Stripping Ovi

I’m still amazed people want to strip Ovi of the “C”. I’ll grant you that the decision to make Ovechkin the Captain was made by GM George McPhee and Coach Bruce Boudreau, but it was reported that when this was in the works, the team was in on the decision. Let’s take a trip down Reality Road, ok?

First up; per NHL.com from 1/5/2010:

Boudreau said he had polled the team in recent days and Ovechkin was the unanimous choice.

"They were really happy when I told them (Tuesday) morning and this doesn't happen too often, but the group got up and cheered," Boudreau said. "I had talked to a lot of them in the last couple of days and they said Alex was the only choice, 'He's our leader and he's our guy.”

So, if the team wanted him, and the General Manager wanted him, and the Coach wanted him, how does that result in the idea he isn’t the right guy?

I’m also amazed that people say he doesn’t show leadership qualities and the job should be given to a more outspoken veteran guy.

Show of hands; how many people have actually been present in the locker room between periods that are NOT members of the Capitals team or staff? …Anyone? I thought so. Assumptions are being made that claim Ovi does not have what it takes to be the team captain.

Ok, let’s tackle the argument that he’s too young. How about a little look around the league?

Out of 30 teams, 13 of the current captains were born between 5/1/1984 and 4/29/1988, with the two youngest being Stanley Cup winners. (And, yes, #3 Andrew Ladd also won 2 Stanley Cups but he was not a captain on either team at the time they won.)

Jonathan Toews 4/29/1988

Sidney Crosby 8/7/1987

Andrew Ladd 12/12/1985

Alex Ovechkin 9/17/1985

Shea Weber 8/14/1985

Ryan Getzlaf 5/10/1985

Dion Phaneuf 4/10/1985

Ryan Callahan 3/21/1985

Dustin Brown 11/4/1984

Eric Staal 10/29/1984

Zach Parise 7/28/1984

Rick Nash 6/16/1984

David Backes 5/1/1984

How about the argument that Ovi is Russian and English is his second language? I call bullshit there as well. You and I know that Alex’s English is fine and he works hard to speak it and be understood.

Next up; Alex is a selfish player who is out for himself. Come on, really? The guy has tons of heart; one of his greatest wishes is to win a Stanley Cup. Naturally, you have to be selfish to do that and not support your team, because it’s an individual achievement. Yeah, right.

Have I covered all the main arguments? I hope so. The biggest issue is what it says about the team if they strip Ovi of the “C”. Like we need a vote of no confidence right now? Let’s get real. We have enough to complain about and it’s only November. Who is or should be Captain is not really an issue, it’s a diversion. As a fan base, we are concerned about our team. I get it, but let’s not get detoured down Reality Road.

Author's Note: Anyone who clicked the link expecting this post to be about something else...sorry, but thanks for reading!

You Gotta Have Heart

Recently, I have seen tweets that accuse Alex Semin of being lazy and selfish. I have also seen tweets that call Mike Green a wuss for not playing with his injury. Geesh, I even saw one that said Alex Ovechkin is statistically on pace for only 41 goals and 82 points this season, "what a bum". (Yes, I recognize sarcasm.) And then there are the tweets that Vokoun lost the game for "us". Seen them all. There are a lot of stats floating around that could back some of these things up, but one thing stats do not convey is the heart and soul of a player and a team when times are tough.

I know every fan of a team is disappointed when they lose. I feel your pain. But let's get real here, folks. Pro athletes are human. Shit happens. I will admit, like so many others, I joke when Semin causes a penalty. Do I think he does it on purpose? Not usually. Do I think he is selfish or lazy. Nope. Do I think Mike Green is a wuss for not playing injured. No way. Yes, I get frustrated when I see Ovechkin standing on the ice waiting for a pass and I'll yell "Move Ovi, get in there". Do I know why he's doing this at this particular time? Not a clue. And nobody else except Ovi does either. (Well, maybe the other players on the ice do too - I hope).

Lest we forget, hockey players have a lot demanded of them, not only in the aspect of the game itself, but outside forces brought on by fan expectations and physical limitations. Football players get at least 5 days between games, sometimes 12-14 days if they have a by week. Even baseball pitchers are on a 5 game rotation. Their league recognizes the need for them to rest between outings to stay healthy. Hockey often requires back to back games, with travel in between; very constant physical activity while playing and many situations of possibly extreme exertion.

So, all statistics aside, let's examine the human factor. The heart. How can anyone know for sure if a player's heart is in the game? You can look at so many examples and draw conclusions, but would you be right? Does anyone really know what goes on in a player's head at any given moment?

Remember back when Ovi got a two game suspension in December of 2009? He was quoted to say afterwards that he would not let the suspension effect the way he plays. But when he returned, I thought the opposite. Watching him play, he seemed to be more cautious when it came to hitting players. All sports psychology aside, he seemed to take the suspension and criticism to heart and; to me; he adjusted his playing style accordingly. The key word in that thought was "heart". This man is one of the "Faces of the Franchise". Don't think that affects him? You gotta believe he would be the last person who would want to be known as a dirty player and human instinct is going to kick in.

So, what do you think Alex Semin is thinking when he sits in the penalty box for a stupid mistake? Well, what would you think if it were you? Of course, you'd be muttering "shit, shit, shit" (or whatever the Russian equivalent is), who wouldn't? Thinking that all of Semin's penalties are because he is lazy or selfish only shows that you have left out the human factor of "heart". What you "see" can be diametrically opposed to what you actually "know". Just watch his face break out into a beaming grin after he scores or assists on a goal, and you know his heart is in it. Maybe his lack of interaction with the media in the past has given people the impression that he is aloof and uncaring. If so, I'm glad he's finally breaking that boundary and beginning to speak up. It might help fans see his human side. It could go a long way to correcting some bad impressions people have of him.

And what about Mike Green being a wuss for not playing while injured? When your personal stats rely on games played, shots blocked, protecting your goalie and the net, goals scored and minutes on the ice; sitting out due to injury only makes your numbers look worse. But what does that do to a player's heart? Do you seriously believe Green enjoys sitting out games? Of course he wants to be out there. But do you; or your team for that matter; jeopardize a player's health or a team's win by letting an injured player actually play? Maybe in the playoffs, but not now. Hopefully, once he gets back into a game, his heart will be more into it than before because, not only is it his job, it's who he is, it defines him.


How about people calling Vokoun out for letting in goals and losing the game for "us"? Think back to his reaction to his first loss as a Capital. The guy was truly regretful about letting the game get to that point, he spoke from the heart. Would you want to be thought of as the reason your team lost the game? Seriously? Vokoun's heart as a player was fully evidenced after that game. Why would it suddenly change? It's going to take time for him to get used to playing with a team he is still learning about. Yes, we all hope he's got it figured out by now, but if you got a new job, how long do you think it would take for you to figure out all the nuances of your co-workers? Shit is gonna spring up to throw you for a loop long after your first day on the job. Still doesn't mean your heart isn't into it, just that shit happens. You learn from your mistakes and move on.


As you can tell, this post is a total opinion piece. Am I going to stop yelling at Ovi on my TV? Nope. Am I going to stop cussing at Schultz for "letting a goal get by"? Nope. Do I expect them to give 100%? You betcha. I'm just speaking from the heart, hopefully getting to the heart of the matter, and now I'm going to go play "Heart and Soul" on the piano.

Oh Hai Boyz!

First chance I've had to hit up Kettler and check in on the boys at training camp. More on Flickr:

A Winter Classic Yearbook

Thanks to Russian Machine Never Breaks for originally posting this picture and providing the inspiration for this blog post.

                                                                           (Photo by Brian Babineau/NHLI via Getty Images)

Remember the yearbook pictures of  "Senior Superlatives"? Yeah, I isolated a few of our guys for a little "Superlatives" of my own, purely based on the photograph, no personal preferences involved. (yeah, right).

Most Athletic

Cutest 

Class President 

Best Dimples

Most Likely to Inflict Punishment

 

 Best Smile

 Most Studious

Snarkiest

Most Injured

Best Facial Hair

Maybe, just maybe, I'm still a little tipsy from New Years Eve. Then again, maybe not.

The 3 C's (Caps-Columbus & Convention)

So I've been a bit of a blogger fail the last 10 days, new job responsibilities have taken a lot out of me, and the next thing I know, IT"S HOCKTOBER!!! (Not to be confused with Octoberfest, which is another reason this month is awesome, but today is all about hockey).

What better way to start celebrating than to go to a preseason game the very first day of the month.

Captain Ovechkin checking out the Blue Jackets during warm-ups

Our chance to watch Hendricks play was short-lived; he was outta the game early ine the first when he was the victim of a heavy check by Nate Guenin.

Come to find out, our own Nicky-Lars required 14 stitches on his leg after blocking a shot during this game. What a trooper! But, this is now old news.

So, what better way to continue Hocktober, then to attend the Caps Convention on Saturday, 10/2. This year I made sure I was going to some of the panels, since I totally missed out last year, due to poor planning. (And this also resulted in a lot lower number of player pictures, since I was happily sitting in adjacent rooms for half the day.

First up, Ask the GM, with GM George McPhee and Nate Ewell. Gotta say, I really appreciate McPhee even more after listening to him during the question and answer session here. While he didn't give any secrets away, I felt he was pretty upfront when he answered questions. Favorite response was to a question about the trade that involved Delle Rovere. Final answer, he has yet to have traded away a superstar. There was one lady who spent at least 5 minutes asking a question, which was actually a good one, but she went off track so many times, I be damned if I can remember what it was.

Next up was the Kids Press Conference. After missing it last year because the room was full by the time I found it, I made sure to be there yesterday. Ovi, Brads and Fehrsie really seemed to have a great time with the kid’s questions. I was pretty surprised how many kids asked questions about fighting and who the guys hated the most (opposing players and/or teams). And you could tell how many questions were actually from the parents. Two things that really stood out - Fehrsie and Brads singing Happy Birthday to one little girl, followed by Ovi singing it a cappella in Russian. Trust me on this, Ovi will most definitely not be making any music videos without some voice lessons. But, seriously, he has enough talent on the ice to make up for that. Second “Awwwww” moment, when another little girl asked Ovi to say something in Russian. His response “You’re beautiful” (not gonna trust free translation here and possibly botch the Russian spelling of that phrase. Who knows what I’d actually be typing!)

Next up, back to the main stage for Coach BB’s Who are the 2010-2011 Capitals? segment. Loved this last year and wasn’t disappointed this year. I especially enjoyed seeing the new jumbotron pictures of the players. As you can see below, a couple were big hits with me.

Next I got in line for my autograph sessions. First up, J-Car and Fehrsie. Congratulated Carlson on World Juniors and gave Fehrsie props on the game the night before.

From there, I went straight to the next line, and ended up with Gordicris and Chimmers. Yes, Chimmers signs as fast as he skates and talks. Gotta say, all the guys were as nice as could be.

Final panel discussion, Blogging the Caps. Couldn’t miss a chance to hear Nate Ewell, Eric McErlain, John Keeley, and Jon Press (otherwise known as @nateewell, @emcerlain, @JohnMKeeley, and @JapersRink). Although the crowd was a little thin, I did enjoy the discussions and questions. But, damned if the lady from GMGM’s panel earlier in the day, didn’t show up again with another very long drawn out “question” for the panel. Once again, I totally forget what her question was. Wanted to stop and say Hi to them all when it was over, but wouldn’t you know, they got fan mobbed when they left the stage. (Guys, I was the blonde in the front row on your far right).

Well, now that the last preseason game is out of the way, it's time for the offical beginning of the 2010-2011 hockey season. Let the hockey begin!

More pictures from the 10/1 game and Caps Convention can be found here.

What’s in a Name?

So, another hockey season is upon us. In anticipation of lots of tweeting about our guys, I felt it was time for an updated primer on who we all refer to when we use our own special nicknames for players on Twitter. I’d also like to thank The Hockey Chronicles and Japers’ Rink, who also posted similar lists in the past which contributed to my “research”. (Yes, I actually did research for this post…kinda-sorta). Think of this as a PSA for new Tweeps and Caps fans, cuz you need to know who we're talking about when you read our snark!

So without further ado and in alphabetical order, so no one thinks I’m playing favorites (kinda convenient that Ovi comes first alphabetically, isn’t it?), here we go:

Da Playas:

Alex Ovechkin: AO8, Ovi (Note: NOT Ovie –get it right, people!), Russian Machine, The Great 8, Alexander the Great

Alex Semin: Sasha, ummm and another one I don’t quite understand ;), Sam (Added by RussianMachine)

Brian Willsie: I don't remember any nicknames for Willsie, somebody remind me!

Boyd Gordon: Gordo, Gordicris, G-Unit (Added by WashCapsRock), Muffin (added by tons of people!)

Brooks Laich: BL21, Brooksie, Cougar Bait, HHBL21, AAA of the NHL, Ironman (Added by CamaroWRX)

David Steckel: Stecks

DJ King: King Kong, (are there any others we should know?)

Eric Fehr: Fehrsie, F-16/Falcon (Added by The PaulW), Uno Seis (Added because ngreenberg apparently uses it, not that I would know)

Jason Chimera: Chimmers, Chewie (Added by PKLords76), Chimmy (Added by YoCalleJ, RinkRebel, Scandalizi)

Jeff Schultz: Mr Nasty, Double Nickel, Schultzy, Sarge

John Carlson: J-Car, Real American Hero (RAHJC74), Captain America

Karl Alzner: King Karl, Alz (Added by RinkRebel), The Lumber Jack (Added by Green52fan)

Marcus Johansson: MoJo, JoJo

Matt Bradley: MB10, Brads, The Proffessor (misspelling is intentional)

Michal Neuvirth: Neuvi/Neuvy

Mike Green: MG52, Greenie, Greener, Game Over, Lamborgreenie

Mike Knuble: Knoobs, Grandpa Slippers, Papa or Pops Knoob (Added by AmazinglyMorgan & RinkRebel)

Nicklas Backstrom: NB19, Backy, Nicky-Lars, Super Swede, Backis (Added by YoCalleJo)

Semyon Varlamov: Varly, The Iron Curtain, Click on Me (Added by dorcaskd)

Tomas Fleischmann: Flash

Tyler Sloan: Sloaner, TyTy


Da Front Office:

Brett Leonhardt: Stretch

Bruce Boudreau: Gabby, BB

George McPhee: GMGM

Ted Leonsis: Uncle Ted

Mike Vogel: Vogs (Added by WashCapsRock)


Da Bears and Prospies:

Andrew Gordon: Gordo (not to be confused with Boyd Gordon-[“no relation”-Joe B.]!)

Anton Gustafsson: Baby Gus, AnGus (Added by maamfo)

Braden Holtby: Hot Stuff (Added for WashCapsRock), Holts (Added by maamfo)

Cody Eakin: Squeaks

Francois Bouchard: Bouch (Added by OSquirt26)

Grant McNeill: G-Mac (Added by YoCalleJo)

Jay Beagle: Beags

Joe Finley: Big Joe, Lawnmower Joe

Keith Aucoin: Coiner

Mathieu Perreault: Matty P, Perry, Pocket Ovi

Patrick McNeill: P-Mac, Patty Mac

Steve Pinizzotto: Pinner (Added by OSquirt26)

Trevor Bruess: Bruiser (Added by maamfo)

Zach Miskovic: Misky

Ok, I know I forgot some, so remind me in the comments, kthxbai!

Rookie Caps/Flyers Hit the Ice



I know what you're thinking, not another scrimmage blog post. Ok, ok, no stats, no analysis, just some guys who look like they are really happy and anxious to show their stuff to the big crowd at Kettler. All this while being watched by coaches, team big wigs, scouts, tons of fans and the intrepid Captain.

I don't think I've ever seen hockey players hit the ice quite like this.



Big Joe Finley



The Captain keeps an eye on his troops



Making sure Anderson is warmed up.



Grubauer being all intense protecting the net



Eakin gets an approving look from those guys over there on the left

And last but not least:



 Winner, winner, chicken dinner!

And a great time was had by all. Well, all except the Baby Flyers, that is.



Yeah, it's late and I'm tired.

More pics of the game can be found here.



Alex Ovechkin: Sharp Dressed Man?

I can’t tell you how many times I saw what someone was wearing and thought to myself, “Holy crap, you are a hot mess”. Many of my Twitter followers can vouch for my multiple tweets involving offers to take a hockey player shopping to fix their awful look. A recent post on Russian Machine Never Breaks got me, once again, thinking along those lines in regard to our favorite player, Alex Ovechkin.

For some ungodly reason, Ovi seems very attached to his V-neck Dolce & Gabbana tee shirt. One look and any women in her right mind will run away screaming “NOOOOOOO”! I understand Ovi’s love of anything with the D & G label, but some things should NEVER be bought. A simple Google search reveals how many images I found of Ovi wearing the same shirt, plus a few others that should all be introduced to the nearest rag bag or trash can.

So, I would like to send Alex the following message. Anybody who can help further my cause in this would have the greatest of thanks from Ovi fans throughout the world.

  

Dear Alex,

You are a rockstar. We love you for it. But we would also love to see you dress just a little better so we can drool even more. I would like to volunteer my services as a personal shopper to you. All the ripped jeans and D & G tee shirts are cool (I guess), but a serious waste of your hard earned cash. They are great for knocking around your crib, but when you step outside the door, every eye is on you. I understand what you are going for, but there are so many better ways to express your style. Here are a couple of recommendations I would have for you.

1. When you do wear dress pants, please do not put so many things in your pockets, including your hands. It makes your pants look like they don’t fit in the crotch, and not in a good way. If in any of these photographs, you do not have things in your pockets, you need a tailor asap.

                                                                     (Photo by Washington Post via alexovetjkin.blogspot.com)                               

2. Never ever wear V-neck tee shirts. They are great on women, but they look horrible on men. Almost a Grandpa undershirt kind of look, and I know you can’t be going for that!

(Photos via alexovetjkin.blogspot.com and russianmachineneverbreaks.com )

3. Those ripped faded jeans? Nothing sexy about them. They look like throwbacks from the 90’s. Fine for working around the house or fixing your car, but you don’t do those things, I’m willing to bet.

                                                     (Photo via alexovetjkin.blogspot.com)                                                    

 (vis saskforum.ca)              

4. Scruffy can be very sexy, sloppy is not. There is a fine line between the two.

   (Photo via terezowens.com)

5. Well tailored suit? Dress shirts with the sleeves rolled up? Very sexy! Try that with a pair of regular or dark denim jeans in addition to dress pants, total hotness! (see you CAN do this!)

     (Photo via Men's Journal)

6. There is a right time and a wrong time to wear tee shirts with messages on them. Photo Ops when wearing a tee that says "Sex and Love are the Future" may not be the correct image you want to portray, as shown below:

7. Some outfits should never see the light of day again. If this is still in your closet, please take a match to it:



(Photo via nhlsnipers)

8. Dark socks should never be worn with shorts.

(Getty Images)

So, darling Alex; next time you go shopping, please keep those things in mind. And just so you know, I am an old married lady, not a stalker. I just want what is best for you and volunteer my services for the sake of style.

  

Love,

Caps Girl

Alex, take a tip from Brooks Laich, (as seen at “Better Living Through Bradley”), there is nothing better than a sharp dressed man. And, yes, I did think I might include Alex Semin in this offer, especially since he thought it was appropriate to wear a tee shirt to a wedding, but one man at a time.  

So, I leave you with one question; why pick on Alex? Easy, any man who can look this good deserves a friendly, gentle reminder that he should always look this hot:



(via Men's Journal)