Your savory breakfast links:
● Well, hell.
○ Us too, Ovi. Us too. [sports.ru]
○ What we’ve lost. Hey mister tallyman. [Puck Daddy]
○ Optimistic much? Probably you shouldn’t be. [National Post]
○ We said “Lunch,” Donald Fehr. Not “Launch.” [Puck Daddy]
○ The concerns, they grow. [SB Nation]
○ What to expect when you’re expecting a lockout. [SI]
○ You already had tonight scheduled to be in Chinatown dressed in red and enjoying a frosty one; why stop now? Join the Caps Crawl! [HockeyShopped]
● NHL hockey is a no-go for the forseeable future so here are some options:
○ The AHL got a wee bit stronger with the influx of good young NHL players. How good? Let’s find out in this week’s, um, Power Rankings. Gah. [ESPN $]
○ The Hershey Bears have set their 2012-2013 roster. Their road opener is tomorrow evening @ Syracuse Crunch … [@WashCaps, Patriot-News, WashTimes]
○ … oh hey there, Braden Holtby. Haven’t we been here before? [WaPo]
○ … and Central Pennsylvania is where hockey runs deep. [Capitals Voice]
○ If ECHL puck is more your style, the Caps’ new affiliate Reading Royals‘ home- and season-opener is on Saturday, when they welcome the Elmira Jackals … [Reading Royals]
○ … where we imagine Philipp Grubauer will be in net for Reading, but if you go perhaps you will be able to grab a glimpse of goalie Brandon Anderson’s fresh new bucket. Weagles ahoy! [Art of Dave]
○ For those of you looking for hockey featuring really unfortunate hair adventures (and a few really good prospects), major junior may be just the thing. Herewith, a guide. [SI]
○ …did I say really unfortunate hair adventures? Why yes, yes I did. [@PWhalers, MI Hockey Now, WhalersHockey]
○ Plus there’s always college hockey. Here’s some players to watch, presumably a Cap or two, somewhere behind the pay wall. [ESPN $]
● Speaking of prospects, here are some other rankings and updates. [WashCaps, Hockey’s Future]
● Filip Forsberg is having a bit of a breakout year with Leksands. Here’s an interview, and if the GoogleSwedish is accurate their power play is running at a 44% clip. Heja Svenska! [Hockey Sverige (link in Swedish)]
● If the season ended today, the Caps would take seventh place in the East and face … the Boston Bruins in round one. [CBC]
● The story of how Jayson Werth derived insight for the Nats’ revival from attending a Caps game. [WaPo]
● One of the great tragedies of this lockout is that Caps fans have been denied the chance to get to know Wojtek Wolski. He has signed to play in Poland and his first game is next week. He gave the most adorable interview before leaving T.O. [hockej.net, with a s/t to Reader B (link in polska)]
● Finally, happy 27th birthday to Mike Green (with more here) and happy 47th to Todd Krygier.