"The Capitals decision to rebuild the entire franchise five years ago has proven to be a wise one. They have set themselves up to compete for a Stanley Cup now, but also have the depth in the minors to stay a Stanley Cup contender for the next 7-10 years. Developing a franchise goaltender will be important."
Blueliner Josh Godfrey and winger Steve Pinizzotto have been re-assigned from AHL Hershey to South Carolina of the ECHL. Neither had been doing - or, more importantly playing - much, though JGod did have that pre-season hat trick.
Caps' prospect Stefan Della Rovere continued his strong season - both on the scoresheet and in the leadership department - for the Barrie last night, as Captain Colt notched a Gordie Howe Hat Trick (and an extra fight for good measure) and was plus-2 in a 5-2 loss to Sarnia.One of the biggest surprises of training camp was the steady and mature play of 2008 first round draft pick John Carlson.Defenceman John Carlson is playing 30 minutes a game anyway.Pyette continues:
So when the London Knights needed to turn to someone to help shut down the OHL's leading scorer, John Tavares, who else were they going to send out there for the job?
The same guy they send out there for everything else.
Carlson, the big NHL first-round pick of the Washington Capitals, held the Oshawa Generals star and next summer's potential first overall pick in check and even opened the scoring as part of London's five-goal first period as the Knights topped the Generals 6-3 before 3,865 spectators yesterday at the General Motors Centre.
Carlson ... is big, extremely mobile, intelligent and doesn't fatigue easily.With Karl Alzner, Sami Lepisto, Josh Godfrey, Carlson and others in the organization (to say nothing of the budding superstar and others who have already arrived), the future sure does look bright on the blueline, doesn't it?
Final cuts have been made and Karl Alzner, Chris Bourque and Quintin Laing have been sent to Hershey (which, for Laing, means having to go through waivers), leaving a 22-man roster in D.C. (for more on the cuts, check out John Walton Hockey and Dump and Chase).As rosters move closer to being finalized at all levels of puck, the Hershey Bears have sent defensemen Viktor Dovgan and Sasha Pokulok (along with forwards Travis Morin and Tommy Maxwell) down to South Carolina of the ECHL.While the Dovgan move is mildly surprising (especially given that some thought he would be joined at the hip with Simeon Varlamov this season so as to provide the bluechip goalie with at least one teammate on and off the ice who speaks his language), one wonders if the move is meant to free up a spot or two on the Bears blueline before the the season starts in anticipation of the arrival of a certain rearguard from Washington.
As the Caps prepare for their final preseason game against the Bruins on Sunday, their prospects keep lighting the lamp at lower levels, headlined last night by Stefan Della Rovere's hat trick (and two assists) for OHL Barrie and blueliner Josh Godfrey's trick in the Hershey Bears preseason-ending blowout of Wilkes-Barre Scranton.[After Alexandre Giroux (two goals, two assists) scored to give the Bears a 4-0 second period lead,] Josh Godfrey then turned the rest of the period into his personal highlight reel, scoring twice on two shots at from the blue line. Godfrey’s first goal came at 9:49 of the second, with his second tally coming at 19:58 just prior to the end of the period. Both slapshots got past Pens goaltender Adam Berkhoel, and HERSHEY led 6-0 after two.It looks like John Carlson and the London Knights may not be the only ones who are "going to score as much as [they] want."
Godfrey finished off his hat trick in the third period with a goal just 1:22 in.
Per the team, the Caps have sent the following players to Hershey today: Sami Lepisto, Grant McNeill, Tyler Sloan and Simeon Varlamov.From the CP:"Moose Jaw Warriors forward Joel Broda was named the CHL player of the week on Wednesday. We've got a trio of nuggets on Caps CHL prospects worth passing along, beginning with John Carlson who, after impressing at Caps camp, is set to make his OHL debut for Dale Hunter's London Knights on Friday.Perhaps equally impressive was his celebration after he tucked a rebound past Trevor Cann at the 11:29 mark of the second frame. Della Rovere lowered his body, swooped his right arm slowly to the ice, grabbed some ice and worked his arm slowly back up in what was a unique twist on the age-old fist pump.Things aren't all rosy for Captain Colt, however, as he faces a possible suspension for an alleged head shot.
"I saw (Darren) Archibald do it after the first one he scored last week. And playing three-on-three in the summer, you try a few different celebrations, I guess," the third-year forward said. "You get a little excited when you score your first goal of the season."
Named first star in Saturday's game, Della Rovere also made a big defensive play in the first period to help his team kill off a two-man disadvantage.
Minutes after sparking the start of the Moose Jaw Warriors comeback Saturday, Joel Broda was flat on his back on the Warriors bench.Let it never be said that shot-blocking doesn't take grande cajones (right, Patrick Thoreson?).
The 18-year-old centre wasn’t resting on his laurels. Rather Broda had gone to block a slapshot by Brandon defenceman Matt McCue and blocked it in the most painful of locations. The force of the shot caved-in Broda’s protective cup.
Broda said he was unable to move as he tried to recover on the bench laying flat on his back for the rest of the second period. He was the last Warrior on the ice to start the third period, but took a regular shift.
Even that couldn’t slow Broda down as he scored his second goal of the night on a great backhand shot from the high slot. [Emphasis added, as if that was necessary]
Per the team, the following players were sent to Hershey today: Greg Amadio, Dean Arsene, Jay Beagle, Francois Bouchard, Sean Collins, Viktor Dovgan, Michael Dubuc, Alexandre Giroux, Bryan Helmer, Maxime Lacroix, Tommy Maxwell, Patrick McNeill, Graham Mink, Travis Morin, Michal Neuvirth, Oskar Osala, Steve Pinizzotto, Sasha Pokulok, Darren Reid and Kyle Wilson.It's always nice to read the reactions of young players upon returning to their junior clubs after going through their first or second NHL camps. Take for example, goaltender Braden Holtby, who apparently stuffed the best player in the world for the better part of a week before finally letting one by: "Through the whole camp, Ovechkin hadn't scored on me until the shootout in the last game.... I've never had so much fun playing hockey in my life. Every moment you're so aware. You're so focused, even in practice. (The veterans') hard work runs down and rubs off on you." [Ed. Note: Um, eww]Or Joel Broda:
"You don’t get to meet a lot of the vets until a week in and, by then, you’re okay. But the first day you meet them it’s the same thing all over again. The nerves start going. You try not to be in awe, but you catch yourself staring once in a while."Wherever these kids' career paths may take them, they'll always have these memories and, at least in the short-term, motivations.
In fact, on one of his last days at camp, Broda caught himself staring down an NHL legend at a face-off [Ed. Note: Sergei Fedorov, perhaps?]. For the young pivot, it was an eye-opening experience.
We're unabashed fans of Stefan Della Rovere around here, so it's welcome news to see that Delly has been named captain of the OHL Barrie Colts, confirming that the Caps have yet another strong leader in the system.
Joel Broda, Stefan Della Rovere, Dmitry Kugryshev, Brett Leffler, Eric Mestery and Justin Taylor have been returned by the Caps to their junior teams.Link here, FYI, and leave your impressions of the game in the comments.
Posted here, and cut and pasted from The Patriot News below.Defensemen: Greg Amadio, Dean Arsene, Jakub Cutta, John Erskine, Mike Green, Brian Helmer, Milan Jurcina, Sami Lepisto, Grant McNeill, Shaone Morrisonn, Sasha Pokulok, Brian Pothier, Tom Poti, Jeff Schultz, Tyler Sloan
Goalies: Brent Johnson, Daren Machesney, Jose Theodore
You know who thinks the Caps prospects are good? The guy who drafted 'em (the Caps are the 26th franchise to have their prospects profiled on NHL.com this summer, so I wouldn't get too excited by the feature).Mark Seidel of The Hockey News has finally gotten around to posting the rest of his 2008 NHL Entry Draft grades, and he's got good things to say about the Caps' effort (then again, he's got good things to say about nearly everyone - only San Jose got lower than a C). Particularly noteworthy is his assessment of our guy Delly.B+, Washington Capitals – The Caps started things off with Anton Gustafsson, a guy who caused as much internal divide at NACS as any player in this year’s draft. Some of our staff loved him, while others thought he was completely overrated. While there was no consensus on Gustafsson, we liked the Caps’ selection of John Carlson from Indiana of the USHL. It’s no secret we are critical of players selected out of the USHL, but there’s no doubt Carlson will become a very good player as his career progresses. Their next pick, Eric Mestery, is a purely defensive defenseman who has to improve his puck skills if he is to play at a high level. In the middle rounds, the Caps’ picks were underwhelming with the exception of their last pick, Stefan Della Rovere, who we think has a chance to make a lot of teams look silly for passing on him. If Gustafsson and Carlson turn out the way we think they can, the 2008 draft will be remembered as a successful foray for Washington.H/t Canes Country on the link
The time for teary goodbyes is nearly upon us as Development Camp draws to a close, but not before the final scrimmage of the week and a few "Fan Fest" events out at Kettler.
Thanks to Tyler for passing along his observations from a couple of days at Development Camp. I'm going to post them verbatim and let you all discuss the merits:
