Opportunity Knocked

I am extremely fortunate to have a job that allows me to "sneak" away to Kettler every once in a while. So, today, the opportunity arose for me to do just that. I figured with the CBA deadline looming just a few days away, I may not get my hockey fix for a while. Kind of glad I did, but it really didn't satisfy my "photographing hockey players" itch all that much when I knew in the back of my mind that it could be a long time before I get this opportunity again.

Lucky for me, I got a chance to see a few new guys today, and it was also the first day back for Mike Green and Brooks Laich. So here are a few shots from today's informal practice. More can be found here.

Hendy being the coach

Jack Hillen

Joey Crabb

Marcus Johansson

Dmitry Orlov

Mike Ribeiro

Michal Neuvirth

Nicklas Backstrom

Stanislav Galiev

Backstrom, Ribeiro, and Crabb

Mike Green

Hopefully, these can hold us for a while...(Oh, who am I kidding?)

No Haagen-Daz for You

Lots of pre-game surprises before the season opener tonight. Tomas Vokoun was told he would not start until Monday. Welcome to Gabby's Caps, Tomas. No Haagen-Daz for you.

Another surprise was the apparent healthy scratch of Marcus Johansson, but according to Katie Carrera"s report in the Washington Post earlier, Boudreau said of Johansson, “He practiced hard this week, he’s taking warmup tonight--you never know he might still be in.” Yeah, we pretty much know what that means - No Haagen-Daz for you.

Still, we should be used to this by now. Boudreau has a way of taking what is expected and switching it up. I liken it to him pulling cards out of his sleeve, throwing them down on the table with a flourish, and exclaiming "Aha, take that!". I see a lot of fans want to play armchair coach, but do we really know what's going on day to day behind the closed doors of Kettler? How many times last season did Boudreau switch out a player or a line and we all screamed in frustration "WTF?". Personally, I had hoped Gabby would have played Varly one game against Tampa in the semi-finals last year. I thought it might have helped to shake things up, but even then, Bruce denied even me. No Haagen-Daz for you.

So, now the first game of the regular season is in the books. Caps win in OT by none other than Game Over Green. Boudreau's choice to play Neuvy worked out, considering how hard he worked tonight between the pipes. A .903 save % is pretty darn good for a 1A goalie, don't ya think?  And saving Vokoun for Tampa (especially after the playoffs last season) could become a very strategic move. As to scratching Mojo, I still need to see the % of face-off wins tonight before I speculate on that. Let's hope whatever message he was trying to send has been heard and noted.

I do know one message that was sent and heard tonight, and that was to the Carolina Hurricanes: No Haagen-Daz for you.

Oh Hai Boyz!

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

Movember - The Magic of the Mustache

Not only is the 11th month magical for the beautiful fall colors, there is another thing of beauty for hockey fans, the Movember Mustache. There are a couple of Caps players who are giving the growing of the ‘stache a go this month, but the winner of them all is John Erskine.

Never thought I’d see the day when I’d write a post on mustaches and focusing on John Erskine, of all players, but I’m beginning to think there are magical powers to Erskine’s 'stache. Not only is it the most impressive among all Caps players, but is it the power behind Erskine’s magic on the ice against the Thrashers tonight? Let’s face it, how often does John not only get the game winning goal, but also is awarded the 1st star of the game? And that fight tonight? More ‘stache power in action? Even John might be beginning to believe. John's quote from Corey Masisak's NHL.com article, “Yeah, the 'stache has been good luck,” Erskine said. “I talked to the wife and I might be keeping it for a while.”

And before I go on about the beauty of the Movember Mustache, I'd just like to share this superb right cross delivered by John Erskin tonight:



Ok, so back to the topic on everyone's lips, Movember and the Magical Mustache. As stated earlier, a couple of other Caps players are also participating in Movember: Karl Alzner and Mike Green. I thought John Carlson was involved as well, but from all appearances, I must be wrong. If there is a mustache growing on that young man's upper lip, then at it's current stage of growth, I'd be hard pressed to varify it's existance.

So, ladies and gentleman, I give you Karl Alzner and Mike Green.

And, if MoJo is participating, he's off to an ok start, but I don't think it'll be finished by the end of the month:

Now, you gotta give these guys props, but will any of them ever reach the epicness of the 70's porn 'stache like these guys here?

Hmm, you know, after looking at Erskine again, I think he might just do it. Way to go, John!

Camp with the Kids

Two words - Rookie Camp. So great to be back at Kettler behind the lens. Today, I am a happy girl!
What more can I say, when a picture is worth a thousand words:

More pix from today can be found here.

Like I said, today, I am a happy girl. For me, hockey is offically back. Couldn't ask for anything more.

Young and Younger

Reading a few blogs lately on the prospects coming up to play with the Caps this coming season got me to thinking. So much talk of Johansson and Perreault, my first thought was; “They’re so young!” And my second thought was; “and they are soooo small!”

So, I went on the Caps website to look through the roster and compare our players by height, weight and age. Now, I’m not a statistician. I just found some of this kinda interesting.

(editors note: while I was there the rumor of the Flash/Belanger trade hit the tweet stream. At the time I was looking at the roster, and I noticed Flash wasn’t on it. But boy, did the proverbial shit hit the fan when I pointed that out on Twitter! Thank goodness for Eric (aka @emcerlain, thanks Eric!), for catching a screen shot of it before it was corrected as shown below:

So originally Flash was not included in my chart but now I am including Flash with the caveat that he may or may not be an applicable to this list at any given moment.)

Starting by height, everyone on the “current” roster is 6’ 1” or more EXCEPT Perreault and Johansson. At 5’ 10” and 5’ 11” respectively, the rest of the team must look like giants to them. Imagine one of them next to 6’ 6” Schultzy, he has a good 8” on little Matty! It’s like the difference between a full grown oak tree and a sapling. “Hello, down there!”

Now, let’s look at weight. 18 of 21 players on the “current” roster weigh 200 lbs or more, with Ovi topping the list at 233. Then there’s little Matty Perreault at 174 lbs. That’s 59 lbs difference between Ovi and Matty. 59 freaking lbs! I sure as hell would be scared to see the Great 8 gunning for me if I were Matty, thank goodness they are on the same team. But, I’m willing to bet, the majority of NHL players weigh in between 200 and 225 lbs. Kinda gives you an appreciation for the heart and guts it takes for kids like Johansson and Perreault to get out there and play, doesn’t it?

Ok, now to age. On the “current” roster, only 5 players are 30 or over. Think about that; 16 guys are under the age of 30. Talk about Young Guns - this team is full of kids (figuratively). Now, in that category, Marcus and Matty fit right in. I like that about our team, lots of young players = lots of enthusiasm and energy, and a sprinkling of some more mature men = wisdom and heart.

One other thing struck me while I was perusing the “current” roster. I get the impression many people think our team as the team with all the Russians. Maybe in the past; if 5 counted as “all the Russians”; but no more. If you include Johansson and Perrault in the list, we have 13 Canadian born players. Doesn’t sound like a Russian army to me. Does it to you? (Not that I expect fans of other teams to lay off that crap.)

Anyway, after looking at all this information, just the fact the Marcus Johansson and Mathieu Perreault; if he gets signed up to play full time; would be the smallest and lightest players on the roster just confirms my initial thoughts: “They are so young and soooo small!” Still, I love ‘em anyways!