That seemed to be the tone of today’s opening of Capitals’ training camp as three squads took the ice. One could tell, perhaps, that it also was the opening weekend for the NFL as the Kettler Capitals Iceplex stands were not filled for today’s session. We’re guessing 80-90 percent filled.
For the record, the Zamboni (or Olympia ice resurfacer, if you prefer) took the ice at 9:35 to lay down the ice sheet, and Alex Ovechkin was the first Capital to take the ice as a member of Group A. Speaking of which, the lines looked like this in the morning session…
Ovechkin-Backstrom-Knuble
Broda-Eakin-Sugden
Wilson-Dubuc-Bouchard
Osala-Boyd Gordon-Kugryshev
Fehr wore the yellow jersey, as he is still limited in his rehabilitation after shoulder surgery.
The defensemen were:
Carlson
Alzner
Jurcina
Poti
Miskovic
Wellar
Mestery
And the goalies:
Theodore
Holtby
Braden Holtby was the first casualty of camp, skating off midway through the session, although he did return after the ice was resurfaced. Unfortunately, he did not look comfortable upon his return and left the ice for the day before the session ended. He was reported to have a groin pull, but it wasn’t considered a serious problem. Todd Ford took over for the remainder of the session in Holtby’s stead.
The forwards looked far ahead of the defense, although it’s early. Joel Broda was one forward, though, who seemed to have a devil of a time finishing plays, but he looked quick out there. Nicklas Backstrom looked pretty sharp, especially in one-on-one drills against the defense, as he took the puck to the net smartly in several turns. But again, it was a difficult day for the defense, at least in the Group A session.
The Group B squad looked like this…
Semin-Morrison-Giroux
Pinizzotto-Gustafsson-Laing
Bruess-Mitchell-Finley (and Jasinsky also in white)
Andrew Gordon-Perreault-Kane
Defense:
Pothier
Sloan
Flemming
McNeill
Helmer
Erskine
Amadio
Goalies:
Varlamov
Ford
This was a distinctly less intense session than the Group A session. It just seemed as though the guys lacked a certain jump. The exception was Varlamov, who did look quite sharp. We did not have an opportunity to stay for the Group C session, but we’re guessing that astute Caps fan can probably find more than enough re-cap in the usual places. For now, here are some pics of the Group A and Group B sessions…
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