The Washington Capitals Development camp, like most summer camps, offers a chance to form new friendships. But instead of swims in a tree-shaded, cool lake during lazy, hazy, hot summer days, these young men feel the pressure to use on- an off-ice workouts and scrimmages to show their mettle, sparkle in a crowd of some of the world's most talented and skilled young athletes -- and basically prove to the Capitals that the team really needs them.
Two Development camp hopefuls, goalie Braden Holtby and center Trevor Bruess, have been recounting their experiences on Twitter.
Holtby, who practiced with the Hershey Bears throughout their playoff run this past season, recounted the very beginning of camp sessions. "We were supposed to be at the rink at 8:45. I think everybody was here before 8," he revealed.
And later Bruess, who signed with the Capitals as a free agent in March, opined, "That was real competitive. Coach Boudreau is a really good coach. You better have your thinking cap on and make sure you listen.”
They recounted a quick lunch, following by a meeting with a nutritionist. And later Bruess opined, “All in all a good afternoon. Off-ice workouts, they wanted to make sure we had the right form for now and the rest of the summer.” And Holtby added, “Guys seemed more comfortable this afternoon and it’ll probably be even better tomorrow after a good night’s sleep.”
On Tuesday, day two, Bruess began, “We got the nerves out in the first day. Today was still tough, but better. The drills really let you show what you can do.”
But the day was not all work and no play. The young players were treated to a tour of Washington, D.C. – including the Capitol and the White House. And hopefully, they managed a close-up look at the White House. Prior to the start of the tour, Canadian native Holtby enthused, "Last year we didn’t get a good view of the front of the White House, so hopefully we get that. For a lot of us Canadians, the White House is all we know about D.C. – so that’s what we are looking forward to.”
Among the young men invited to attend the camp, which began on Monday, were Capitals prospects who are under contract, as well as recent Capitals draft picks who have not signed yet. First-round draft picks are Anton Gustafsson (2008), John Carlson (2008) and Joe Finley (2005).
It seems that on the first day of camp, about three dozen hopefuls ranging in age from 17 to 24-years-old spent time on the ice and in the weight room. Capitals head coach Bruce Boudreay, from his early-in-the-week look at the young players, hailed defenseman John Carlson and forwards Cody Eakin and Trevor Bruess as standouts.
Easily the most talked about player at the Development camp was Carlson, selected by the Capitals in the first round of the 2008 draft.
Coach Beaudreau described Carlson as “polished for a 19-year-old. He’s way ahead of the curve, I think.” And he added that he was impressed by Carlson’s “puck movement, the way he closes gaps.
Last year Carlson played in two preseason games for Washington and had two assists before being assigned to the OHL’s London Knights. In London, playing for former Cap Dale Hunter, he tallied 76 points in 59 games and then racked up 22 points in 14 playoff games. He joined Hershey in the AHL playoffs” -- and scored two goals and one assist in 16 games as Hershey went on to win the Calder Cup. Carlson has also been invited to the U.S. national junior evaluation camp to be held in August in Lake Placid, N.Y.
“Going to training camp is a stepping stone to your final goal,” explained the 6 ft 2, 218 pound Carlson during an interview, “So you take it pretty seriously – and you can definitely learn some stuff out there.”
The young defenseman also spoke of his time with the Capitals' affiliate Hershey Bears. "Hershey was an unbelievable experience," he said. "I didn’t know what to expect going in and then I kind of got thrown in the fire and, you know, it took me a little while to get used to it. It was a big jump, but I thought I did pretty well -- and looking back now, how many 19-year-olds can say they have a AHL championship under their belt. So it was unbelievable."
"I think that (Hershey) will definitely help me out coming into training camp this year," he added, "having that experience and knowing what it’s like down there. It’s professional hockey, and it’s the second best league in the world. It’s definitely going to help.”
Cody Eakin, also high on the coach’s list of standouts, was selected by the team in the third round of the 2009 Draft. He is described by the Caps as “a tremendous skater (who) had 48 points in 54 games with the Swift Current Broncos in the WHL last season. His stock skyrocketed after he was invited to the CHL-NHL Prospects Games last January. He played on the wing next to No. 1 pick John Tavares and did not disappoint. Eakin scored two goals and was +2 enroute to being named his team’s most outstanding player.”
And center Bruess, the Capitals detailed, “spent the past three seasons with Minnesota State in the WCHA and was an assistant captain for the Mavericks in 2008-09. He had 12 goals, 17 points and 117 penalty minutes in 35 games last season, leading the team in penalty minutes and finishing tied for third in goals. He was a two-time recipient of MSU’s Hardest Worker Award and his 117 penalty minutes last season represented 15 percent of the team’s total.”
In camp there was the expected buzz about which of the hopefuls were already starting to make their presence known. Among some of the additional names mentioned included center Mathieu Perreault, right wing Dmitry Kugryshev, left wing Stefan Della Rovere and Holtby.
Coach was eager to tell that he considered the camp a whole lot of fun. And then he described a bit of what he will be looking for this week. “I personally look at guys who can get it and retain stuff. And, you know, you’ve got the guys that the coaches end up loving … where you tell them once and they know what they are doing. I see a couple of guys out there like that. … Those are the really coachable players, and I don’t want to have to explain everything in so much detail that it takes away from everybody else doing it.”
General Manager George McPhee expressed the Capitals' major goal for the week. "We want (the young athletes) to feel comfortable here. We want them to know our personnel. And it’s all about giving them as much experience as we can give them. We don’t have experience pills to give them. So we just like to get them in and really fast-track the experience – and that’s a hard thing to do. But the more they are around good players and the more they’re at our facility, we’re hoping the more comfortable they are. And maybe that translates to being more effective on the ice.”
Early on Wednesday, Holtby wrote on Twitter, "Guys were pretty jealous of the goalies today -- they all had to do skating testing but we didn't do a thing." Then he added, "Actually Dan and I talked with Dave Prior a bit about how things are going, but that's all." Prior is the team's goaltending coach.
General manager George McPhee had plenty of positive comments about the camp, and detailed, "That's one of the nice things about this camp. You get a better read on the players because sometimes you can't get out to see all of them during the season. It's just impossible to do that sometimes and so you bring them here and you get a good look at them and get a feel for them, and it helps you make better decisions."
In speaking the health of the sport as these young players are just beginning to make their mark, McPhee expressed, "Hockey overall is as good as it has ever been. The NHL is as good as it has ever been. The American League is a strong league. We've got all kinds of kids playing the game now and coming from everywhere -- all over the world and different places in the U.S. than we've been accustomed to. So the game's in great shape at all levels and the players that are coming along -- we've had Ovechkin -- it's just exceptional talent. Every year we seem to have some terrific young kids coming into the league."
And in further discussing the Capitals' strategy with young players, possibly including Carlson, McPhee added, "We've always tried to take our time with players and build a great base so they've got a great foundation and have success at every level -- so their frame of reference is that if they struggle at this level, they can always think, well, I had success in junior or I had success in Hershey. We like to build that kind of confidence. That's the way we like to work. But the salary cap sometimes, at least with some other clubs to this point, has forced young guys to play earlier. They're cheaper, and they seem to be able to handle it so that may change our thinking. Some of these kids are ready to go."
When Saturday arrives and camp draws to a close, most likely the Capitals and the players will have a better sense of where each player stands -- where each player excelled, and the areas to work on for improvement. But thus far, judging by messages from the two representatives on Twitter, this summer camp is not quite as different from other camps as might be imagined. It appears that there are friendships being formed, some fun times -- and the young hopefuls will head out of camp with an added level of independence, confidence and maturity.
It seems that all is very well with the young hockey hopefuls at the Capitals Development Camp. Sphere: Related Content
No comments:
Post a Comment