primoris- rotundus blueline gemma permaneo mensis per Carlson, cuius’ iam beatus per a pro physique. Suus cogo per Indiana Glacies of USHL said of suus tutaminis, “ vacuus a nuto, hes’ iens futurus a astrum in NHL.”

(5) Interventus Res. Totus of HockeyWashington eram attonitus per latitudo, depth, quod super species of interventus occulto of Caps is preteritus ver. Is week procul Kettler — qua illic ero repono ut dico — est an vicis video vidi visum si ut eram anomalous. Secundum totus, Redskins dont’ opinio ut palaestra castra pro alius duos weeks. Bloggers ero sicco procul Kettler vestis, quod nos spes utreprise nostrum coalition ex Viscus Draft Friday quod ago blog is Saturdays’ castra- infero scrimmage.

(4) Qua’ Magnus Joe? Joe Finley, Vulnero Vis, isnt’ in urbs is week. 2005 primoris- teres pluo multus of spondeo tandem estas’ Development Castra, quod is quoque surculus multus of plexiglass per suus angulus opus. Caput ire ut valde tractus facio is week appealing ut Lavatio juvenis, quod Finleys’ instincts pro vis may non have been a bonus opportunus illo procurator. Abyssus’ exsisto recidivus ut North Dakota pro suus senex season per Bellator Sioux is cado.

(3) They Heus ex a Ustulo’ League. plumbum ustulo ex Quebec Major domus Junior Hockey League sulum of preteritus duos seasons, Suffragium Bouchard quod Mathieu Perreault, ero tendo. Perreault in proprius, per suus dazzling stickwork- in-a-phone- tabernus quod universitas- ordo agility quod hockey voluntas, ought futurus a fan ventus is week.

(2) Prior a Prior. Caput’ Goaltender Cogo Dave Prior has prodigo 11 seasons in Lavatio. Is may non have a magis maximus unus quam unus ahead. Is mos infreno etiamnunc alius haud. 1 calx in Jose Theodore — teams’ tertius in iustus permaneo semestris — quod forsitan iustus ut maximus, in Simeon Varlamov quod Michal Neuvirth doceo duos of norma’ teres goaltending prospicio in 15 annus. Ut opus suscipio is week.

(1) Narro of Calx . . . Is would exsisto levamentum pro Caput’ fans video vidi visum utriusque Varlamov quod Neuvirth subsisto sulum offa ut sulum visio universus illae week.

Lavatio Caput’ Caput capitis Prospicio, Ver 2008

Jugis an OFB institutio, nos tendo nostrum rankings of Caput’ prospicio procul conclusion of hockey season. Plures of nomen subter supter youll’ have a chance video vidi visum procul Kettler Caput Iceplex is July, pro Development Castra (July 7-12). Quis’ plumbum storyline inter posterus possessiones? Gotta exsisto adventum of optimus tener hockey ludio ludius in Occasus Canalis, Karl Alzner — optimus tener ludio ludius in Canalis vel usquam alius, illo res. Si is has a validus palaestra castra adveho September abyssus’ bypass American League is cado quod suscipio suus NHL tutela vegetus ex an awards- uber CHL tutela.

Alius gleaning: ut a Q-league ustulo champ quod MVP cant’ fragor caput capitis 10 of an norma’ prospicio rankings. Ut dico nos ut Ross Mahoney quod suus stabilis of explorator globe super es questus is perfectus.

Nomen Draft Ordo 07‘-’08 Stipes macresco
Karl Alzner, D ‘07, 1st Rd. Calgary (WHL) WHL Ludio ludius of Annus, Tutaminis of Annus, CHL MVP Denique. Ullus questions?
Simeon Varlamov, G ‘06, 1st Rd. Lokomotiv (RSL) Praeclarus RSL ordinarius season civitas, tunc, in postseason, sublimis: 16 venatus, 1.56 GA, quinque shutouts. Exspectata ut North American professio hockey, Simeon.
Sami Lepisto, D ‘04, 3rd Rd. Ipsa Gero Adeo pro nixor in a rookie pro season in North America: 45 pts. in 55 Gero’ venatus, quod a +29. A Tier EGO candide pro proveho ut parentis stipes in cado.
Andrew Gordon, RW ‘04, 7th Rd. Meridianus Carolina (ECHL); Ipsa Fought per mane-season demotion, altus in firmus duos- via, labefactum porro. Duos hat furta in suus American League rookie season. Perspicuus, perspicuus posterus.
Sarcalogos Bourque, LW ‘04, 2nd Rd. Ipsa Gero Gero’ MVP; quoniam a caput capitis tractare in American League denique mensis of season; promptus ut talea suus vindicatum ut a perpetuus proveho.
Josef Boumedienne, D us ex Ottawa, Dec. 2002 Ipsa Gero Malum- matrimonium ‘07-’08 campaign, tamen etiam posteri 7 & 35 in 52 venatus, quod a +18; minor a prospicio quod magis a species depth subcribo; draft dies professio esca?
Kyle Wilson, C Subcribo ut a solvo procurator, July 2007 Ipsa Gero Tantum Gero ludo in sulum ordinarius season venatus; prope a cuspis-per- venatus tractare per duos American League seasons.
Pica Beagle, C Subcribo per Lavatio in Proficiscor 2008 Ipsa Gero Diamond in scabrosus? Magnus-bodied, mobile, quod deliciae contactus venatus; unus calx shy of 20 in suus vegetus AHL campaign.
Suffragium Bouchard, RW ‘06, 2nd Rd. Baie- Adveho (QMJHL) Validus tamen unspectacular ‘07-’08 campaign; ultum amplio skater; postulo AHL seasoning.
Joe Finley, D ‘05, 1st Rd. North Dakota (WCHA) Utor tertius rectus season of statistical lenimentus — quod ‘07-’08s’ numerus comprehendo a emineo spike in obscoena uber; a team- plumbum +24; etiam splendidus vilis quod nasty.
Josh Godfrey, D ‘07, 2nd Rd. Sault Ste. Caltha (OHL) 17 & 34 , +31, in 60 Greyhound venatus; Occasus Placitum Totus Astrum; Team Canalis WJC lectio; vicis pro pro hockey.
Michal Neuvirth, G ‘06, 2nd Rd. Ventus, Oshawa (OHL) Magis prime- vicis tractare: 7-2 pro Imperator per a 2.48 GA, .932 SP is postseason; led Plymouth ut Monumentum Vas permaneo ver; vicis pro pro hockey — Meridianus Carolina vel Ipsa?
Mathieu Perreault, C ‘06, 6th Rd. Acadie Bathurst 2007 Q MVP, 2008 Q ustulo champ; nusquam left ut dominor in major domus juniors; vicis pro pro hockey.
Oskar Osala, LW ‘06, 4th Rd. Espoo Puteulanus (Fin) Recidivus ut Europe prodeo suus development, Osala loco sursum infigo numerus in Finlands’ caput capitis pro league: 18 & 17 quod a + 12 in 53 venatus; ero interesting video vidi visum quis’ in repono pro him in ‘08-’09.
Praesumo Machesney, G ‘05, 5th Rd. Ipsa Gero Validus prestolatio — everyones’ — eram fabula of “ caseus’” season. Is got in 38 venatus per Ipsa quod went 22-10 per a 2.55 calx- obviam. Hes’ in semita futurus an elite goaltender in American League; question est, per quis Lavatio has adventum is estas in calx, est illic cella in norma pro Caseus?
Andrew Joudrey, C ‘03, 8th Rd. Ipsa Gero Firmus primoris plenus pro season, sepius centering alius praemium Caps’ NCAA prospicio, Andrew Gordon; validus in suus skates, eximius hockey voluntas, planto smart lascivio.
Stephen Werner ‘03, 3rd Rd. Meridianus Carolina, Ipsa Somes a longshot video vidi visum quisquam tamen a vas of capulus in bigs. Tamen suus venatus altus in ‘07-’08. Skated a +4 pro Gero in iustus 8 venatus. Does have a pro intentus.
Eo Mos, C ‘04, 9th Rd. Meridianus Carolina Magnus, magnus numerus pro Punctum cardo: 34 & 50 in 68 venatus, comprehendo 14 vox lascivio venalicium; etiam has proventus per skating quod vires procul pro campester.
Pium McNeill, D ‘05, 4th Rd. Meridianus Carolina, Ipsa Scindo vicis inter Carolina quod Ipsa is season; hes’ undersized tamen non physically vinco in A; should utor a plenus annus per Gero in ‘08-’09.
Oscar Hedman, D ‘04, 5th Rd. Modo (Swe.) A caput capitis-4 iugum blueliner quisnam per aevum of 22 had universa quinque seasons in Swedish Elite League. Sententia Ive’ seen tantum glimpses of him in WJC lascivio, EGO wasnt’ iens abeo in vicis habeo duos Oscars in meus traba. Should Osala quod is iungo in a ustulo lascivio in a venatus per Caps, itd’ exsisto prothoplastus Oskar- ex-Oscar pluma in NHL history. EGO vere volo ut.

Caput Subcribo RW Suffragium Bouchard

Lavatio Caput have renuntio volo of vox pennae Litis Bouchard ut a three annus viscus campester pactum. Ex press solvo:

ARLINGTON, Va. — Lavatio Caput have subcribo vox pennae Suffragium Bouchard ut a three- annus viscus- campester pactum orsa tunc season, vitium praesieo quod imperator procurator George McPhee renuntio hodie. In servo per stipes excolo, financial terms of paciscor erant non promptum.

Bouchard, 19, led Quebec Major domus Junior Hockey League (QMJHL) in ustulo in 2006-07, stipes 125 cuspis quod a league- altus 80 succurro. A 61′”, 188- talentum paternus of Sherbrooke, Quebec, Bouchard recorded 92 cuspis (36 calx, 56 succurro) in 68 venatus pro Baie- Adveho in 2007-08, plumbum suus team in ustulo quod peractio duodeviginti in league.

A duos- vicis QMJHL Ludio ludius of Week in 2006-07, Bouchard posteri a 22- venatus cuspis virga in via ut victor Jean Beliveau Trophy, donatus ut leagues’ plumbum ustulo. Bouchard eram nomen QMJHLs’ Ludio ludius of Mensis in December illae season, secundum stipes 22 cuspis ( septem calx, 15 succurro) in 11 venatus.

Bouchard eram Washingtons’ secundus- rotundus choice, 35th super, in 2006 NHL Viscus Draft. Is iunctus Ipsa Gero of American Hockey League (AHL) procul terminus of suus QMJHL season quod had unus calx in quattuor ordinarius-season venatus pro Gero, quisnam suscipio Calder Vas playoffs cras nox noctis.

Caput have iam subcribo quinque of suum lectio ex 2006 Viscus Draft (Nicklas Backstrom, Simeon Varlamov, Michal Neuvirth, Mathieu Perreault quod Suffragium Bouchard).

MVP Redigo?

In facile victor Quebec Major domus Junior Hockey League ustulo titulus is season, Caput’ prospicio Mathieu Perreault no a compelling theca pro mereo suus secundus rectus league MVP award.

Ustulo Natio nationis in Q

Suus’ denique week of ordinarius season in Q, quod per permaneo nox noctis’ opus, Mathieu Perreault has traho ahead ut a 6-pt. plumbum super Flyers’ primoris- teres Clarus Giroux pro primoris in ustulo natio nationis. Meanwhile, alius Caps prospicio, Suffragium Bouchard, est tied pro 6th.

Profundus- in-a-Draft Gemma

Hic’ tidy opus per a sedecim- rotundus draft pick: plumbum a development league in ustulo. Ut’ quis Caps’ prospicio Mathieu Perreault est effectus illa dies per Acadie Bathurst in Quebec Major domus Junior Hockey League. Totus is did permaneo season eram lucror Qs’ MVP award.

Quod alius Caps’ prospicio in Q, Suffragium Bouchard, isnt’ recedentia off Perreaults’ passus.

QMJHL Ustulo Unique Gubernatio February , 2008

Folium TV? Quam Super Caps’ TV?

Cup'pa JoeApprised of Comcasts’ commitment ut Caps is week, EGO verto in Comcast SportsNet moment EGO supervenio domus ex opus Monday nox noctis, quod left is illic. Quis EGO vigilo super tunc quattuor hora attonitus mihi.

EGO saw novus Comcast Caps’ pello pepulli pulsum opinio Lisa Tumulosus bulla populus a season praevius alongside Joe Nidor. EGO saw iustus super totus of Alexander Ovechkins’ primoris- umquam NHL venatus (Id’ forgotten ut is eram a flubbed breakaway ex a hat furta ut nox noctis). Tunc EGO saw JoeB quod Craig populus alius bulla dimidium hora, “Caps Narro” proalius team praevius. Spondeo pro Comcasts’ “SportsNight” ut secuutus pollicitus vel magis Caps’ occulto.

Is eram “Monday Nox noctis Hockey in Washington,” nimirum.

Caput capitis Cogo Glen Hanlon eram interviewed in depth per Tumulosus. GMGM eram thoughtfully interviewed, tandem, quod is dummodo suus usitas thoughtful restituo. Key alio — Sarcalogos Expedio, Olie Kolzig, Tom Venenum, Nicklas Backstrom, Michael Nylander — totus took volvit pro Comcasts’ venit. Tarik El Vercundus’ segment per Joe quod Craig EGO sententia eram a highlight of universus nox noctis. (Tarik, verus effingo, dedi a siccus quod mediocris assessment amid vallum bene engulfing norma mane is autumn. Caps, is said, could perago usquam “ ex sedecim ut decimus” in Orientales placitum)

Broadcast Susurro super pro hockey in D.C. illa dies? Umm, etiam — tantum si vos contemplor totus- perussi, singulus- thema pietas per locus lusum television exitus ut urbs’ rutilus- caput capitis stepchild of pro teams “ susurro”- testimonium. Promptus suus’ iens ut exsisto amo is reliquum of week sulum vesper in Comcast.

Procul unus cuspis per prime vicis proceedings EGO saw Joe quod Craig mico in screen multiple-screen listings of Caps’ prospicio. EGO saw nomen Michal Neuvirth, Simeon Varlamov, Karl Alzner, Joe Finley, Mathieu Perreault, Suffragium Bouchard, Dave Steckel, quod Sarcalogos Bourque, totus broadcast in an exitus ut nunquam in suus vita held an muneris fantasy hockey lacus. Ne multus, is eram amo a effrego exhockeysfuture, quod duos DraftGeeks pensio sicco Comcast bulla quod condita amo Wayne quod Garth in locus cable obvius.

Wayne, er, JoeB: “inviso totus is talentum in pipeline, Dude!”

Garth, er, Craig ( caput capitis gallo): “Praeclarus!”

Is est quis importo unus Canuck can operor ut an exitus!

Magis serio, Tumulosus eram hired accerso suus NHL occulto usus ut Comcast. in- domus hockey talentum eram significant, si sub-appreciated quod grossly sub- utilitas, tamen had exitus umquam jactito a dedicated opinio in pello pepulli pulsum? Tunc Im’ iens ut refer ut occulto sententia amo Comcasts’ huic week havent’ res in a vacuum, quod ut theyre’ a prenuncius of melior occulto advenio, procer quod broadcast, institutio quod alternative. Ut an ambitus, suus’ fashionable, nimirum: Caps may non planto is ut postseason is annus, tamen they mos non exsisto plumbeus.

Tamen nimirum Im’ a subscriber ut ratio ut a interventus revolution huic team quod suus lusum est puteus sub illa dies, in illa secui.

Im’ quoque, procul weeks’ terminus, ut is tentatio run in Comcast terminatio, planning in decens a subscriber ut CapsTV.

Washington Capitals Depth Chart, Summer 2007

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.

OFBs take on the Washington Capitals Depth Chart

Rookie Camp Wrapup, 2007

Backstrom Osala photo courtesy sk84fun_dc Saturday’s concluding scrimmage to Rookie Camp 2007 drew far and away the largest Kettler crowd of the week, and the faithful were rewarded with the week’s most entertaining outing. Blue bested White 7-3 in a full three periods of stopped clock, penalties called feast for the puck famined. Joe Finley went down with a minor injury midway through the game, but that represented, as best as I could tell, the extent of the triage this week. That’s always good news.

In lieu of a scrimmage summary (so many of you were there to see it with your own eyes anyway), and because Mike Vogel has his usual outstanding reckoning of it, I thought today I’d pen a week’s worth of larger impressions.

* Hockey Washington was the big winner this week. Kettler Capitals made its debut in hosting a camp of any sorts, and it graded out great from my vantage. The days of this team competing in somewhat nomadic fashion with summer camps are history. When I first learned that Kettler was going to be a multi-sheet facility and training home for the team, I thought about the opportunity the organization could have for hosting a week-long event like the old Traverse City, Michigan, rookie camps that hosted a handful of NHL teams and bred a great competitive atmosphere. That could happen here eventually — imagine the allure for all those young prospects from hockey’s rural frontiers for spending a week in the U.S. capital — but we’re also well served for our hockey fixes with what we saw this week. How great, too, was it for the facility’s ice staff to get in place the new logo on the sheets in time for camp, and for all the skaters to be outfitted in the overhauled look of the team? I wish I had a quarter for every camp patron I saw walking out of the Kettler pro shop bearing the new Caps’ colors and logo either on their heads or chests, and often both.

* In a very real sense rookie camps are parties for an NHL team’s scouts. There can be no more direct way to evaluate the cumulative labor of a team’s North American and European scouts than to pile dozens of the recent draft selections onto a rink, toss them a puck, and have them go at it every night. I would argue that the party our scouts and team management threw this week at Kettler ranked up there with best of the league’s 30 teams. And Mike Vogel agrees:

“I just checked my notes from the Capitals’ 2003 summer camp at Piney Orchard. There were 22 players in attendance that summer, compared to 42 this season. Only 13 of those 22 players in 2003 were Capitals draftees, and the most notable attendees were Steve Eminger, Boyd Gordon and Eric Fehr. This year’s camp featured 30 Caps draftees out of the 42 players in attendance, and included five first-round and four second-round choices.”

And I’d agree with Vogs that there is today “arguably as much young talent as has been in the system at any time in the team’s history.”

* Saturday’s was the first and only scrimmage I didn’t see owner Ted Leonsis attend. He watched every second of every other one. It bears repreating, particularly in a town of somewhat unpopular, extortionist sports team owners, that our owner is a hockey fanatic. The OFB team also had an opportunity to meet and chat with Zachary Leonsis, who’s headed to Penn for his freshman year next year. Zach shared with us some amazing stories about Alexander Ovechkin’s driveway hoops abilities and general athletic prowess.

* Our print press in town I thought offered up some terrific coverage of camp, but I was surprised that a facility and an event lending itself especially to television footage drew very little in the way of cameras and correspondents. Al Koken and Joe Reekie were camp fixtures, but of local sports anchors, I was at pains to spot a single one during a single scrimmage. In particular, I wondered at the AWOL absence of the Regional Queen of Local Sports.

* Remember Mr. Leonsis’ expressed wish for a durable synergy taking hold between the hockey communities in D.C. and Hershey, Pa.? I saw more of that this week. Bruce Boudreau worked the benches and helped evaluate players every day. I met up with Bears’ man about all things communications John Walton, and Tim Leone of the Patriot News actually spent a portion of his summer vacation at Kettler. A hockey reporter getting away from his day job at the rink by coming to a rink, in July. Sounds like a pro to me.

* I asked Vogs to share with me five names of campers who really caught his eye this week. He went with Karl Alzner, Francois Bouchard, Michal Neuvirth, Sami Lepisto, and Nicklas Backstrom. Mine: Joe Finley, Nicklas Backstrom, Sami Lepisto, Mathieu Perreault, and Francois Bouchard. Tarik today also shows Francois Bouchard some love.

* I think from every rookie camp you want two separate but equally compelling storylines: breakout/head-turning/buzz-generating efforts from guys who a half season or so earlier were under everybody’s radar, and we got that this week from the likes of Francois Bouchard, Mathieu Perreault, Joe Finley, and Sami Lepisto. If not others. But you also are looking for performances that are so strong that they evoke forecasts for cracking the big club’s roster come September, and here too I think we saw that with Bouchard, Karl Alzner, and Lepisto.

Extra Duty on a Summer Friday Night

Kettler Capitals Iceplex ExteriorFriday night’s scrimmage went a bit off script: the coaches decided to incorporate specialty teams play midway through both periods, with the teams alternating manpower advantages for the balance of the back half of the stanzas. There was also this pleasant surprise: sudden death overtime play. In the second 5-minute OT session Nicklas Backstrom swept across Simeon Varlamov’s crease with a cross-ice feed from linemate Francois Bouchard and tucked in the game-ender, giving Team Blue a 3-2 triumph. Don’t be surprised if that forward combination is one we see sirening red lights behind enemy cages in the years ahead.

That overtime flair was exceeded moments earlier by the save of the week, authored by Michael Nuevirth. Sean Backman flipped a clever, two-defender elluding pass on the left wing to Bryan Lerg, who raced in unimpeded on Nuevirth. Lerg made a terrific lateral move in tight, and lifted a game-winner targeting the unguarded top right shelf. Somehow, Nuevirth snared it with his glove. A number of us watching from center ice thought the game had ended on the shot.

This night, however, belonged to Jeff Lovecchio. The 6 ‘2, 195-lb. left wing completed a 34-pt. season for Western Michigan of the CCHA in ‘06-’07. The native of Chesterfield, Mo., has had a super solid week. Tonight he showcased his impressive speed, strength, and offensive zone grit better than any other forward.

“Lovecchio stands out because he works so hard,” Head Coach Glen Hanlon said afterward. “But remember he’s 22.” Hanlon spent some moments with reporters after tonight’s scrimmage delineating the careful evaluative process club officials are undertaking in an atmosphere that at times features five- and six-year age discrepancies among players out on a shift.

Another lasting image this week is what Joe Finley regularly does to undersized forwards (in other words, every one he faces) who run out of time and space in his end. You know how offensive linemen in football get credited with “pancakes” for flattening opposing lineman with technically brutal blocking? Well, Finley is inviting a category I’d term “rag doll-ing”: he simply thumps opposing forwards to the ice in close quarters with little effort of his shoulders.

More than a few veteran observers of pro hockey have this week pointed out that the week’s scrimmages appear to have been dominated by the blueline talent. While the scoring hasn’t been conspicuously low in the two, 30-minute, running clock formats, the shot volume has been. And the camp’s goaltenders have seldom been called upon to be spectacular. But consider what the camp’s forwards are facing in terms of blueline experience. Sean Collins is an ‘83 birthyear, with four seasons of NCAA hockey completed. Sami Lepisto is a veteran of the Finnish Elite League. Oscar Hedman is a vet of the Swedish Elite League. Karl Alzner is a big-bodied, top 5 pick renowned for his on-ice maturity. Joe Finley has just two seasons of NCAA hockey under his belt, but he’s bigger than Ballston Mall’s parking lot. And then you’ve got an awful lot of quality goaltending behind these defenders. Advantage absolutely to the D.

Seen and Heard at Kettler Capitals

* 2005 first-rounder Sasha Pokulok still hasn’t been cleared for contact skating, and while he’s participating in morning drills this week, quietly there is growing sentiment within the Caps’ organization that Pokulok’s blueline candidacy with the big club is fast approaching flickering candle status.* Earlier this week I learned that the voice of the Hershey Bears, John Walton, will debut his own hockey blog in advance of the upcoming hockey season. That should be special, particularly if Walton can set aside some modesty and upload a few of his famous calls, like Eric Fehr’s Eastern Conference winner in Game 7 sudden death in the spring of 2006. Think Ozzy Osbourne, unsedated, meets Howard Dean, actually nominated. The brigade from Hershey, Pa., grew tonight with the Patriot News’ Tim Leone arriving for his first visit to Kettler Capitals. He had a chance to chat a bit with Bears bench boss Bruce Boudreau, and when I asked him if anyone had particularly caught the coach’s notice this week, he said “Andrew Gordon sure has.”

* Those of you who’ve been OFB readers for more than a month know of my regard for Leone’s coverage of the Bears. Tonight he shared a kind word with me for my file on the old Hershey Arena earlier this spring, and he alerted me to the fact that he has a chapter on the great old barn in his history of the Bears, titled Hershey Bears: Sweet Seasons.

I hopped on over to amazon.com right as I returned home and found this reader review of Leone’s book:

“Well-researched and very interesting history about one of the oldest and most interesting ice hockey teams in the world. Interesting and in-depth, but very readable. For me, though, the book is worth it for the photographs alone. A must-read for any Bears fan or hockey historian.”

It’s already been added to my summer reading list. Put it on yours.

Rookie Camp 2007: Passing Out Deli Numbers to the Pro Prospects

Cup'pa JoeHalfway through the Capitals’ 2007 Rookie Camp, I have this general observation: there are bushels full of authentically professional hockey players skating out at Kettler Capitals this week. And the overwhelming majority of them are going to return this fall to their junior, collegiate, or minor pro clubs for additonal ripening. But shift after shift in these high-paced, highly competitive scrimmages, in jerseys blue and white, the evidence is ample that the Caps’ enlarged scouting staff of recent years has delivered dramatic dividends for the long-term future welfare of this organization. As early as this September, almost certainly there will be NHL-viable bodies dispatched to Bruce Boudreau and the American Hockey League, and perhaps a few back to the CHL as well.

Joe Finley could play pro hockey right now; instead, he’ll patrol the North Dakota Fighting Sioux blueline in its top pairing in 2007-08. Andrew Joudrey has an NHL stride and an NHL poise that will almost certainly make him a fan favorite in Hershey this season. Ditto for Andrew Gordon. Nicklas Backstrom is a top-six fixture among Caps forwards this fall, but to these eyes he’s only the second-best young center scrimmaging this week, bettered in the “Did you just see what I saw?” meter by Mathieu Perreault. (It took less than two scrimmages for Perreault to attract double-team defensive coverage — that’s how dynamic he is.) This is by no means an exhaustive tally, and I suspect over the next two days I’ll be adding to it.

Here’s how good things look out on the mid-summer ice filled with youngins right now: Luke Lynes, not ensconced on too many Tier I or Tier II Caps’ prospect rankings, may well have potted a hat trick in Thursday’s scrimmage. He had two for sure and was involved in a tightly bunched scramble on a third. (Blue bested White 5-1 Thursday.)

Another terrifically exciting development: youngsters who last September at training camp in Ashburn, Va., appeared often overwhelmed by the pro environs look a heck of a lot more comfortable and improved this summer. I’m fantastically impressed by Francois Bouchard’s improved mobility this week. Skating had been considered his primary weakness, and while he’s still an upright skater who’ll never make anyone forget Mike Gartner, he is beating a lot of skaters to a lot of pucks this week. More and more he’s bearing the aura of a second-round steal.

Oskar Osala, too, is turning a lot of heads with his physical play and general aggressiveness and good decision-making. Recall that this past season he enjoyed a bit of a blossoming one the biggest stage for prospects: the most recent World Juniors. His poise and presence this week appears to be carrying over from that. There is a clear confidence displayed on his shifts that wasn’t often evident in Ashburn.

In the middle of last season I had great exchange with an NHL scout who had as his primary coverage area the CCHA. After the Caps signed Sean Collins this spring he emailed me with a prediction that Caps’ fans would in short order be very happy with the signing. This week, I’m seeing a lot of support for that sentiment. Collins is good-sized and mobile and an adept puck distributor. And adept puck distribution is a theme fast becoming emblematic of the organization’s rearguards. Collins, Alzner, Godfrey, Lepisto, even Big Joe Finley — the shifts and pairings on the back end don’t much seem to matter; we in the stands aren’t witnessing much hair-on-fire mayhem when the puck’s on these guys’ sticks deep along the boards or in the midst of frenzied forechecking. Melikey.

A terrifically important thing to keep in mind as you take in these scrimmages: guys like Joudrey and Gordon and Morin and Backstrom are at times matched with and against guys who knew nothing better than Northeast prep puck this past season as competition. So you’re talking about fellas who’ve completed in some instances four years of major college hockey, or one or two World Championships, under the tutelage of some of some of hockey’s best coaches, battling against those who were slow dancing at Prom just a few weeks back. But it’s within this context that my main point here is further amplified: Andrew Glass, who won’t enroll in freshman composition at BU until 2008, looks anything but out of place against young world-class competition.

Let’s Go Camping

The Caps this afternoon released a finalized roster for this week’s Rookie Camp out at Kettler Capitals. Here’s what it looks like:

No. Name Pos. Ht. Wt. Birthdate 2006-07 Team Acquired
19 Nicklas Backstrom C 6-0 183 11/23/87 Brynas U-18 (Sweden) Draft (1st, 2006)
29 Jamie Hunt D 6-2 200 4/20/84 Hershey (AHL) Free Agent
30 Michal Neuvirth G 6-1 197 3/23/88 Plymouth (OHL) Draft (2nd, 2006)
31 Daren Machesney G 6-0 182 4/17/87 S. Carolina (ECHL)/Hershey (AHL) Draft (5th, 2005)
34 Sasha Pokulok D 6-5 220 5/25/86 S. Carolina (ECHL)/Hershey (AHL) Draft (1st, 2005)
36 Francois Bouchard RW 6-1 187 4/26/88 Baie-Comeau (QMJHL) Draft (2nd, 2006)
40 Simeon Varlamov G 6-1 183 4/27/88 Yaroslavl (Russia) Draft (1st, 2006)
41 Theo Ruth D 6-1 199 2/14/89 USA U-18 (USNTDP) Draft (2nd, 2007)
42 Sami Lepisto D 5-11 176 10/17/84 Jokerit Helsinki (Finland) Draft (3rd, 2004)
45 Steve Werner RW 6-1 200 8/8/84 S.Carolina (ECHL)/Hershey (AHL) Draft (3rd, 2003)
46 Patrick McNeill D 6-1 198 3/17/87 Saginaw (OHL) Draft (4th, 2005)
47 Karl Alzner D 6-2 206 9/24/88 Calgary (WHL) Draft (1st, 2007)
48 Oskar Osala LW 6-4 222 12/26/87 Mississauga (OHL) Draft (4th, 2006)
49 Viktor Dovgan D 6-1 205 2/27/87 S. Carolina (ECHL)/Hershey (AHL) Draft (7th, 2005)
54 Oscar Hedman D 6-0 209 4/21/86 Modo (Sweden) Draft (5th, 2004)
57 Kyle Wilson C 6-0 200 12/5/84 Hershey (AHL)/S. Carolina (ECHL) Free Agent
58 Maxime Lacroix LW 6-0 180 6/5/87 Quebec (QMJHL) Draft (5th, 2006)
59 Joe Finley D 6-7 233 6/29/87 North Dakota (WCHA) Draft (1st, 2005)
61 Andrew Joudrey C 5-11 191 7/15/84 Wisconsin (WCHA)/Hershey (AHL) Draft (8th, 2003)
62 Sean Collins D 6-1 215 10/30/83 Ohio State (CCHA)/Hershey (AHL) Free Agent
63 Andrew Gordon RW 5-11 180 12/13/85 St. Cloud State (WCHA) Draft (7th, 2004)
65 Andrew Glass LW 5-11 180 7/14/89 Nobles (High-Mass.) Draft (7th, 2007)
67 Justin Taylor C 5-11 180 2/8/89 London (OHL) Draft (6th, 2007)
70 Justin Mrazek G 6-3 185 7/21/85 Union College (ECACHL)  
71 Travis Morin C 6-2 175 1/9/84 Minn. St. (WCHA)/S. Car. (ECHL)  
72 Pasi Salonen LW 5-11 187 12/18/85 HIFK Helsinki (Finland) Draft (5th, 2004)
73 Josh Godfrey D 6-0 197 1/15/88 Sault Ste. Marie (OHL) Draft (2nd, 2007)
75 Phil DeSimone C 5-11 193 3/19/87 Sioux City (USHL) Draft (3rd, 2007)
76 Brett Bruneteau C 5-11 183 1/5/89 Omaha (USHL) Draft (4th, 2007)
78 Brett Leffler RW 6-0 198 5/19/89 Regina (WHL) Draft (5th, 2007)
80 Dan Dunn G 6-4 200 6/20/88 Wellington (OPJHL) Draft (6th, 2007)
85 Mathieu Perreault C 5-8 151 1/5/88 Acadie-Bathurst (QMJHL) Draft (6th, 2006)
86 Luke Lynes C 6-0 195 11/28/87 Brampton (OHL) Draft (4th, 2006)

July’s Much-Needed Hockey Fix

Cup'pa JoeBoz penned a persuasive piece on the great value offered up by Tiger Woods and Congressional Country Club this week. He’s right — $25 admission, and no parking charge, for a full day in the sun on one of the most beautiful pieces of property in the region is a value day very well spent. You need to be reasonably fit to walk the whole course in July heat, but if you do you’ll sleep like a baby that night. I remember strolling Congressional’s hilly terrain during the U.S. Open there in 1997, and being awed by the splendor of perfectly manicured championship golf. Or maybe I was awed by the thousands of young Montgomery County maidens sauntering about in their revealing summer wear. And come to think of it, pro golfer “partners” (and I’m not talking caddies) are worth the spectating price of admission.

Anyway, it’s a great thing Tiger’s doing this week, honoring our Armed Services as spiritedly as he is. It’s a rare occasion in contemporary sports in which corporate sponsorship seems to recede a bit behind the lustre of the venue, the stars competing therein, and the event’s beneficiaries.

But this weekend another set of world-class athletes arrives in D.C., and witnessing their labor next week will cost you $25 less than the visit to the golf course. Next week brings summer school for Caps’ kiddies, July’s annual Rookie Camp, but these aren’t truants or the grade-challenged. As the Caps have accumulated an embarrassment of high-end prospect riches from the past five NHL Entry Drafts this mid-summer gathering has become a feast for the local DraftGeek and puck-starved. You go back a few years and this event featured a sprinkling of first- and second-rounders, a number of obscure free agents, and some young local talent. But this July the Caps’ prized and largely unrivaled organizational depth gets a dramatic showcasing.

It’s a mini- training camp of sorts, partly an orientation for the young guns and a partly a modest bit of drills and such on the ice. But this is Kettler-Capitals’ first such camp, and I expect it to be the most fan-friendly one to date.

Players will arrive in town over the weekend, and in the early part of next week they’ll meet with the coaching staff and management for orientation. The Caps are still formulating the final bits of camp schedule, but this morning it appears that the players will be on the ice at various times for public consumption next Wednesday through Friday. Always the camp culminates with a scrimmage, and depending on the number of skaters, that can be a traditional 5-on-5 affair or, as with most recent camps up in Hershey, free-wheeling 4-on-4s that leave the skaters hunched over and the spectators smiling.

These are my leading storylines for this summer’s Rookie Camp:

  • The appearance of the team’s impressive WCHA set: former Wisconsin Badger captain Andrew Joudrey; First-Team All-WCHA center/wing Andrew Gordon, he of the more than 100 points in three seasons at St. Cloud State; Second Team All-WCHA sniper Travis Morin from Minnesota State; and rapidly developing tower of terror Joe Finley from North Dakota.
  • A Caps’ rarity: a duo of QMJHL standout prospects, both of whom dominated the Q last season — right wing Francois Bouchard of Baie Comeau and center Mathieu Perreault of Acadie Bathurst.
  • OHL buzz-generating backstop Michal Neuvirth of the Plymouth Whalers.
  • The ‘07 draft class, led by no. 5 overall Karl Alzner.
  • 2005 first-rounder Sasha Pokulok, whose development has been slowed by injuries.
  • Oh, and some super-skilled Swede.

If as preparation for next week you’d like a bit of weekend reading primer on the Caps’ prime prospects, these OFB treatments might prove to be primary assists: Hockeysfuture’s College Call-out of Caps’ prospects; Perreault Wins Q League MVP; Q League wise-eyes wide over Perreault; General Manager George McPhee’s in-season update of the farm; The Caps’ ‘other’ goaltending prospect; my look at the gems drafted in later rounds; and last but not least, OFB’s ranking of the Top 20 Caps’ prospects from January.

See you in Bermuda shorts in the stands next week.

The Don’t-Forget-About-Us Guys

Cup'pa JoeThe Nick Backstrom signing is exciting in and of itself, but it also breeds a bit of an anticipatory momentum: in this summer of change, what’s next? And what’s next may arrive sooner than you think, if you’re inclined to believe that the Caps will sit by idly and patiently await July 1’s arrival. I’ll wager a 50-lb. bag of Purina dry food for fighting dogs that they don’t.

At a minimum, the Caps need a top-line center and a top-pairing defenseman. At a minimum. Insofar as forward additions are concerned, however, General Manager George McPhee seemingly must inventory his organization’s holdings of future top-6 talent before potentially inking an expensive and name free agent to a long-term deal. Tier I UFAs at any position don’t sign one- or two-year deals, and while perhaps only Tomas Fleischmann down on the farm is primed for front-line promotion this fall, behind him, rather near-term, there are more big-minute men mere modest seasoning away. If the Caps sign one or two high-priced free agent forwards this summer, to deals keeping them in Caps’ sweaters solidly into the next decade, what happens to the team’s high-end kids? Do they all get dealt?

A big questionmark envelops right wing Eric Fehr these days. He has a wonky back, and it’s not showing much sign of improvement from treatment this spring. But assuming his recovery, there can be no denying his future fixture on one of the Caps’ top two lines. Soon.

Last weekend the Patriot News’ Tim Leone told me that Chris Bourque is a virtual lock to skate center or wing on Hershey’s top line next season. His coach told me earlier this spring that CBourque’s a future NHLer. Should that come to fruition, it won’t be on the Caps’ or anyone else’s third or fourth lines. He’s a playmaker with high-end hockey sense, and his season of rapid development now has a lot of the Caps’ brass thinking him a year away from being ready. At most.

Here are some more prospect names wholly unsuitable for third- and fourth-line duty: Francois Bouchard, the leading scorer in the Q this past season (some observers think he’s in play for a Caps’ wing spot this fall) and Mathieu Perreault, its MVP. Perreault seemingly has a good deal of physical development to pursue, and he can be stashed back in the Q this coming season and subsequently in Hershey for a couple of seasons . . . unless this Denis Savard lookalike talk has substance behind it. But Bouchard appears ready for assignment in the American League pronto, and his apprenticeship there seems likely to be of the short-term schedule.

On the day that Andrew Gordon was signed last month I asked GM McPhee about him, and he told me that Gordon would start in Hershey this fall but that there was a healthy chance he’d be an in-season callup. I’m not convinced that his ceiling as a pro is in checking line roles. His 100-plus points and All-Conference designation within college hockey’s premiere power conference certainly don’t suggest it. Lee Stempniak, a Blues’ mid-round pick who put up big numbers in the ECAC, is proof that campus lightning can strike later in the draft. We do know that Gordon left St. Cloud with more buzz than Stempniak did. Just sayin.

It’s just one opinion, but recently ESPN’s John Bucchigross gave vent to a fresh line of thinking about what could be the Caps’ primary offseason strategy. He mentioned a single trade idea, one many of us have long pined for (Patrick Marleau), and then replied to his letter writer, “If I were the Capitals . . . I would stay put, keep playing the young players and keep collecting top-10 picks. Teams make mistakes when they overpay for average players. That is death.”

The beauty of an acquisition via trade is that you inherit a much shorter contract term, affording the receiving team enviable and, seemingly in the Caps’ case, much-need flexibility.

Conventional wisdom — both within and outside the Caps’ organization — is that the team is heavy on third- and fourth-line talent both on the current parent roster and in the development pipeline. That’s the easiest assessment to make. And it may well be the most accurate. But with such an abundance of highly drafted talent, more recently combined with award-winning and all-conference earning distinctions acquired lower in the draft, I say watch out for one or two front-line breakthroughs. Soon. I’d like it to happen here.

Perreault Hits the Century Mark (early)

perrault.jpgWith his assists on all four of Acadie-Bathurst’s goals yesterday, Mathieu Perreault reached 100 points on the season (33 goals, 67 assists), and he still has 13 regular season games left. The Titan defeated the St. John Sea Dogs 4-2 in Sunday Q League action.

Perreault’s ‘06 draft classmate Francois Bouchard isn’t faring badly himself: 40 goals and 70 assists for Baie Comeau. One hundred and ten points through 54 games. He won’t be back in the Q next season.

Bouchard is second overall in Q scoring; Perreault is fourth.