On Frozen Blog

For the Canucks, There'll Be a Whole Lot of Airport Food This Winter

Thu, 16 Jul 2009 13:00:00 -0500

I certainly figured that the 2010 Winter Olympics would play havoc with the Vancouver Canucks' mid-winter scheduling, but I didn't figure on this -- a 14-game roadtrip, beginning January 30 in Toronto.

Canucks' fans won't see a single home game the month of February. That's not much of a surprise, really. But the Canucks don't return to GM Place until March 13! And it's not like the Canucks board many buses for road games to begin with. The upside to this travel turmoil is fast-accumulating frequent flier miles; the downside, besides all that airport food, is the sacrifice of competitive fairness with so wildly unbalanced a home and road schedule.

Good thing, I think, that we can't see the Winter Games in Washington.

A Snapshot of Summer Hockey, and Perhaps More

Thu, 16 Jul 2009 11:00:00 -0500

I snapped this picture behind a players' bench during Wednesday afternoon's Development Camp scrimmage. As I considered whether or not to post it on OFB I had the thought that on one level it could be said to capture the essence of Development Camp: the promise of today's youthful and would-be Caps set against the backdrop of legends of Capitals past. I love Development Camp because it returns hockey to Washington in what's commonly the hockey-unfriendly temps in muggy middle summer, but yesterday I think I found a new reason to appreciate it, and it wasn't lost on me that one Dale Hunter paid a visit to camp yesterday.

A Lively Lineup for Live Blogging

Thu, 16 Jul 2009 06:40:00 -0500

Saturday is the final day of the Washington Capitals Development Camp, and as is our custom, OFB will be there armed with laptops and the company of cheerful, knowledgeable new media colleagues.

While young prospects try to show Caps' management that they warrant an invite to fall training camp, OFB will be covering the camp-concluding scrimmage with an All-Star lineup of bloggers. You can tune in right here for insight, comment, and quips on the next generation of Caps. We'll be joined by the world's most famous goalie and beauty queen, Miss Virginia 2008 Tara Wheeler, who will be keeping a close eye on the play of our young goalies. She's certainly qualified, as she stood between the pipes out at Kettler last year and took shots from the Capitals' Dave Steckel and Sean Collins.

Additionally, several new and rising voices within the Capitals blogging community will join us. Reed Albers of Capitals Kremlin will be on hand, as will Alex Perlmutter of the brand new blog The Capital Letter. Alex has been spending the early part of summer working in the Toronto offices of the Hockey News with their editorial team. Hockey Mom is also heading out to Kettler Saturday with her laptop and stopping by our party. Empty Maybe will make a most welcomed return, and be joined by pucksandbooks. And this sizable party is even making room for the intern. We hope you'll join in the fun.

Five Signatures but One Notable Omission

Wed, 15 Jul 2009 21:37:33 -0500

Late today the Capitals announced the signing of five players: Shaone Morrisonn, Eric Fehr, Chris Bourque, Kyle Wilson, and Steve Pinizzotto. All were one-year deals, except for Pinner's (two years). But the buzz in the Kettler press room at happy hour tonight was the absence of Jeff Schultz's name from the list of the signed.

In fact, the chatter I was hearing out at Kettler bordered on the bizarre. Schultz . . . playing next season . . . in Russia??? I understand the creative alternatives commonly concocted by player-agent teams in contract season, but this struck me as an all-timer.

As I blog tonight Tarik has Schultz signed on the dotted line while Corey says he turned down his QO.

If it was a summer potboiler you were looking for, we may have found it this Wednesday evening.

Long before John Carlson arrived on the scene like Steve McQueen in skates I wasn't convinced that Schultz was a part of the Capitals' contending plans. Partly for this reason:

Let's see how this plays out.

Update: The Caps late Thursday morning announced the signing of Schultz. One-year deal.

Capitals' 2009-10 Schedule Released

Wed, 15 Jul 2009 15:40:00 -0500

The NHL released its 2009-10 schedule today, and it's a Winter Olympics hockey season, so the schedule includes a 17-day break from play for the Caps beginning in mid-February. There's been some speculation that the November 28 game in Montreal could be contested in Olympic Stadium, but thus far we have no confirmation of that. If that were to happen it would be the Caps' first-ever game in a stadium.

There'd be some irony to it, too, as Olympic Stadium was the the original home of the Washington Nationals, who arrived in D.C. from Montreal in 2004. The Expos played at Olympic Stadium from 1977 through 2003. While it used to be an outdoor stadium, its roof was officially closed in 1998 and will not be reopened for any game.

The rest of the schedule follows. Highlights include home and road games against the Detroit Red Wings on Oct. 10 and Jan. 19, and a Super Bowl Sunday showdown with the Penguins on February 7. All home games are highlighted in bold.

October

Thurs., Oct. 1 at Boston 7 p.m.

Sat., Oct. 3 Toronto 7 p.m.

Tues., Oct. 6 at Philadelphia 7 p.m.

Thurs., Oct. 8 N.Y. Rangers 7 p.m.

Sat., Oct. 10 at Detroit 7 p.m.

Mon., Oct. 12 New Jersey 7 p.m.

Thurs., Oct. 15 San Jose 7 p.m.

Sat., Oct. 17 Nashville 7 p.m.

Thurs., Oct. 22 at Atlanta 7 p.m.

Sat., Oct. 24 at N.Y. Islanders 7 p.m.

Tues., Oct. 27 Philadelphia 7 p.m.

Thurs., Oct. 29 at Atlanta 7 p.m.

Fri., Oct. 30 N.Y. Islanders 7 p.m.

November

Sun., Nov. 1 Columbus 5 p.m.

Wed., Nov. 4 at New Jersey 7 p.m.

Fri., Nov. 6 at Florida 7:30 p.m.

Sat., Nov. 7 Florida 7 p.m.

Wed., Nov. 11 N.Y. Islanders 7 p.m.

Fri., Nov. 13 Minnesota 7 p.m.

Sat., Nov. 14 at New Jersey 7 p.m.

Tues., Nov. 17 at N.Y. Rangers 7 p.m.

Fri., Nov. 20 Montreal 7 p.m.

Sat., Nov. 21 at Toronto 7 p.m.

Mon., Nov. 23 at Ottawa 7:30 p.m.

Wed., Nov. 25 Buffalo 7 p.m.

Sat., Nov. 28 at Montreal 7 p.m.

Mon., Nov. 30 at Carolina 7 p.m.

December

Thurs., Dec. 3 Florida 7 p.m.

Sat., Dec. 5 at Philadelphia 7 p.m.

Mon., Dec. 7 at Tampa Bay 7:30 p.m.

Wed., Dec. 9 at Buffalo 7 p.m.

Fri., Dec. 11 Carolina 7 p.m.

Sat., Dec. 12 at Toronto 7 p.m.

Tues., Dec. 15 at Colorado 9:30 p.m.

Fri., Dec. 18 at Vancouver 10 p.m.

Sat., Dec. 19 at Edmonton 10 p.m.

Wed., Dec. 23 Buffalo 7 p.m.

Sat., Dec. 26 New Jersey 7 p.m.

Mon., Dec. 28 Carolina 7 p.m.

Wed., Dec. 30 at San Jose 10:30 p.m.

January

Sat., Jan. 2 at Los Angeles 4 p.m.

Tues., Jan. 5 Montreal 7 p.m.

Thurs., Jan. 7 Ottawa 7 p.m.

Sat., Jan. 9 at Atlanta 7 p.m.

Tues., Jan. 12 at Tampa Bay 7:30 p.m.

Wed., Jan. 13 at Florida 7:30 p.m.

Fri., Jan. 15 Toronto 7 p.m.

Sun., Jan. 17 Philadelphia 3 p.m.

Tues., Jan. 19 Detroit 7 p.m.

Thurs., Jan. 21 at Pittsburgh 7:30 p.m.

Sat., Jan. 23 Phoenix 7 p.m.

Tues., Jan. 26 at N.Y. Islanders 7 p.m.

Wed., Jan. 27 Anaheim 7 p.m.

Fri., Jan. 29 Florida 7 p.m.

Sun., Jan. 31 Tampa Bay 3 p.m.

February

Tues., Feb. 2 at Boston 7 p.m.

Thurs., Feb. 4 at N.Y. Rangers 7 p.m.

Fri., Feb. 5 Atlanta 7 p.m.

Sun., Feb. 7 Pittsburgh 12:30 p.m.

Wed., Feb. 10 at Montreal 7:30 p.m.

Thurs., Feb. 11 at Ottawa 7 p.m.

Sat., Feb. 13 at St. Louis 8 p.m.

Olympic Break

March

Wed., March 3 at Buffalo 7 p.m.

Thurs., March 4 Tampa Bay 7 p.m.

Sat., March 6 N.Y. Rangers 7 p.m.

Mon., March 8 Dallas 7 p.m.

Wed., March 10 Carolina 7 p.m.

Fri., March 12 Tampa Bay 7 p.m.

Sun., March 14 at Chicago 7 p.m.

Tues., March 16 at Florida 7:30 p.m.

Thurs., March 18 at Carolina 7 p.m.

Sat., March 20 at Tampa Bay 7:30 p.m.

Wed., March 24 Pittsburgh 7 p.m.

Thurs., March 25 at Carolina 7 p.m.

Sun., March 28 Calgary 3 p.m.

Tues., March 30 Ottawa 7 p.m.

April

Thurs., April 1 Atlanta 7 p.m.

Sat., April 3 at Columbus 7 p.m.

Mon., April 5 Boston 7 p.m.

Tues., April 6 at Pittsburgh 7:30 p.m.

Fri., April 9 Atlanta 7 p.m.

Sun., April 11 Boston 3 p.m.

Day 2 of Development Camp, In Photos

Wed, 15 Jul 2009 11:10:00 -0500

Yesterday, Chanuck had a sudden attack of Developmentcampitis and decided to convalesce at Kettler. After a pleasant chat with Lisa Hillary, he was ready to check out the prospects. Some of his photos are below.

A Visitor's Guide to Development Camp

Tue, 14 Jul 2009 23:05:00 -0500

Wednesday brings the first of three scrimmages at Development Camp this week. OFB reader Katie this week sent me this note pertaining to her arrival from out of town for Thursday's scrimmage:

"In order to cure the hole in our hockeyless-in-summer hearts and in the heat of July, we're planning a girls' trip down to Kettler on Thursday to take in development camp. I know from reading your blog the past few years that you seem to be somewhat of an expert on Development Camp & Kettler, so I'm hoping you could take a few moments and possibly answer a few questions for me.

"We're going to stay Wednesday night at a hotel near Dulles (one of the benefits of booking hotel rooms for pilots and flight attendants for a living is having hotels always wanting to comp a room for you!) and then drive into Kettler Thursday morning. Is there parking available, or would it be better to hit public transportation? Is it in a relatively easy area to navigate (I'll have my GPS, so I should be okay)? Is the store at Kettler usually open during development camp (and selling Caps' gear) so that a few chicks from Hershey can stock up on some articles to help facilitate red-rocking? Is there a place near the rink to grab a few puck sodas and talk about morning sessions before taking in the afternoon scrimmage?

"Sorry to barrage you, but as I said before, you seem so incredibly knowledgeable in all things Capitals, Kettler, & Puck Sodas, that I knew one email to you would tell me so much more than a 20-minute phone call to Kettler staff!"

Before I address Katie's queries, I must acknowledge two standout elements to her correspondence: first, her identifying my an an expert in puck sodas. How sweet! Untrue, but sweet. Second, Katie and her modest sorority set of camp roadtrippers have designs on tipping back a few cold ones apparently not much after the clock strikes noon on Thursday -- and maybe earlier. That's my kind of puck bunny!

Ok. Onward to the answers. Public transportation to Kettler would most commonly refer to Metro. I cannot in good conscience direct any hockey fan into that system in its present state. Unless they're from Pittsburgh. So drive, Katie. There is a good deal of garage parking available at the Ballston Mall, and on a weekday such as Thursday, likely in close proximity to the practice facility. I'm glad you'll have GPS as guide. I'm a partisan Marylander, so I'm not one to advise on traveling about the Dominion state. Just get off Rt. 66 ASAP.

I poked my head in the Kettler Capitals gear store on Monday, and it's brimming with fashion goodies, with an expanded branding of the 'Rock the Red' theme. Bring the plastic -- a lot of good-looking stuff to be had in there.

My puckhead mates and I tend to patronize Bailey's way down on level one of the Ballston Mall. The food in there is adequate, and more importantly, there's nearly two dozen beers on tap, among them some relatively elite imports and micros as well as reliable regulars. Your whistle will be well wetted there. And if your party seeks the company of an eligible, thirsty blogger, you know how to reach me.

Preseason Slate Revealed

Tue, 14 Jul 2009 17:24:33 -0500

The Capitals along with the rest of the NHL will be informed of their regular season schedule tomorrow, but late today we learned how the preseason will shape up:

Date TBA at Buffalo, HSBC Arena, Buffalo, N.Y.

Sat., Sept. 19 at Chicago, United Center, Chicago, Ill. 8:30 p.m.

Mon., Sept. 21 Buffalo, Verizon Center, Washington, D.C. 7 p.m.

Wed., Sept. 23 Chicago, Verizon Center, Washington, D.C. 7 p.m.

Thurs., Sept. 24 at NY Rangers, Madison Square Garden, New York, NY 7 p.m.

Sun., Sept. 27 NY Rangers, Verizon Center, Washington, D.C. Time Noon

Kinda refreshing to be liberated from Southeast opponents in the preseason, which was like taking your sister to the movies instead of a pretty date. We see enough of them as it is anyway.

Capitals Convention I: Some Red Rockin' in September

Tue, 14 Jul 2009 09:45:00 -0500

On Monday afternoon I sat in a conference room at Kettler Capitals Complex and watched and listened to a wide-eyed Tim McDermott enthusiastically detail for me the first-ever Capitals Convention, slated for September 26 at the Gaylord Convention Center. It's been more than a year in the planning, will require just about every member of the organization to pull off -- "It's an all-hands event," McDermott told me -- and may just end up being, in McDermott's words, "unlike any event any D.C. sports team has carried off" in town.

McDermott, the Capitals' Senior VP and Chief Marketing Officer, was quick to point out that Capitals Convention will not be just another "Fanfest." Instead, he described to me what the organization envisions being "a total immersive experience . . . this will be a true convention."

All told, the day will command upwards of 12 hours of immersion in all things Caps. To wit:

A fabulously conceived walk-through of how the team manages its salary cap, led by assistant general manager Don Fishman, aka 'Donny the Fish.'

The nuts and bolts of the team's scouting efforts, including video of prospects and how they're specifically evaluated by the scouts.

An overview of the team's farm development system.

Count me in for all three panel discussions. And there will be many more -- 15 "breakout" sessions, according to McDermott, including, potentially, a panel discussion of media coverage of hockey and the team in D.C. and its remarkable evolution. Best of all, the Caps want their fans to have a role in shaping the themes of some breakout sessions, so soon fans visiting the team's web site will be polled as to what else should be addressed. Magnificent! Additionally, beginning soon, there will be weekly updates on the team's web site about the development of the convention program.

My first question for McDermott yesterday was about a convention role for the team's alumni, and he assured me that already the organization had blanketed the alumni with formal invites for the convention. The late September date may prove unworkable for some ex-Caps involved in minor pro coaching and management, with their new seasons newly or nearly underway, but McDermott emphasized that the team won't be sparing expense trying to get "A-list" alums in town for the gig.

"We will be flying guys in," McDermott told me.

One especially esteemed alum who ought to be accorded a priority place at the convention, I believe, is legendary broadcaster Ron Weber. I've written to Mr. Leonsis before urging his consideration of a special night honoring Weber. Perhaps the convention could be the time and place to bestow something like a lifetime achievement award on Weber. Those of us Caps' followers with a few greying hairs would be on our feet at that moment.

The Chicago Cubs get credit for launching the idea of a convention for fans just a couple of years ago, and last year the Blackhawks followed suite and held their first convention. The Capitals sent "spies" to Chicago last summer to absorb the proceedings, and they've taken best practices from it, added their own flavor, and are excited about what this event holds for the region this September and in the years ahead.

Reaction to the announcement last week of Capitals Convention I was thoroughly positive: the team sold 1,000 tickets to it in the first 48 hours, and all 100 'Golden Tickets' -- the $350 premium ducats that afford purchasers "fast-pass" access to autographs and priority seating for all breakout sessions -- are gone. The Gaylord and its 75,000 square-foot ballroom can accommodate 5,000 conventioneers, and the team hopes to sell nearly that many tickets. The club did consider the D.C. Convention Center, which is certainly large enough, but that facility doesn't offer the breakout rooms that the Caps feel are a real showcase aspect of this convention.

Capitals Convention will not be a money-making venture at a 4,000-5,000 level of patronage, McDermott claimed: the team will spend at least $300,000 organizing the convention, and when you run the admission numbers ($40 for adults, $25 for kids), it simply can't be a cash cow for the club.

But that's not the point. When I spoke to McDermott last year about the remarkable 'Rock the Red' marketing campaign -- its conception, execution, and future -- he told me that the team needed to build on it, to perpetuate it. The organization is aware that the ante sorta gets upped in this region with hockey in January, once the Redskins' season is complete. They want to push on that calendar a bit, to make hockey "hot" in hotter months. The September convention is a big-idea strategy to that end.

On Day One of Development Camp, John Carlson Is on a Lot of Minds

Mon, 13 Jul 2009 17:05:00 -0500

It isn't just bloggers and hockeysfuture.com addicts going gaga over John Carlson's very polished, very mature game these days. It's also the general manager of the Washington Capitals. On Monday afternoon after the first slate of Development Camp drills, I asked the GM for his impressions of Carlson from his late-postseason visits to Hershey to follow the Bears' Calder Cup pursuit.

"There were a couple of [postseason] games where we really thought he might have been the best defenseman on the ice for either team."

Safe to say the GM liked (very much) what he saw from Carlson's play as a CHL assignee to the Bears.

"He has tremendous upside," McPhee added. "We liked that he was playing a regular shift at the American League level, big games, especially in the finals."

Potentially Capitals' management could have a very tough decision ahead in September as it relates to Carlson. When I mentioned that Carlson had a standout camp last September, McPhee agreed, and when I posited his having another strong one this September, I asked how as a manager McPhee would weigh Carlson's present value to the Caps versus his spending much or all of a full season in Hershey. Defensemen of course tend to take longer to develop than do players at other positions, and it's never a bad thing to 'overcook' a blueliner a bit in the system.

"You watch him every day and try and decide what's best -- should he be here, should he go there?" McPhee said. "We'll do what anybody else would [in that situation]."

I also wondered what role if any knowing that Carlson would be playing for Dale Hunter in London might have had as the Caps pondered selecting Carlson in the first round of the entry draft last summer. McPhee acknowledged Monday that the Caps enjoy a special relationship with Coach Hunter.

"We would have drafted him anyway, but when we heard that we were really pleased because we thought 'This will really be a great year of development for him'.

"Dale really liked him. And we talked a few times, and Dale basically said, 'You got a real good one here,' and this is how we handle him, and this is how you might want to handle him in the future.'

A Waiting List for Hockey Tickets in Washington? You Betcha!

Mon, 13 Jul 2009 14:17:40 -0500

I had a terrific chat with Capitals' Senior VP and Chief Marketing Officer Tim McDermott out at Kettler on my lunch hour today, and in the midst of discussing in detail the first-ever Capitals' Convention on September 26 (more on that later), McDermott informed me that presently there are upwards of 2,000 people on a waiting list to buy Caps' tickets. To repeat: that's a four-figure waiting list . . . for hockey tickets . . . in Washington, D.C.

You thought the Redskins had a monopoly on waiting lists for tix? Think again.

If you build it they will come. And more will wait outside to get in the gate.

Parting with Hockey Pals

Mon, 13 Jul 2009 05:00:00 -0500

Hockey friends, necessarily, are best friends. I'm losing two of them this week, to retirement and a big move away from D.C., and it hurts. For upwards of the past 10 years my friends Mike and Marleen have been constant companions in my puck pursuits. I've shared every Development Camp and Training Camp this decade with them -- together we've tailgated at Piney Orchard and tipped back a few at Bailey's in Ballston. My cell phone minutes this decade have been gloriously gobbled up by in- and post- Caps' game reactions with this couple. And it's not much different in the offseason. It's a wonderful thing, you know, to ring buddies on a July Friday night and before you know it lose an hour talking nothing but hockey.

With Mike and Marleen I've sipped Saturday and Sunday morning joe and parsed every bit of news large and small that's been Caps'-related. We've road-tripped together in pursuit of pucks. Years back when we presented ourselves at a Cape Breton Screaming Eagles' box office 20 minutes before puck-drop, outfitted in Caps' gear, the Caps' fan working the ticket booth put us against the glass on the blueline. We had our beers that night lodged on the plexiglass ledge in the first period when two teenage skating wonders rammed violently into one other against our pane of plexiglass, sending our beer flying high. Once we drove down together to Richmond, Va., to see the Caps play the Islanders in a September exhibition game. Mike and I still joke about the man-love embrace we shared when Mike Farrell score the game-winning goal that night. If I had a goal for every beer I've polished off in their Capitol Hill home during Caps' game-watches all these years I'd be outscoring Alexander Ovechkin right now.

Our parting this week of course is not a death or anything so dour, but it's a big-time departure, impacting me in all seasons but especially in the dead of winter, as these two puck souls of the first order separate from me by more than 500 miles. They're moving to the very hockey friendly environs of Portland, Maine, which is a serious salve for my ache. I know that these retirees are best friends of mine because instead of moving to Florida in their retirement they're moving to blizzard and puck country. God knows we've spent dozens of hours the first half of this summer plotting and scheming for my visits to their new home -- Mike this past week for instance sent me an email informing me that Portland was hosting the 2010 AHL All Star Game. I can take a hint.

But still I ache.

This move to Portland is a life-changing one in so many wonderful ways for Mike and Marleen, and I'm doing my best to remind myself of this as their hour of departure nears. Already they've taken their final ride aboard Metro -- you should see all the stress and duress that's already vanished from their faces! The Beltway at rush hour will literally be in the rear view mirror of their lives this week. I want to stowaway in their trunk.

Mike and Marleen have a stunning vacation home that sits high on a bluff overlooking Marguerite Bay in Cape Breton, Nova Scotia, and beginning this summer they'll shave off a full day of driving to it from their new home. It was at Mike and Marleen's party palace in Nova Scotia that I took my first ride (and flight!) atop a snowmobile. It was a night I'll never forget. In front of their home we revved up our sled engines near midnight in a quasi-blizzard and raced through knee-high fresh powder in the black February night. It was the greatest exhilaration of my life.

Mike and Marleen have become so enriching a part of my life that they influence this blog every day: our much-appreciated banner image comes from a photo snapped just down the road a bit from their Nova Scotia home. I was in a rental car with Mike Rucki -- we were on a Canadian beer run -- when I saw the shinny, and I said to Mike, "Stop the car now."

It says an awful lot about Mike and Marleen -- everything, really -- that on the night I met them nearly 10 years ago at a Caps' game, just five minutes into our very first conversation, Mike said to me, "We have this home in Nova Scotia, and you really ought to come up and vacation with us." At the very next Caps' home game he pushed me to make the plane reservations.

At Mike's retirement a few weeks back his co-workers gave him two season tickets to the Portland Pirates. When I retire I want something like that as a farewell present.

Marleen grew up in New England, and so the air she breathed early in life was saturated with pucks. D.C. native Mike spent the first 45 years of his life a hockey agnostic. For years every winter Marleen would have a Caps' game on TV in their home and Mike would walk past the room, never glancing its way. One night finally Marleen got Mike to go to a Caps' game with her. Need I detail more? You know the saying about converts and their passion.

Friends I guess come and go in our lives, but hockey ones, it seems to me, part us with a much heavier sense of loss. It sure seems that way, especially right now. Hockey engenders such passion in its followers, and in the close environs of a practice facility like Piney or Kettler, or the raucous setting of a building like Verizon Center, where diehards and the addicted come to worship, great friendships ignite. I've seen it and I've lived it.

A lot of you this week will visit Development Camp and reunite with buddies you sit with at Caps' games in Verizon Center, or grab a beer with afterward at the Irish Channel or Green Turtle, and haven't seen since the season ended. Hug them hard.

We Have Hockey Players in Town

Sun, 12 Jul 2009 17:00:00 -0500

Neither Mike Knuble nor Brendan Morrison will be attending Capitals' Development Camp this week, but important slices of the Capitals' future will be. There's been a slight tweak to the camp schedule this week, so I thought I'd re-post the full slate of activity:

Monday, July 13
10 a.m.: Group A on ice
2:30 p.m.: Group B on ice

Tuesday, July 14
10 a.m.: Group B on ice
12 p.m.: Group A on ice

Wednesday, July 15
10 a.m.: Group A on ice
11:15 a.m.: Group B on ice
3:30 p.m.: Intrasquad scrimmage

Thursday, July 16
10 a.m.: Group B on ice
11:15 a.m.: Group A on ice
3:30 p.m.: Intrasquad scrimmage

Friday, July 17
10 a.m.: Group A on ice
11:45 a.m.: Group B on ice

Saturday, July 18
10:30 a.m.: Intrasquad scrimmage

OFB plans on having eyeballs at an awful lot of camp, and we'll be working with the Capitals' communications team to try and carry off another live-blog from the camp-concluding scrimmage on Saturday. What a terrific idea to have two campers -- Braden Holtby and Trevor Bruess -- Twittering their camp reactions all week long. We'll be feeding the OFB Twitter account with eyewitness observations and scuttlebutt we encounter. We'll also be filing traditionally, snapping pics, shooting video, the works. I'm especially excited to have intern Andrew returned to D.C. from his summer vacation back home in Michigan at week's end, and he's going help us out a great deal, as usual.

When I'm asked why I get so excited about a couple of dozen supposedly "no-name" hockey players congregating for drills and some low-stakes scrimmaging in the middle of each summer, I point to past Development Camps and the eyebrow-raising performances they almost always deliver. Not a whole lot of folks in these parts were familiar with Mike Green when he arrived at his first Development Camp out at Piney Orchard in Odenton, Md., a few years back. But the handful of spectators and media in the stands then sure noticed his skating.

Similarly, two years ago undersized Mathieu Perreault put on a puck-handling clinic during camp scrimmages, and now he's an important member of the Calder Cup champion Hershey Bears. Last summer Oskar Osala was the name on the tips of a lot of media lips, and it was also Simeon Varlamov's debut on a sheet of ice in D.C. In Varlamov's case, I wonder how many who went to Development Camp last July imagined that the 20-year-old Russian would be the Capitals' starting netminder against Sidney Crosby and the Penguins in the second round of the playoffs 10 months later?

I'm also enjoying the media attention this camp now garners. Just a few years back Development Camp was a small and intimate party out near Baltimore for merely the most devoted puckheads. I'd venture out and see Dave Fay of the Washington Times, Mike Vogel, and maybe one or two local televisions sports personalities. This week we'll consume print and electronic files from at least three local papers, Comcast Sportsnet broadcast and electronic coverage, perhaps a wire service account or two, and certainly blogger reactions.

Development Camp won't determine who makes the Capitals' roster on opening night,but it's likely to offer us enticing and encouraging glimpses of the team's near future. It's also a cool way to beat the July heat for a week.

Caps Sign Morrison

Fri, 10 Jul 2009 16:36:35 -0500

Yes, the spelling is correct. The Washington Capitals announced they have signed unrestricted free agent center Brendan Morrison to a one-year contract.

From the press release:

The Washington Capitals have signed unrestricted free agent center Brendan Morrison to a one-year contract, vice president and general manager George McPhee announced today. In keeping with club policy, financial terms of the deal were not disclosed.

A 5'11", 181-pound native of Pitt Meadows, British Columbia, Morrison has had 50-plus points six times, including four 20-goal seasons. He has played 755 career games with four teams - Dallas, Anaheim, Vancouver and New Jersey - spanning 12 NHL seasons. Morrison has 175 goals and 330 assists (505 points) in his NHL career, with career highs in goals (25), assists (46) and points (71) coming in 2002-03 with the Canucks.

Morrison, who will turn 34 on Aug. 15, split last season between Anaheim and Dallas, posting 16 goals and 31 points in 81 games. He had 32 penalty minutes and a +3 rating. Morrison played 542 consecutive NHL games from 2000-07, but was hampered by injuries the past two seasons.

Morrison's best seasons came as a member of the Canucks, where he amassed 393 points in 543 games from 2000-08 and was among the team's top five scorers for six years in a row. He has consistently been a plus player, with a career rating of +55, and has 47 power-play goals, seven shorthanded goals and 38 game-winning goals to his credit.

A second-round draft choice of New Jersey in 1993, 39th overall, he earned AHL All-Rookie Team honors as a member of the Devils' affiliate, the Albany River Rats, when he led them in scoring in 1997-98.

Morrison won the Hobey Baker Award as the nation's top college player in 1997 (the same award McPhee won as a player at Bowling Green) and led Michigan to the national championship in 1996. He led the nation in scoring three times for the Wolverines, collecting 102 goals and 182 assists (284 points) in 155 games. Morrison was a teammate of recent Capitals signee Mike Knuble for two years at Michigan and again with Linkopings in Sweden in 2004-05.

My Top 10 Storylines for 2008-09, Part II

Fri, 10 Jul 2009 09:05:00 -0500

The concluding half of my two-part look back at my top moments from the 2008-09 season. Part I is here.

(5) The Young Guns Add Another Gunslinger. It was with little fanfare that the Capitals selected John Carlson 27th overall in the 2008 NHL Entry Draft: he was a USHLer . . . he hailed from New Jersey. But three months after his selection he arrived at fall training camp and performed spectacularly. Among media who covered camp there was something close to unanimity of opinion that Carlson was one of camp's seven best defenders, and some members of the Capitals' organization felt he should have stuck with the club to start the season. But the grand plan for Carlson was to have him spend the 2008-09 season under Dale Hunter in London of the OHL.

It turned out to be a supremely wise development decision.

Carlson skated in 59 games during the Knights' regular season; he finished with 76 points (16 and 60) and skated a +23. He was 19th among all OHL skaters in scoring as a rookie, and only Windsor's Ryan Ellis ranked ahead of him in scoring by defensemen. More importantly, Coach Hunter was utilizing Carlson in every game situation as his go-to defender, and it wasn't uncommon to read hockeysfuture.com reports of Carlson testifying to his skating 30 or more minutes a night for Hunter. During London's postseason Carlson continued to rack up the points (7 goals, 15 assists in 14 games), and when the Knights were vanquished Carlson was immediately sent to Hershey.

OHLers typically do little more than skate with AHL practice squads in the spring. Not Carlson. He quickly found himself in Hershey's top defensive pair, and he played a steady game throughout the postseason as the Bears captured their 10th Calder Cup. Carlson plays both ends of the ice exceptionally well, possesses elite hockey sense, and uses his ample frame in impact fashion. Once again it appears that Caps' scouts have secured an impact defenseman very late in round one of an entry draft.

(4) The Greatness of Hockey Played on Ponds is Made into a Movie, and Screened in D.C. One of the most flattering and rewarding relationships we've developed at OFB is with filmmakers Tommy Haines and Andrew Sherburne, documentarians who directed their cameras at the frozen ponds, creeks and lakes of Minnesota in 'Pond Hockey.' ESPN's John Buccigross called it "The best and purest hockey movie." The filmmakers took their documentary on a tour of select artistic movie houses across the country, and Washington's Avalon Theater was one of 15 chosen. Some pretty prominent hockey towns weren't.

I remember our screening taking place on a frigid November Monday night, and after encouraging moviegoers to wear touques, we had dozens of them donned for the screening. We'd interviewed Jose Theodore about his playing in the Heritage Classic in Edmonton in November 2003 when Alberta temps that night plummeted to -20. He signed a Capitals' touque that we awarded during a drawing after the screening.

I remember a Bethesda schoolteacher approaching us about obtaining film materials for instructional use in his classroom. I remember a fair number of transplanted Minnesotans in attendance. I remember a wonderful number of kids attending, and during a nearly 30-minute Q&A with Sherburne afterward, the very first question came from a seven-year-old, who wondered when and where his pond hockey tournament was going to take place. I remember arriving home with a copy of the DVD Sherburne offered me, opening a beer deep in the night, and being transfixed by the movie's menu screen, which offers a mesmerizing montage of Minnesota winter -- a snow bath of our sport's essence. But I remember most driving home from the theater and thinking, indeed Washington was becoming a hockey town.

(3) Old Hatred Renewed: Caps vs. Pens in the Postseason. It became official on April 28 -- the Caps and Penguins would meet in the postseason for the first time since 2001. Between 1991 and 2001 Pittsburgh and Washington met seven times in the postseason, with the Pens prevailing in six of the encounters. But the series were far from lopsided.

"The history between the franchises remains an open wound for a fan base desperate to move past years of misery," the Washington Times' Corey Masisak wrote in his series preview. The previous April, when the Caps met another old foe, Philadelphia, in the postseason, some segment of Flyers' fans arrived in OFB comment space and suggested that the 'rivalry' Washington had perceived with Philly wasn't matched in intensity of interest up North. No such hate-check takes place when the Caps and Pens square off, regular or postseason: we hate them, and they hate us.

The rivalry actually renewed with vigor right around the time that Gary Bettman and his crack staff completed a perverse 'snake draft' for the August 2005 Entry Draft, which concluded the league's year-long labor impasse, and one that landed the Penguins the most coveted prospect: Sidney Crosby. Ever since, he's arrived in D.C. to sections full of raspberry greetings. And Pittsburgh fans for their part don't much care for Alexander Ovechkin.

Capitals' players professed being unaware of any organizational baggage associated with the failures against Pittsburgh of the past, but those words sounded hollow given the magnitude of the moment: truly this was one of the most significant rivalries involving a Washington sports team, the Pens had Washington's number, and now both franchises had been impressively rebuilt and featured the two most compelling superstar players meeting in the postseason for the first time against one another. Amazingly enough, the series lived up to every bit of its billing.

(2) He Plays Fast Forward Just as Long as He Can. Mike Green may well be redefining the positon he plays. Already some are calling him a "rover" -- a hybrid between rearguard and sniping forward. Or maybe he's just reminding us a little bit about #4. Whatever your thoughts about this young dynamo, his efforts beginning in late January and culminating on Saturday night, February 14, were ones for the record book. In Tampa on February 14, Green scored a goal in his eighth consecutive game, besting Mike O'Connell's record of seven by a defenseman set all the way back in the 1983-84 season. Green would go on to score 31 goals on the season and earn a Norris nomination -- with many more to follow, no doubt.

Especially cool about Green's record-setting Saturday night: his father was a witness to it, part of the Caps' annual father-son weekend roadtrip. In the days following the feat there'd emerge an interesting back and forth between Green and the Hockey Hall of Fame: the Hall understandably wanted his stick, Green and his family understandably wanted it in their home. Green ultimately relented.

(1) Hat Trick x 2: Ovi and Sid Put on a Postseason Show for the Ages. It was Ali-Frazier. Duke-Carolina. The Hatfields and the McCoys, but perhaps with heightened hatred. A stud-on-stud rivalry, one forecasted and marketed for years ad nauseum, at last delievred all the goods. And more! Game 2 of the Eastern Conference semifinals was simply one of the greatest -- and perhaps the greatest -- hockey games ever contested in the nation's capital. The Caps got the better of the Penguins for a second consecutive game, but the story of the night was twin hat tricks by the league's best players.

I was seated next to Tim Leone of the Patriot News, beat reporter for the Hershey Bears and Bruce Boudreau's biographer, near 11:00 in the Verizon Center press box, wondering how he was going to chroncile for the morning paper what left everyone who saw it slack-jawed in awe. In my lead I decided to write straight from my gut:

"To state the obvious, keep your ticket stub. Get the footage burned onto a disc and permanently stored. If Versus offers a replay, record that too, just as a backup. And clip the Tuesday newspapers of all their morning glory. Then, henceforth, set aside each May 4 for a replay of the game in your home, with a few cold ones."