CAPS Training Camp2011 Thread

[allstar1579]

So with training camp starting, I figured I'd start a new thread for the upcoming season.

Things to watch for:

Which of Eakin/Sjogren makes the roster. Both are C who can play wing, Eakin is smaller and a better skater, Sjogren is a big power forward. Both can score.

Where does Orlov start the season? Probably in Hershey, but he's another super offensive defenseman who loves to play physical and hit people. He would make for a heck of a 3rd pairing with Green and Carlson on the other two pairs, but if you aren't going to play him enough minutes, it's a waste of time to start him up there, he needs to develop more.

What line combinations work out? With the new influx of wingers, it looks like the only thing you can count on are the Centers: Backstrom, MJ90, Eakin/Sjogren, and Halpern SHOULD be your 4 C to start the season, that depends on if another player forces their way on the team though ala Hendrickson last year.

How will the goalie share work? 50/50?

Injuries. We are a deep team, but injuries happen in hockey, look at PIT last year. Hopefully we are well backed up at every position and can make it through the year.

Getting excited for 2012!!!

[DuffMan]

I'm definitely excited for the season to get going, although a little less than last year after another playoff flameout. It sucks that the book on this team won't be written until 10 months from now. But still the fact that Hockey is almost back on TV is definitely a good thing.

I haven't heard as much about Sjogren, but I always feel like I'm hearing/reading about Eakin so he's my pick to make the team.

Orlov sounds like the real deal as well but I think you are right that he starts the year in Hershey. Provided everyone else on the D is healthy you have Green, Schultz, Hamrlik, Wideman, Alzner, Carlson and Erskine. I don't see Orlov beating any of those guys out, my guess is we won't see him until an injury occurs. I didn't even mention Poti because I don't expect him to play at all.

Knowing Boudreau I expect the lines to be in a constant state of flux.

As far as the goalie situation goes, I'm thinking it will be 60/40 with Vokum getting the most starts. Having said that I think come playoff time Boudreau will go with whoever has been playing better. Let's not count out Holtby either who will probably play a few games this year as well.

I'll be interested to see how the PP looks this year. After having one of the best PP's two years ago it became a bit of an achilles heal this past year and with the talent we have there is no reason they shouldn't be back near the tops in effectiveness.

Okay after reading allstars post and replying I'm getting even more excited! Lets Go Caps!

[allstar1579]

Part of why I didn't want to play the lineup guessing game yet is because I had a feeling exactly what happened today was going to happen.

BB put MJ90 on the top line and put Nicky with Laich and Semin. You saw this lineup a little bit at the end of the season last year, and MJ90 and Ovi really started clicking for a bit down the stretch. I was surprised he didn't go with this in the playoffs to try to unbalance other team's defenses.

That leaves some combination of Brouwer, Chimera, King, Ward, and Hendricks paired with Halpern and whoever wins the 3rd C battle between Eakin and Sjogren.

[WietersOvechkin]

Part of why I didn't want to play the lineup guessing game yet is because I had a feeling exactly what happened today was going to happen.

BB put MJ90 on the top line and put Nicky with Laich and Semin. You saw this lineup a little bit at the end of the season last year, and MJ90 and Ovi really started clicking for a bit down the stretch. I was surprised he didn't go with this in the playoffs to try to unbalance other team's defenses.

That leaves some combination of Brouwer, Chimera, King, Ward, and Hendricks paired with Halpern and whoever wins the 3rd C battle between Eakin and Sjogren.


I am really excited for the hockey season to start. While I like Orlov I don't think he makes this team until 2012-13 season as a replacement for Dennis Wideman. I also don't think either Sjorgren or Eakin make the team out of camp and I think they go with someone like Hanson makes the team as a healthy scratch.

Although we all know that the lines will change throughout the year I think that Laich will be the third line center for most of it. He saw some action last year down the stretch taking draws for MJ and did a really good job doing so and think his play could really do wonders on the 3rd line.

If I were making the call of the lines going into opening night they would look like this:

Ovie-MJ90-Knuble
Bouwer-Backstrom-Semin
Chimmeria-Laich-Ward
Hendricks-Halpern-Beagle
Scratched: Hanson, King

Carlson-Alzner
Green-Hamrlik
Wideman-Schultz
Scratched: Erskine

Vokoun
Neuvy

I think those lines allow you to have a shutdown line(Laich's line) and 2 really strong offensive lines that other teams have to choose which line to stop between the 1st and the 2nd line.

The line I would love to see when playoffs come around as a shutdown line is Brouwer-Laich-Ward because I think that would be one of the best, if not the best, shutdown lines in hockey. The only issue with this line is not having a 2nd line winger to play alongside of Semin and whoever is centering that line.

I do think we see a lot of different combos throughout the year so it really is a pointless task to try and figure out what lines to go with.

[Spirit of '83]

I'll be interested to see how the PP looks this year. After having one of the best PP's two years ago it became a bit of an achilles heal this past year and with the talent we have there is no reason they shouldn't be back near the tops in effectiveness.



I've been hearing that we may see Ovie off the point and closer to the goal on the PP - it'll be interesting to see if that helps.

[MuhladaOs]

I've been hearing that we may see Ovie off the point and closer to the goal on the PP - it'll be interesting to see if that helps.

I would also like to see John Carlson start to have more PP time. The guy has a killer shot from the point and is very smart with the puck.

[allstar1579]

I would also like to see John Carlson start to have more PP time. The guy has a killer shot from the point and is very smart with the puck.

Yep, I think that was exactly part of the point. Originally Ovi was moved out there because it was Green on the point and that was it, but now that Carlson, Wideman, and Orlov are all hanging around, there's no need for the overkill of Ovi out there. You have Green out there and Carlson out on the other unit (or both at the same time) so now you can let Ovi do what he does best and give teams something else to think about. You can't just double Ovi at the point anymore, if you double him down low, it makes it a 5 on 2 on the rest of the ice. When they would double him at the point you lose control of the PP (the control starts out at the point) so now they have to go 1 on 1 at the point, which should make it easier to control and keep it in the zone.

[ChaosLex]

What does our top prospect list look like nowadays?

[allstar1579]

What does our top prospect list look like nowadays?

Something like:

# Evgeny Kuznetsov, RW
# Braden Holtby, G
# Dmitri Orlov, D
# Cody Eakin, C
# Stanislav Galiev, LW
# Mathieu Perreault, C
# Mattias Sjogren, C
# Patrick Wey, D
# Brett Flemming, D
# Steffen Soberg, G

That was from hockeysfuture, not sure if I totally agree...the top 4 are all legit blue-chippers, after that they are still very good prospects, but could be interchanged on lists even with some guys further down.

[ChaosLex]

Something like:

# Evgeny Kuznetsov, RW
# Braden Holtby, G
# Dmitri Orlov, D
# Cody Eakin, C
# Stanislav Galiev, LW
# Mathieu Perreault, C
# Mattias Sjogren, C
# Patrick Wey, D
# Brett Flemming, D
# Steffen Soberg, G

That was from hockeysfuture, not sure if I totally agree...the top 4 are all legit blue-chippers, after that they are still very good prospects, but could be interchanged on lists even with some guys further down.


Thanks for the info.

How does our farm system rank nowadays?

[allstar1579]

Thanks for the info.

How does our farm system rank nowadays?

I think I saw recently #22, but I don't put much stock in those rankings, no one follows the NHL or prospects close enough to get a real good analysis. Short story is we lost a lot of blue-chippers to graduation recently, Alzner, Carlson, Johansson, Neuvy and after that happens you always get dropped in rankings like these. Truth is, Orlov, Holtby, Kuznetsov, and Eakin aren't far behind that 4-some. I'd personally have them ranked closer to #10 than #20, but in my defense I don't really follow the rest of the league SUPER close either.

[DuffMan]

At this point I wouldn't really consider Perreault a prospect. To me he's a AAAA player. He's good for a burst of energy for a couple of games, but he seems to have problems keeping up that intensity level after that. Those top 4 are definitely are blue chippers. We've already seen what Holtby can do and it won't be long before we see the others.

[allstar1579]

At this point I wouldn't really consider Perreault a prospect. To me he's a AAAA player. He's good for a burst of energy for a couple of games, but he seems to have problems keeping up that intensity level after that. Those top 4 are definitely are blue chippers. We've already seen what Holtby can do and it won't be long before we see the others.

Agreed. It'll be interesting to see a mighty-mouse line with Perreault and Bourque on it. Gotta find another tiny winger though.

[allstar1579]

VERY interesting point to follow the next couple days...

Holtby is being recalled on Friday.

Does that mean there is a trade coming? Does it mean someone is hurt? ooooh the intrigue. Stay tuned. (disclaimer, I don't really know...I tried to bug some people I know, but I haven't heard anything back, busy with training camp and all.)

[DuffMan]

VERY interesting point to follow the next couple days...

Holtby is being recalled on Friday.

Does that mean there is a trade coming? Does it mean someone is hurt? ooooh the intrigue. Stay tuned. (disclaimer, I don't really know...I tried to bug some people I know, but I haven't heard anything back, busy with training camp and all.)

http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/capitals-insider/post/capitals-to-recall-braden-holtby/2011/09/28/gIQAipGp5K_blog.html?wprss=capitals-insider

Doesn't sound like anything too major. Says that Neuvirth has some minor injury and they are going to let Holtby get a little action.

[allstar1579]

http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/capitals-insider/post/capitals-to-recall-braden-holtby/2011/09/28/gIQAipGp5K_blog.html?wprss=capitals-insider

Doesn't sound like anything too major. Says that Neuvirth has some minor injury and they are going to let Holtby get a little action.

Seems a little fishy for a guy that was 100% on Tuesday...if you are just calling up a warm body why Holtby and not Sabourin?

[OsnRavensallday]

It's goin to be interesting to see who wins the last spot on the team , I would like to see Sjogren get it tho have read alot of good things about his potential. I question for you guys to why did we sign Chimera to a 2 year 3.5 mill extension, don't get me wrong I kinda like the guys speed and hustle plus he's not afraid to mix it up. But the contract will take him through his age 34 season and it's not like he puts up a ton of points, and the fact that we got top prospects coming up like Eakin, Kutznetsov,Galiev and others coming up in the next year or 2 I don't get it. Plus you have Green, Semin, Carlson and Wideman's contracts expiring at years end , I think I'd rather spend the money on those guys than Chims.

[allstar1579]

It's goin to be interesting to see who wins the last spot on the team , I would like to see Sjogren get it tho have read alot of good things about his potential. I question for you guys to why did we sign Chimera to a 2 year 3.5 mill extension, don't get me wrong I kinda like the guys speed and hustle plus he's not afraid to mix it up. But the contract will take him through his age 34 season and it's not like he puts up a ton of points, and the fact that we got top prospects coming up like Eakin, Kutznetsov,Galiev and others coming up in the next year or 2 I don't get it. Plus you have Green, Semin, Carlson and Wideman's contracts expiring at years end , I think I'd rather spend the money on those guys than Chims.

Because you have to balance the gritty grinding forwards with the skilled offensive guys, and the contract Ward just signed shows exactly what happens when they hit the open market. Locking him up short term at a very modest contract was a good move. You can't just load up 3 lines with offense and one defensive line, that's what we tried a few years ago that got us booted in the first round. A hot goaltender will beat 3 good offensive lines every time. All those prospects you mentioned are offensive-first guys, and Galiev is kind of a 2nd tier kinda prospect.

Ovi-Backstrom-Brouwer-Johansson-Semin-Laich are probably your top 6 in some combination. Chimera and Ward should flank whoever wins the 3rd C spot with the edge going to Sjogren for his defensive skills as I said earlier this offseason. I wouldn't be shocked to see Eakin get that spot though, an offensive C could help balance that line. Halpern-Hendricks-Beagle are pretty much a lock for the 4th line.

I'll be interested to see if Orlov makes the team with Erskine out for a couple weeks. He's both a physical and offensive D, so in theory you'd like to pair him with a stay-at-home guy to make up for rookie mistakes, but you don't want to split Alzner/Carlson or Green/Schultz if you don't have to. You might see Schultz/Orlov and Green/Wideman but I don't really like the balance of those pairs.

[allstar1579]

Looks like Perrault is going to win the 3rd line C job and Eakin and Sjogren might head to Hershey. He was the "player of camp" and BB is trying hard to work him into the lineup.

[Araqnid]

I think you'll see this:

Ovechkin - Backstrom - Brouwer
Semin - Johansson - Knuble
Chimera - Laich - Ward
Hendricks - Halpern - Beagle/Sjogren

Beagle has played fairly well in preseason and probably deserves a spot, and I believe Sjogren has an out clause if he doesn't make the NHL team directly. Each of them deserves to be on the roster and I think they'll pretty evenly split time as the healthy scratch. I think Brouwer seems to have won the top line job which might really open up Ovi and Backs. Finally, I think you see Laich as the 3rd line C, which paired with Chimera gives that line a lot of speed, and paired with Ward, gives it a fair amount of D.

As for D:
I think you'll see Green/Schultz and Carlznerson, and for the third line Hamrlik and Wideman, with Erskine as the #7. I don't think they pull Orlov up until he can crack the top 6.

[MuhladaOs]

Looks like Perrault is going to win the 3rd line C job and Eakin and Sjogren might head to Hershey. He was the "player of camp" and BB is trying hard to work him into the lineup.

If this is true, I agree with the move. Perrault's experience at the NHL level is obviously higher then Eakin & Sjogren but with our current forward line up I don't think we have to rush Eakin to the NHL level. Also with Orlov - with our depth at D this year - no reason to rush him to the NHL level. Leave them both at Hershey where they will play top minutes and evaluate their progress at the AHL level.

One would assume that you will get as much bang for your buck with Perrault since he is on a 1 year deal and the competition from the younger players will put him in a spot where he has to perform on a consistent basis. I'm going to be rooting for Perrault this year!

[allstar1579]

If this is true, I agree with the move. Perrault's experience at the NHL level is obviously higher then Eakin & Sjogren but with our current forward line up I don't think we have to rush Eakin to the NHL level. Also with Orlov - with our depth at D this year - no reason to rush him to the NHL level. Leave them both at Hershey where they will play top minutes and evaluate their progress at the AHL level.

One would assume that you will get as much bang for your buck with Perrault since he is on a 1 year deal and the competition from the younger players will put him in a spot where he has to perform on a consistent basis. I'm going to be rooting for Perrault this year!

I'm not really sure what they are going to do. I forgot a winger, so it comes down to if you want to use Laich as the 2nd line LW or 3rd line C. It doesn't really seem like there is enough room for MP. You've got Ovi-Backstrom-Brouwer, Semin-Johansson-Knuble, Chimera-Laich-Ward, and Hendricks-Halpern-Beagle as one option. You've also got Ovi-Johansson-Brouwer, Laich-Backstrom-Semin, Chimera-MP-Knuble, Hendricks-Halpern-Ward as another option...and many variations in between.

Orlov will probably go minors, I forgot about Hamrlik who should be Wideman's pair and Erskine is just the 7th guy. I was thinking that 6th spot was open and Orlov would get a shot.

Pre-season is over...Saturday night means time to rumble!!!

[Mashed Potatoes]

Would you guys consider Vokoun a definite upgrade in the net over what we had last year? What are your thoughts on him?

[allstar1579]

Would you guys consider Vokoun a definite upgrade in the net over what we had last year? What are your thoughts on him?

I don't really. I'm not as high on him as some other people are, but I thought Neuvirth with an extra year of experience is pretty much what you have with Vokoun. I also think Holtby is better than both of them. I'm just not that high on him personally, but some people think that experience with goaltenders is the most important thing. I don't mind the signing for what we got him for, and I like that Holtby isn't relegated to backup.

[Dr. FLK]

Would you guys consider Vokoun a definite upgrade in the net over what we had last year? What are your thoughts on him?

Not necessarily. But, I think that having a very solid veteran + a terrific youngster > 2 terrific youngsters, if that makes sense.

[DuffMan]

CAPS roster is set.

http://www.japersrink.com/2011/10/4/2465688/caps-make-final-cuts
Forwards (14) - Alex Ovechkin, Nicklas Backstrom, Alexander Semin, Marcus Johansson, Troy Brouwer, Mike Knuble, Brooks Laich, Joel Ward, Jason Chimera, Jeff Halpern, Matt Hendricks, Jay Beagle, Mathieu Perreault, D.J. King

Defensemen (7) - Mike Green, John Carlson, Karl Alzner, Roman Hamrlik, Jeff Schultz, Dennis Wideman, John Erskine

Goalies (2) - Tomas Vokoun, Michal Neuvirth

I guess not too many surprises in there. Perreault makes the team as well, if he wants to stick with the big club he's got to find that consistency that has always seemed to plague him and with guys like Eakin waiting in the wings he knows that he can be replaced.

Season starts Saturday!
I absolutely hate wasting a roster spot on DJ King. Boudreau hardly uses him at all and you've already got Hendricks as a guy who is willing to go to bat for his teammates and can do so much more. King is big and slow and doesn't really fit in with the way this team is built. Can't believe GMGM gave the guy a 2 year deal.

No surprises on the D unless you thought Orlov would make the team. His time will come, just not on opening night.

As far as the goalies go I don't really consider Vokoun to be an upgrade over what we had last year. The only good thing is it helped clear out the log jam at goalie going forward.

[allstar1579]

As I hinted may happen when we signed him, Vokoun isn't necessarily the #1 and going to start 60 games like he thought he was. Game 1 and he's on the bench and already crying about it. BB is an offensive guy, he's not going to favor or baby the goalies so he's going with Neuvy who has one SO against them in 2 career starts, Vokoun has 2 SO against them in 29 career starts.

I dunno, my guess is he's just going to Neuvy because he had a better preseason, but I don't like the fact that Vokoun is publicly crying about it already. His agent called it a "slap in the face" to the press. Never a good start to your season. He'll probably switch the order for the next game and do the alternating platoon thing he likes to do, but that's a dumb idea in hockey as you saw last year. Goalies are best when they can get in a rhythm and not worry about getting yanked every game.