We took in the Caps' practice at Kettler this morning, and if the boys were nervous, they sure didn't show it. We were struck by a few things...
Cameras...as in plural. We say at least a couple of video cameras chronicling the proceedings. Although we don't know which outlets were represented, their presence attest to the time of year and increased attention this club is getting.
Crowd...for a workday/weekday session, it was rather well-attended. And, there were the casual fans and newcomers. We heard one woman exclaim, "isn't this neat?!" And, there was the gentleman patiently pointing out Alex Ovechkin to his companions, noting that he started his playoff beard early.
Alexander Semin...has the soul of a sniper. Wherever a puck was laying around, he was shooting it at the net. It could be a puck lying innocently in the crease, he was poking at it. The young man isn't satisfied unless a puck is nestled in the twine, it seems.
Olaf Kolzig...grabbing Ovechkin by the collar of his jersey and shaking him back and forth. All in good fun...or maybe they were discussing the post-practice lunch arrangements. Sushi!...Pizza!...Sushi!!...Pizza!!
Brent Johnson getting some work in, then participating in the shooting accuracy drill at the end of the session (no, he did not use his goalie stick). How was he? He's a goalie, how good do you expect him to be?
Skating...there was a lot of it. Not much talking from the coaches. A few seconds of instruction, and off they went. It was a pretty concentrated 60 minutes or so.
Steve Eminger and coach Jay Leach "fighting" for a puck in the corner. I sure hope Eminger was going easy on the coach...
It just had the look of a bunch of kids having a real good time in the midst of the time of their lives.
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