In Glacialis Blog

• Is eram a venatus pro captus primo of tertius period. One team took is; ceterus took nocens poena. iterum  
• Septumdecim venatus in 2007-08 season is est a Caps’ team vacuus an identity.
• A res of beauty The: Caps’ primoris calx, when Mike Viridis’ lubricus stickhandling and even magis infigo patella ut Ovechkin rightfully brought Quin Center fans ex suum discounted sessio. Tamen dynamic Mike Viridis has an novus quod subolesco-challenged muto ego, quod nos saw about 5 minutes laxus ut is senselessly went virga swinging in Kolzigs’ crease.  

Donatus Sarcalogos Bourques’ emineo modicus minutes, unus admiratio quis’ voluntas of suus repeto.

Illic does videor futurus nonnullus obscoena mico captus habitum in Tomas Fleischmanns’ venatus. Is eram palmarium in Ottawa, quod is iterum videor magis indubitanter in puck tonight.

• Weve’ vigilo Bellicus St. Louis eviscerate Caps pro prope a decade iam, quod nos servo admiratio quare nemo can iacio a gravis ledo in him. umquam Suus’ unus of minimus ineo super quod plurimus underrated vultus of suus obscoena venatus; nox noctis he manages ut servo sui ex harms way’ quod yet himself down mugio inter periculosus in mactabilis formo.    
• Videlicet illic’ quispiam distinctively atrocious super Quin Center glacies. Weve’ auditus quod lego questus super is vere utpote oris nox noctis, quod Imbuo nox noctis incidence of cado universitas- ordo skaters terminus on the burlesque. Nos television visum erant edoctus ut a matinee basketball venatus eram nimirum partim reprehendo. Tamen ut doesnt’ persolvo miserabilis superficies in preeo weeknights, vel multi- utor of alius pulvis vacuus comparable stumblings in suum hockey venatus.   

Audrius Zubrus left suus positus ut Senex Tellus Venditio Procurator pro Caput, tamen non pro opus unus permaneo venatus poema poematis Levitas quod a stipes venatus abiego procul RNR Talea & Lounge. Unus coniecto ut qua abyssus’ exsisto opus tunc.

Acadie Bathurst Titan center Mathieu Perreault, Caps’ sedecim- rotundus lectio in 2006 draft, has surged ut valde caput capitis of QMJHL ustulo plumbum odio lascivio fewer venatus quam fere totus of suus incomparabilis. Is eram nomen Qs’ Ludio ludius of Week pro week of November 5, quod in suus permaneo three venatus hes’ posteri 6 calx quod 5 succurro. Permaneo season, Perreault procerus 41 calx quod 78 succurro in 67 venatus pro Titan. Hes’ in passus ut caput capitis 140 cuspis in Q is season.

2007 secundus rotundus draft pick Ted Ruth, a vegetus blueliner procul Notre Dame, est a +10 in 10 venatus pro Bellator Irenses. Is skated a +2 Friday nox noctis in Notre Dames’ 2-1 turbo in via of haud. 1 ordo Miami, quod sit mereo minutes ut a caput capitis iugum tutor per senex Brock Tondeo. USC eram situs is weekend.

Mathieu Perreault utor quis vos vires term a uber Friday nox noctis: 1 calx quod 5 succurro in Acadie Bathursts’ 9-2 mauling of Drummondville. Perreault has skated in three of Acadie Bathursts’ quattuor venatus in mane iens of novus Q season, quod hes’ recorded 3 calx quod 6 succurro. In duos of suus three venatus hes’ been nomen venatus’ primoris astrum.

Perreault, reigning QMJHL MVP, ustulo 50 calx quod 92 succurro permaneo season pro Titan. Nonnullus Q leaguers quicum Perreault est currently lodged in caput capitis 10 in ustulo have ludio ludius quot ut septem venatus.

Acadie Bathurst est 3-0-1.

turgida quod frendo Russians es indutus quod practicing is oriens. Nullus erant condita trinus ut Carolina hodie usquam. Suum commarade Ovechkin est quisquam tamen pello pepulli pulsum sursum; is eram in suus usitas Acela Effor eximius intentus, quod is no punctum of verto is oriens’ 930: meditor partim in suus own alio competition per Olie Kolzig, tripudio hip jigs procul ustulo quod sono rink- prolixus- celebratio, English- misceo- per-Russian sacramentum procul suus failures, per sulum drill. (pro suus secui Kolzig didnt’ vir suus crepito quiete per challenge.)

Alius entertaining prodigium of dies’ primoris meditor supervenio procul suus terminus, ut Ipsa Gero’ scamnum men Bruce Boudreau quod Bob Silva, quisnam ran meditor, locus 10 pucks in duos bluelines quod tribuo sessions’ skaters in duos teams parumper quasi- surculus showdown. EGO eram admiratio quam mane in castra Id’ animadverto Caps tendo quod oratio permaneo seasons’ surculus woes. Meus recordatio est ut Ipsa didnt’ fare ultum melior, sic is may have have been a mutuus utilis nisus. Tamen is drill eram quantus quantus cognatus laxus fun ut quisquam alius, quod vos could audite quod animadverto fanaticus in sulum skater.

Ludio ludius erant sessio in duos scamnum, quod roto captus offa. Ut a ludio ludius deficio in suus offa is had ut retrieve puck quod skate is tergum ut blueline quod “tag sursum” per tunc skater. competition tantum nisus ut unus team had melior suus goaltender per totus 10 pucks. Jacub Klepis eram multo plurrimi infigo surculus, potting three secundum losing netminder Kolzig invalde elite manuum formo.

Vos tendo quod moneo vestri ut vix a porro weekends’ dignitas of castra has been universa, tamen per is sic cogo iam, vere, per dies’ terminus, castra ero super unus- diapente universa. Caps have iam no cuts.

Super castra’ primoris three dies Vepres Sutherby has been a sto tractare. Suus intentus, quoque, has been validus — hes’ absolutely volatilis sicco illic, skating pariter ut Ive’ umquam seen. Secundum hodie’ primoris session EGO asked si him si hed’ perfectus quisquam novus vel ornamentum per suus palaestra is estas. Is maximus change, is told mihi, eram questus tergum in glacies multus mane quam usitas.

“ego coepi skating bis a week in mane June, quod multus of guys dont’ do,” is said. “ego quoque opus in meus vires, iustus trying impetro validus”

“volo impetro summitto [ in meus intentus]. Vos animadverto quam mugio guys amo Nylander quod Crux crucis invado suum intentus . . . procerus guys have laboro procul it.”

Suus porro pugna per a perturbo groin videor ut exsisto in preteritus. “Itll’ nunquam exsisto centum sentio” is told mihi. “ego pugna is diu, quod is sentio valde iam. EGO reputo Ive’ loco [ ut sollicitudo] ut cubile pro plurrimi secui”

EGO quoque asked him experior quod locus is annus’ castra in contineo contigi per ceterus dimidium dozen vel sic hes’ universa per Caps. EGO volo scio quatenus hed’ sententia norma had adveho utpote suus adventum in is.

“foedus ut primoris iugo of castra, erant’ questus vox illic, per qua nos volo ut be,” is told mihi. “tergum ut EGO primoris got hic, nos erant volo ut exsisto bonus — nos had guys amo Jagr. Iam suus’ multus diversus. Nos have multus of depth. Nos have multus of tener guys tamen theyve’ got 150, 200 venatus in league.”

admonitio hodie’ matinee pre se ferre patefacio in Carolina ero audiocast in Caps’ textus site, per Mike Vogel teaming per Steve Kolbe in dico.

Herewith, nostrum rudimentum struo profundum Carnotense pro Caps ut congruo per repens peractio of teams’ annual Rookie Development Castra. Suus’ maximus ut nota ut per is nos es non forecasting imprimis versus certamen tamen quinymo rudimentum ut socors ludio ludius per positus secundum suum professio uber quod plurimus repens effectus in censeo occasus. Suus’ quoque maximus ut nota ut a numerus of porro in Caps’ ratio lascivio praeter unus positus sursum frons. Russian elites quod Res Pettinger videor crines in laevus levus pro puteus in tunc decade, quod vox pars videor gero plures question vestigium.

Weve’ envisioned is ut a lima hopefully mico ferox reaction quod pius challenge. Nos exspectata vestri propono modifications.

Hic es nonnullus magis pictures ex denique duos dies of development castra ex OFB lector sk84fun_dc. OFB would amo gratia agere suus pro sino nos ut stipes suus photos.

(persevero)

Saturdays’ infero scrimmage ut Rookie Castra 2007 drew recedentia quod absentis amplus Kettler turba of week, quod fidelis erant remuneror per weeks’ plurimus entertaining outing. Puteulanus optimus Niveus 7-3 in a plenus three periods of subsisto clock, poena accersitus epulum pro puck fames. Joe Finley went down per a pupillus malum midway per venatus, tamen ut reddo, ut optimus ut EGO could dico, ambitus of tentatio is week. Ut’ usquequaque bonus novus.

In lieu of a scrimmage epitome ( tot vestrum erant illic video vidi visum is per vestri own eyes usquam), quod quoniam Mike Vogel has suus usitas palmariumratio of is, EGO sententia hodie Id’ calamus a weeks’ dignitas of amplus impressions.

* Hockey Lavatio eram magnus victor is week. Kettler Caput no suus debut in obnoxius a castra of ullus genus, quod is graded sicco valde ex meus vantage. dies illae team contendo in aliquanto nomadic formo per estas castra es history. Ut EGO primoris philologus ut Kettler eram iens futurus a multi- ovis facility quod palaestra domus pro team, EGO sententia super vicis norma could have pro obnoxius a week- porro vicis amo vetus Permetior Urbs, Michigan, rookie castra ut populus a manus manus of NHL teams quod bred a valde competitive aer. Ut could venio hic eventually — statua prolecto pro totus illud tener prospicio ex hockeys’ rusticus limes pro prodigo a week in U.S. caput — tamen erant’ quoque puteus servo pro nostrum hockey fixes per quis nos saw is week. Quantus, quoque, eram is pro facilitys’ glacies baculus impetro in locus novus logo in ovis in vicis pro castra, quod pro totus skaters futurus outfitted in overhauled vultus of team? Volo EGO had a vicus pro sulum castra patronus EGO saw pedes ex Kettler pro shop gestum novus Caps’ colo colui cultum quod logo aut in suum caput capitis vel scrinium, quod sepius utriusque.

* In a valde verus voluntas rookie castra es secui pro an NHL teams’ explorator. Illic can exsisto haud magis directus via ut censeo cumulative opus of a teams’ North American quod European explorator quam ut congeries dozens of repens draft lectio onto a rink, vexo lemma a puck, quod have lemma vado procul is sulum nox noctis. EGO would oro ut secui nostrum explorator quod team procuratio threw is week procul Kettler ordo sursum illic per potissimus leagues’ 30 teams. Quod Mike Vogel congruo:

“ego iustus sedatus meus notitia ex Capitals’ 2003 castra aestiva procul Tabesco Orchard. Illic erant 22 ludio ludius in custodis ut estas, foedus ut 42 is season. Tantum 13 illorum 22 ludio ludius in 2003 erant Caput draftees, quod plurrimi notabilis famulor erant Steve Magnificentia, Boyd Gordon quod Eric Fehr. Is year’s castra featured 30 Caps draftees ex 42 ludio ludius in custodis, quod comprehendo quinque primoris- rotundus quod quattuor secundus- rotundus choices.”

Quod Id’ congruo per Vogs ut illic est hodie “arguably quantus quantus tener talentum ut has been in ratio aliquando in team’s history.”

* Saturdays’ eram primoris quod tantum scrimmage EGO didnt’ animadverto erus Ted Leonsis famulor. Is vigilo sulum secundus of sulum alius unus. Is gero repreating, proprie in a urbs of aliquantounpopular, concussio lusum team proprietas, ut nostrum erus est a hockey fanatic. OFB team quoque had an vicis condeco quod chat per Zachary Leonsis, cuius’ caput capitis ut Penn pro suus vegetus annus tunc annus. Zach partis nobis nonnullus prodigiosus repono super Alexander Ovechkins’ coegi hoops potestas quod imperator athletic virtus.

* Nostrum procer inculco urbs EGO sententia dedi sursum nonnullus magnificabiliter occulto of castra, tamen EGO eram admiratio ut a facility quod an vicis commodo ipsum singulariter ut television pes drew paululum obvius of venit quod correspondents. Al Koken quod Joe Nidor erant castra fixtures, tamen of locus lusum anchors, EGO eram procul opera ut macula a singulus unus per a singulus scrimmage. In proprius, EGO admiratio procul AWOL absentis of Tellus Regina of Locus Lusum.

* Memor Mr. Leonsis’ effor opto a firmus synergy captus habitum inter hockey communities in D.C. quod Ipsa, Pa.? EGO saw magis illius is week. Bruce Boudreau opus scamnum quod succurro censeo ludio ludius cotidie. EGO met sursum per Gero’ vir super totus res communications John Walton, quod Tim Leone of Pium Novus vere prodigo a prodigium of suus estas vacation procul Kettler. A hockey opinio questus a suus dies officium procul rink per coming ut a rink, in July. Sanus amo a pro volo.

* EGO asked Vogs communico me quinque nomen of castra quisnam vere caught suus oculus is week. Is went per Karl Alzner, Suffragium Bouchard, Michal Neuvirth, Sami Lepisto, quod Nicklas Backstrom. mei Joe Finley, Nicklas Backstrom, Sami Lepisto, Mathieu Perreault, quod Suffragium Bouchard. Tarik hodie quoque ostendo Suffragium Bouchard nonnullus diligo.

* EGO reputo ex sulum rookie castra vos volo duos singulus tamen pariter compelling storylines: effrego/ caput capitis- verto/ susurro- ingenero incursus ex guys quisnam a dimidium season vel sic mane erant sub everybodys’ radar, quod nos got ut is week ex amo of Suffragium Bouchard, Mathieu Perreault, Joe Finley, quod Sami Lepisto. Nisi alius. Tamen vos quoque es vultus pro effectus ut es sic validus ut they evoke forecasts pro fragor magnus stipes’ roster adveho September, quod hic quoque EGO reputo nos saw ut per Bouchard, Karl Alzner, quod Lepisto.

Thirty minutes prior to Friday night’s Rookie Camp scrimmage Drummondville, Quebec native Matheiu Perreault could be seen standing behind the players’ benches, not yet in gear, twirling his hockey stick with a puck seemingly taped to his blade. I say seemingly because over the course of four or five minutes the puck never ever moved from the center of the blade curve. He’d whirl his stick with rapid wrist action, rapid eye movement motion almost, and never lose control of his prized possession. For a few brief seconds it appeared as if the puck defied gravity with the blade curved toward the floor. It was a magical spectacle.

Out on the ice this week there has been a similar attachment of puck to Perreault’s stick. An emerging storyline this week, he has freshly impressed Capitals’ officials with his playmaking ability, his elite hockey sense, and particularly his knack for being in the right place at the right time in tight quarters. A player of modest stature (5 ‘8, 160-ish), Perreault shows no reluctance to go where the big bodies bang.

A year ago at this time most in hockey would have thought Perreault lucky even to be invited to the Caps’ Rookie camp this summer. His rookie year in the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League with the Acadie Bathurst Titan was nice but unspectacular (18 goals, 34 assists in 62 games). His offensive production did jump a bit that postseason, but come June and the NHL Entry Draft, his size kept him on the board late. The Caps grabbed him in round six, 177th overall.

But as the final leaves were falling from trees this past autumn a strange thing was taking place back up in Acadie Bathurst: Perreault was a dominating offensive force night in and night out. He was named Q League Player of the Month for November. By Thanksgiving (ours), he’d passed his rookie year points total. Along with draft classmate Francois Bouchard he was invited to the Canadian World Junior Final Evaluation Camp in December. In midseason Caps’ General Manager George McPhee went on the CapsReport and told Mike Vogel that Perreault had received “the highest possible score” on a player’s hockey sense. He finished the 2006-07 season with 41 goals and 78 assists in 67 games, and he capped it off by winning the league’s MVP award.

He arrived in Washington for the first time this week (”It’s hot here” he complained to me), and from the opening moments of Wednesday’s opening scrimmage he displayed an elite game of deft playmaking, unrivaled puck control, and superb instincts. He scored two goals that night, and he sent flat accurate passes to teammates in every scoring sector.

Along the boards, where you might think him most vulnerable and overmatched, he actually excels, drawing defenders to him to create open space for his linemates. He wins most of his draws, many quite cleanly. He is in constant motion in the offensive zone.

But outlandish offensive numbers and hardware almost as tall as he is bear no relationship to Perreault’s shy and soft-spoken demeanor off the ice. He was frank in acknowledging how even he had no idea he was in store for an MVP quality CHL season.

He told me that last season was so spectacular that he is at pains to identify specific goals to better this season. Instead, he will focus on “improving my strength, [gaining] more speed . . . more speed.”

From McPhee’s midseason assessment to this week’s dynamic display I made a point of trying to press the GM for a bold forecast for Perreault. I didn’t want to know if McPhee thought Perreault simply NHL-destined but rather if once there he’d be an impact player.

“He’s a good player,” McPhee told me after Friday’s scrimmage. But what about an impact NHLer? “I wouldn’t be surprised at all,” he added.

NHL hockey will always have places for the undersized and overskilled and determined. Martin St. Louis or Steve Sullivan or Daniel Briere would score goals in any era. It’s too early yet to tell if Perreault’s on that kind of development arc, but he possesses in abundance hockey’s most coveted quality — game-dictating instincts and skills.

We never tire of JP’s razor wit, and when referencing OFB’s Kettler encampment this week, he quipped “rookie camp is like crack to these guys.” If we are the crack-heads the Capitals are our dealer. And if we were required to enter rehab of some sort, we would not be alone. Loyal OFB reader sk84fun_dc has attended more of camp than us and has taken many quality pictures. She’s allowed us to post a few here:
(update: the first pic was taken by sk84fun_dc’s friend who’s given us permission to use it)

(Continued)

Halfway 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.

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

Boz 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 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.

Tuesday night was special for Caps’ prospect Mathieu Perreault: he helped his Acadie Bathurst Titan team to an upset win over PEI in a game 7. Earlier today the good news for Perreault came in the form of some serious hardware: he was named Most Valuable Player of the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League.

In 2005, Eric Fehr was named best player of the Western Hockey League. Back in the early ’90s, in consecutive seasons, Caps’ prospects in the OHL won MVP awards: Pat Peake with the Detroit Jr. Red Wings in 1992-93 and Jason Allison with the London Knights in ‘93-’94.

Let’s dispense with the obvious from the outset: Olie Kolzig enjoyed his first shutout since the winter of 2004 with all four members of OFB monitoring the feat from press row. Should the organization, in 2007-08, respond by setting aside four leather recliners for us up there? Seems mildly excessive.

I really enjoy being around members of the Caps’ organization on a day when an exciting prospect has been inked. And last night there was no denying the Caps’ enthusiasm about Andrew Gordon joining the organization. Nate Ewell made a point of coming over to us during the first intermission and letting us know the organization’s expectations of him: of all the signings this spring, he told us, Gordon is the guy with a real chance to make a difference at the NHL level.

Before the game I had a chance to stop George McPhee for a brief chat about the signing. He told me that in the short term, Gordon, now sidelined with a sprained ankle, will remain on campus, but that he will eventually make his way to Hershey, and should the Bears make another lengthy postseason run, Gordon would likely compete for playoff playing time. I’m aware of the general patience the Caps have in developing their draft picks, and so I wondered if the organization would have been all that bothered had Gordon opted to remain at St. Cloud for his senior year. The Caps, McPhee made clear to me, wanted him playing pro right now.

He will start next season in Hershey, the GM told me, but — and this I found startling — he doesn’t necessarily expect Gordon to remain there all year.

“We think there’s a real chance that he can help us out here next season,” McPhee said.

Next season isn’t about more shuffling of youth in and out of the lineup, like piecing together and pulling apart a puzzle; it’s about making a big move up in the East’s standings, so it’s clear the Caps believe they have something special in Gordon, and that his development timeline should be briefer than normal. No slouch of a seventh round pick, this one.

We kept an eye on the game 7 proceedings between Acadie Bathurst and PEI, and we passed along updates to Caps’ communications guys. PEI is an hour ahead of us in the Maritimes, and so as we settled into our seats early last night we learned that Mathieu Perreault had already potted a goal and an assist midway through the second period. Bathurst prevailed 4-3 on the road in what must have been an OT thriller. Perreault finished the series with five goals and three assists. Next up for the Titan is Cape Breton in round 2.

I really enjoy chatting with the out-of-town reporters between periods, and last night I was surprised by the size of the Florida press contingent in attendance. There was a Palm Beach Post scribe, a Miami Herald fella, and one or two others from sunshine state dailies. All this southern media interest in a Tuesday night, playing-out-the-string Southeast showdown? Then I realized: the Florida Marlins were in D.C. opening their baseball season, and a bunch of these guys were pressed into double coverage duty.

Anyway, I wanted to pick their brains about the full-season impact of the Roberto Luongo deal, as it’s increasingly acquiring the rotting aroma of worst-trade-in-NHL-history status. You recall the particulars of that one. The classic butterfly French Canadian uber talent, still south of reaching his prime splendor, with likely at least 10 game-changing seasons still ahead of him, dealt by Mike Keenan just days before last June’s Entry Draft, for like three bloggers to be named later.

I began my inquiry by noting that the Panthers were an above-.500 hockey club (in the NHL’s quirky three-column standings), and I wondered where these writers thought the club would be had it held on to Luongo. For a more dramatic cup-a-joe Wednesday morning file I wanted all of them to shout in unison “20 . . . maybe 25 games over .500, and Cup contenders.”

But their answers surprised me. For starters, while none of them waxed euphoric over Alex Auld, the Cats’ blueline has improved dramatically this season. A healthy chunk of that is attributable to Jay Boumeester’s no. 1 guy blossoming, but all their press guys agreed that both Ruslan Salei and Bryan Allen had played important and durable roles all season long. Last night was the 80th game of the season for both of them. They also pointed out the adverse impact of Joe Nieuwendyk’s injuries. I appreciated their nuance, and I didn’t dispute them, but I raised the analogy of Patty Roy being thrown out of Montreal in his prime, and they all nodded. Then the Miami Herald guy told me, “The deal cost Keenan his job, no doubt.”

The Quebec Major Junior Hockey League announced its Rookie and First- and Second-team All Stars over the weekend, and Caps’ prospects Mathieu Perreault and Francois Bouchard, predictably, made them. Perreault was selected for the league’s First All-Star team, Bouchard its Second.

We’ll be keeping an eye on Perreault early this week. He and his Acadie Bathurst Titan are facing PEI in a game seven of the QMJHL’s opening playoff round tomorrow night. Bouchard’s Baie-Comeau Drakkar defeated Victoriaville four games to two in its opening round.

Mississauga (Oskar Osala) and Saginaw (Patrick McNeill) were elimated in the OHL’s first round, but the Plymouth Whalers swept Guelph. Jeremy Smith and Michal Neuvirth split time in the Whaler net in that series, both winning two games, and right now Neuvirth leads the league in post-season goals-against at 1.47.

Holly Gunning, a college hockey writer for hockeysfuture.com, has published a new interview with Caps’ prospect Travis Morin. In it he confirms that the Caps assigned him to South Carolina to maximize his ice time in pro hockey this spring.

“HF: Did Washington send you here instead of (AHL) Hershey for more ice time?

TM: Yeah, they said I’d get a chance down here, play on the power play, the penalty kill. I’d get a chance to play a lot like I was used to. They said they sent a few guys up there last year who didn’t see much ice time. That’s what I wanted, I’d rather go somewhere that I can play and get acclimated to everything. That’s what they gave me and I love it.”

The Stingrays roll just three lines — typical of East Coast League hockey — so Morin’s heavy minutes load at Minnesota State is likely to carry over for the remainder of his season in the Palmetto state.

Andrew Joudrey, recently signed by the Caps and assigned to Hershey, has yet to be assigned a number by the Bears. Like Stephen Werner last season, Joudrey may have difficulty cracking a strong Bears’ squad this late in the season.