Saturday Caps Clips: Up And At 'Em

by EmilyB on Sep 18, 2010 10:07 AM EDT in Caps Clips

Your savory first-day-of-training-camp links:

Japers' Rink Radio hits the interwaves today at 10 Eastern with a super special 20th episode edition. Pepper and Russell will first welcome Caps/Wizards/Mystics majority owner Ted Leonsis, and then Puck Daddy Greg Wyshynski. The call in number is 917-388-4003. [JRR]
The Capitals kick off their 2010-2011 season this morning at 10 Eastern, when Alex Ovechkin leads Group A onto the ice to begin training camp. Group B follows at 11:15, and Group C at 1:15. [WashCaps]
You can't tell the players without a program. [Dump 'n Chase, Caps Insider]
Now that you have the program, who ya got for the Duchesne Cup? [Japers' Rink, Peerless]
Five: Five storylines to watch at Kettler this week... [Masisak]
...five prospects looking to make an impression... [CI]
...and five teams in the Southeast Division preparing for battle. [ProHockeyTalk]
A look between the pipes as one of Camp's marquee battles opens. [WaPo]
Think this team is eager to start the long road back to redemption? [Sporting News]
It's certainly been on the captain's mind. [New York Times, CSN (and Uncle Ted) via Alex Ovetjkin]
And Brooks Laich's . [Jumping the Glass, OFB]
Wrapping up the pre-training camp season previews. [The Hockey Writers]
Last roundup for Rookie Camp. [WashCapsExaminer, Hershey Bears Examiner, Hershey Bears Hockey, Fire Andy Reid Now!, OFB, Rock the Red, The Blonde Girl's Guide, Webbsporten.se]
Okay, one more. Joe Beninati picks his top 3 rookies. [CSN Video]
Fine. Two more. Nick Backstrom, Bruce Boudreau, Smokin' Al, and Jill Sorenson dropped in for a visit with LaVar and Dukes. [WJFK Video]
30 in 30: D.J. King. [Red Line Station]
George McPhee could be the best GM of the DMV. [Half Smokes]
But we'll probably need to see how the Eric Belanger thing plays out. Ugh. [Dump 'n Chase, Box Seats]
"If you stand on it, he'll stand behind it." Somehow a pony and a penguin piñata figure in to Coach Boudreau's "wondrous" new commercial for Hadeed Carpet. [RMNB, SteinBog]
In which we receive glad tidings: @EricFehr16 convinced @karlalzner and @JohnCarlson74 to socially mediate... [@EricFehr16]
...right before he and King Karl swept RAHJC and Braden Holtby four games to none at shuffleboard. 'Cos that's what pros do. [@EricFehr16]
And also a big Twittersphere welcome for [@AndrewGordon10]. Huzzah!
A gallery of AO birthday greetings. [RMNB]
Finally, happy 44th birthday to Tom Chorske.

Tweet Comment 36 comments | 2 recs |

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I bet everybody’s down at KCI. Will be there tomorrow. How’re people looking?

Fantasy Teams: Baby Got Backstrom (Ladies of Twitter) and All's Fehr in the Crease (Six Beers Too Many)
Hanlon's Razor: Never attribute to malice that which can be adequately explained by stupidity.

by gotsparkly on Sep 18, 2010 10:56 AM EDT reply actions

I’m no talent evaluater, and I’ve never been to training camp before, but it is entertaining to watch.

Galiev was sucking wind pretty hard at the end

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by renstar on Sep 18, 2010 11:03 AM EDT via mobile up reply actions

Penguin Pinata...

WANT

Washington Capitals 2009-10 = Quebec Nordiques 1994-95
--- D'ohboy

by MikeL-Pivonka on Sep 18, 2010 11:39 AM EDT reply actions

I know what I’m getting for my birthday

Watching the O’s try to use strategy is like watching Mike Green trying to figure out the difference between "your" and "you’re"--Terpgrrl
Donation info for SAVES FOR KIDS 2010!! Make a difference.

by RedBirdie on Sep 18, 2010 5:08 PM EDT up reply actions

That’s the type of Pinata I’d like.

Rocking the Red since 1975

by CapsFan75 on Sep 18, 2010 9:18 PM EDT up reply actions

Save a pinata for me. It’s just the thing I need to release pent-up aggression.

by Ovietracker on Sep 18, 2010 10:53 PM EDT up reply actions

Surprisingly light crowd, maybe half full. Ovechkin was visibly gassed at the end of the Group A session (actually, he looked like he was feeling it about half way through). Group B session was entirely devoid of any energy. We had to leave before Group C took the ice.

If you've read this far...seek help.

by ThePeerless on Sep 18, 2010 1:39 PM EDT reply actions

Ovechkin was definitely dogging it at the end, and Bruce was getting on him for skating half assedly

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by renstar on Sep 18, 2010 1:46 PM EDT up reply actions

hmm

I really hope that it’s just a bad day for Ovie, not that he didn’t work out as much as he should have this summer. Common Captain, don’t dissapoint.

Proud member of the Popsicle Division of the Cupcake Conference.

by Bman21212 on Sep 18, 2010 4:01 PM EDT via mobile up reply actions

I hope it was just an aberration of a bad day early on in training camp. Ovie talks about putting the past behind him and moving forward, but talk alone won’t get it done. He has to work for it and earn it. Partying all day and night in Moscow was good for as long as it lasted, but now there has to be results to back up the talk. Good luck Captain Ovie.

by Ovietracker on Sep 18, 2010 10:56 PM EDT up reply actions

Uh oh, Stretch’s gonna get you, too.

by David Getz on Sep 18, 2010 2:10 PM EDT up reply actions

wow… did Corey piss in someone’s corn flakes?

If you've read this far...seek help.

by ThePeerless on Sep 18, 2010 2:28 PM EDT up reply actions

For telling the truth, IMO…

by sk84fun_dc on Sep 18, 2010 3:52 PM EDT up reply actions

And considering that CI says John Carlson didn’t look particularly winded I don’t buy Stretch’s comments that anyone would be winded after a BB practice.

Also, did Stretch delete those tweets directed at Corey?

Lockout talk makes me want to go out and choke an old lady - Elliotte Friedman

by Rob Parker on Sep 18, 2010 5:33 PM EDT up reply actions

it looks like it but I went on Tweet Tweeters and found em.

by DonCaps819 on Sep 18, 2010 5:43 PM EDT up reply actions

Group C had more energy than Group B, but wow, Group B hello day 1!

Crowd got lighter and lighter as the day progressed.

by sk84fun_dc on Sep 18, 2010 3:51 PM EDT up reply actions

Well, he had a change in off-season coaching, so no more training with the marathon runner and the weeks of heayv smoke in Moscow couldn’t have done his lungs any good. Let’s hope he finds some stamina soon and can maintain it through the season.

(Yes, I know about the avatar hounding - just pretend mine is invisible.)

by oldemystix on Sep 18, 2010 4:33 PM EDT up reply actions

I thought Group A was a lock for the Duchesne Cup and so voted in the poll. They can still do it but unless Ovie finds his game quickly, it’s anyone’s tournament now. The Captain has a lot to prove to himself, his team, and his fans. There’s still time left for him to re-group, find his strength and stamina, and maintain throughout a long grueling season.

by Ovietracker on Sep 18, 2010 11:01 PM EDT up reply actions

Also not impressed with Semin at all. He had a horrible attitude, spent his entire time on ice flipping pucks at people who were not paying attention and flinging pucks at the net in the middle of drills while he was supposed to be standing and waiting. Winged one really hard at the beginning without looking where it was going, turns out it was right at a dude. Luckily said dude (no idea who it was, someone in white but not the dude with the epic beard) had his stick up by his chest and the puck hit the stick, and not his face or anything.

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by renstar on Sep 18, 2010 1:49 PM EDT reply actions

Hauswirth took one right in the belt buckle

If you've read this far...seek help.

by ThePeerless on Sep 18, 2010 2:30 PM EDT up reply actions

Maybe he’s mad because he’s the only Russian not in Ovie’s group.

(Yes, I know about the avatar hounding - just pretend mine is invisible.)

by oldemystix on Sep 18, 2010 4:41 PM EDT up reply actions

Considering what he has to play for this year, not being next to his running buddy on ice the first few days of camp should be the least of his concerns.

"#DCU is like senior prom. A bunch of people standing around waiting for a 17-year old to score."

by Bald Pollack on Sep 18, 2010 4:51 PM EDT via mobile up reply actions

I agree. Even though it’s very early in training camp, I would think that with so much at stake for him contract-wise Semin would have shown a much better attitude and determination to put the past behind him. If Semin is in a snit because he’s not in Ovie’s group, he has his priorities out of whack.

by Ovietracker on Sep 18, 2010 10:51 PM EDT up reply actions

Nevui’s got a new mask

and apparently the camp Tees motto this year is “Stay Angry, Believe in yourself”

Bruce Boudreau when asked about Brooks Laich's return to the lineup, he said: "He just adds another dimension to our team. If it was puzzle, he just fits that thing. He completes us."

Brooks Laich completing everything from teams to tires and everything in between.

by breaklance on Sep 18, 2010 2:01 PM EDT reply actions

Interesting note in the article by Corey about the PK. I’ll believe it when I see it but if the team is really going to shift to a more aggressive PK I couldn’t be happier.

Lockout talk makes me want to go out and choke an old lady - Elliotte Friedman

by Rob Parker on Sep 18, 2010 4:04 PM EDT reply actions

Amen, that’s what I thought when I read that. Though it sounded kinda likie GMGM was making the decision from on high, which wouldn’t be a bad thing when talking about the PK. Do we have an assistant coach of any sort that like an aggressive PK?

Proud member of the Popsicle Division of the Cupcake Conference.

by Bman21212 on Sep 18, 2010 4:44 PM EDT up reply actions

I’m not sure about the coaching. I assume that if GMGM says he wants a more aggressive PK then the coaching staff can figure it out. I think HER used a more aggressive PK last year but I don’t know if that started when French took the job or if Woods had the aggressive PK in place as well. It’s a little upsetting that BB didn’t see the need for a more aggressive PK on his own, but whatever makes it change is fine for me.

Lockout talk makes me want to go out and choke an old lady - Elliotte Friedman

by Rob Parker on Sep 18, 2010 5:29 PM EDT up reply actions

From everything I’ve seen, the aggressive PK was all French. The Bears’ and Caps’ PK hasn’t been good for some time.

'Cause the end of what it was is what it is right now...

by D'ohboy on Sep 18, 2010 5:48 PM EDT up reply actions

Scratch that. The Bears’ Pk was decent in 5-6 and 6-7, then deteriorated badly in 7-8 and 8-9 before being tops in the AHL last year.

From the evidence, it would seem that Woods isn’t a great PK coach, but I’m sure there’s more to it than that.

'Cause the end of what it was is what it is right now...

by D'ohboy on Sep 18, 2010 5:51 PM EDT up reply actions

So you’re saying Woods isn’t going to be the savior of our defensive woes?

Lockout talk makes me want to go out and choke an old lady - Elliotte Friedman

by Rob Parker on Sep 18, 2010 6:04 PM EDT up reply actions

Troy Mann (Hershey’s assistant coach) was responsible for the PK (and should be credited for the turnaround).

"HISTORY DOESN’T MATTER!!! .... Who cares if it’s never been done? We aren’t those teams who failed before. We are in control of our own destiny, and we will make it happen our own way.." - A Gordon, June 2010

by bagace on Sep 19, 2010 7:46 AM EDT up reply actions

Was the change more a system change or more the fact that HER had Carlson and Alzner?

Lockout talk makes me want to go out and choke an old lady - Elliotte Friedman

by Rob Parker on Sep 19, 2010 9:46 PM EDT up reply actions

CI has GMGM’s afternoon media scrum transcribed, none of which is particularly interesting. The only remotely interesting thing regards Nylander:

At some point we’ll assign him to an American league team and he’ll get playing but we’ve got a lot of bodies in Hershey but we’re trying to find an opportunity for him with another American league club, but we haven’t found it yet.

But otherwise, its, unsurprisingly, very company line.

by RedBirdie on Sep 18, 2010 5:15 PM EDT reply actions

i thought the comment on semin was interesting:

He was terrific in the playoffs last year. Just because the puck didn’t go in for him doesn’t mean he didn’t play well.

by Natty Bumppo on Sep 19, 2010 12:53 AM EDT up reply actions

Eh, I have never heard GMGM talk bad about a player. He always says good things. “Flash is a second line center” “Just because our Captain is a 4th liner doesn’t mean he’s not worth the money” etc. What he thinks and does and what he says are often very different. I wouldn’t be surprised if Semin stuck with us in the playoffs, but I also wouldn’t be surprised if he got shipped out next week. Don’t play poker with GMGM.

Proud member of the Popsicle Division of the Cupcake Conference.

by Bman21212 on Sep 19, 2010 2:33 AM EDT up reply actions 1 recs

There's no time like the present

I’m not surprised at all about GMGM’s remarks. Disappointed maybe, but not surprised. The Capitals’ collapse in 5 days in April is the defining moment for the team last season, no matter how he, Coach BB or Uncle Ted try to spin it. Being up 3-1 in a series against the #8 seed and then not closing the deal is unacceptable. Blame hot goalie Halak, blame the shots not going in, blame whoever or whatever. There comes a time when everyone involved, players included, have to wake up and smell the coffee. This time, this season, things will be different, we are told. This time, this season, there have to be results to back up the talk. Is that pressure? Of course. Let’s see if the Capitals, to a man, can stand the heat in the kitchen.

by Ovietracker on Sep 18, 2010 11:32 PM EDT reply actions