The Washington Capitals have announced a new ECHL affiliate for the 2012-13 season, the Reading Royals.  No longer affiliated with the Toronto Maple Leafs and Boston Bruins, the Royals will replace the South Carolina Stingrays as the Caps' AA minor league development team.  The Royals and Bears have a long history of working together, being geographically so close to each other, but now the Capitals can officially draw on the Royals for their needs, as well. 

Image from ReadingEagle.com

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Photo by Chris Gordon, RMNB

Monday at Kettler Capitals Iceplex, the first day of the team’s annual summer development camp kicked off with two on-ice practice sessions and an intrasquad scrimmage.  As such, I wanted to share with you some of the observations that I had from watching the scrimmage and the sessions.  It is important to know that we are only one day into camp, but they say your first impression is the best one.  “They” say so.

Cameron Schilling is polished.  This is to be expected from a player who has played four years of NCAA hockey and a handful of AHL games under his belt, but I really liked what I saw from him.  He is confident with the puck, good defensively, and a smooth skater.  George McPhee has singled him out as a player who he thinks could contribute next year, too.  “I had a little time in Hershey and hopefully that will allow me to come up and try and compete for a spot, but obviously nothing is guaranteed,” he said.  “You don’t know what’s going to happen from here to camp.  I’m just going to come up here and work as hard as I can to try and make the team.”

Stan Galiev is the most likely player at Camp to make the team out of the gate in 2012-13.  Despite missing almost the entire season in Saint John because of a wrist injury, Galiev had an electric playoffs for the Sea Dogs, helping them go all the way to the Memorial Cup.  He has also gotten better from last season despite his injury.  Stas has good puck skills, a great shot, and is hard to knock off the puck. He skates well and hard and though he still needs to fill out his frame a bit, that will come in time.  “Just to improve my game in every area, be stronger, make smart decisions with the puck, limit mistakes and try to make the team better,” he said. “[Making the Capitals] is my dream and I’ll work hard for it.”  I think he is more likely to be on the team only because the Capitals have so many lower end defensemen that could block Schilling and need a winger badly.

I don’t know what I’m missing, but I am not quite yet sold on Tom Wilson.  Wilson is a big player, standing 6’4” and weighing over 200 pounds, and he plays like it.  The Plymouth Whaler hits everything that moves and throws his body around with a reckless abandon that any NHL team needs; I applaud physical play.  But that’s all I see right now.  Wilson’s stick skills are not that great right now and his offensive totals in Plymouth were not impressive for a first round pick either (27 points).  He is a project, and could be worth it.  He needs a big season in Plymouth.

Filip Forsberg made obvious within his first 40 minutes on ice why he was ranked so high by Central Scouting.  He is big, smooth, skilled and a good skater and at only age 17 is poised for further growth across the board.  Despite not skating in awhile and being admittedly rusty, the Swede looked at home on the wing and made some very impressive passes, especially on the breakout.  He will play one more year in Sweden and add some badly needed muscle before potentially breaking the Washington roster in two years’ time, saying “it depends on how I play.  I just have to keep focusing on the next game and the next practice.”  He impressed me and I look forward to continuing to watch his development.

The National Team Development Program does a great job. Thomas Di Pauli has a relentless motor and never stops moving, even while waiting for drills.  He works hard in the corners and battles for pucks.  Riley Barber has good stick skills and speed and wowed me with an impressive move early in the scrimmage that set up a teammate for a great chance in front.  Connor Carrick is built and also extremely skilled, and needs some polish but lived up to his scouting report.  I like his offensive game and he is able to jump into the play and not get caught out of position on defense often, which is very good.  The Capitals may have tapped a nice mine of talent here.

Development camp continues through Saturday at Kettler and is free and open to the public.

The Washington Capitals begin their annual Summer Development Camp today.  Below is the schedule and the roster of Capitals prospects expected to attend.  The final roster will also include camp invitees and will be available today. 

Capitals Summer Development Camp On Ice Schedule
Monday, July 9 Group A on ice at 9 a.m.; Group B on ice at 10:45 a.m.; Scrimmage at 3 p.m.
Tuesday, July 10 Group A on ice at 9 a.m.; Group B on ice at 10:45 a.m.; Scrimmage at 2:45 p.m.
Wednesday, July 11 Group A on ice at 8:50 a.m.; Group B on ice at 10:50 a.m.
Thursday, July 12 Group B on ice at 9:15 a.m.; Group A on ice at 10:45 a.m.; Scrimmage at 3 p.m.
Friday, July 13 Scrimmage at 9:45 a.m.
Saturday, July 14 Scrimmage at 10 a.m.

Photo from KG's District

Monday morning, the newly minted main sheet at Kettler Capitals Iceplex will welcome the 2012 edition of Washington Capitals Development Camp.  This annual summer showcase allows fans, media, and the Capitals brass to evaluate players that have spent the previous season playing in Major Junior, the NCAA, the USHL, or a foreign professional league.  You know the biggest names that will be at this year’s camp: Stan Galiev, Filip Forsberg, and Tom Wilson among others.  But below, I take a look at some of the unheralded players that will be on hand this week – and could eventually make an impact in Capital red.

Patrick Wey, D – Wey, who spent last season playing for the National Champion Boston College Eagles, is a big defenseman who was picked in the fourth round by the Capitals in 2009.  The 6’3”, 210-lb Pittsburgh native played in every game he was able to this past year for head coach Jerry York; he unfortunately missed time earlier in the season with a bad ankle injury.  Overall, he posted two goals and five assists in 32 games while registering a plus-17 rating.  Wey is farther down on the depth chart organizationally, but certainly has the talent and physical tools to one day make an impact at the NHL level. He has been named an alternate captain heading into his senior season at BC.

Thomas Di Pauli, C – One of four United States Development Program players selected by the Capitals in June’s Entry Draft, Di Pauli is one of the most interesting.  Born in Italy, he moved to the States with his mother to pursue his hockey dream in his middle school years.  Playing last year for the Development Program in Ann Arbor, Michigan, he played in 55 games and posted 11 goals and ten assists for the U-18 World Champions.  He profiles as a two-way center who is aggressive on his skates.  “Nobody works harder,” says his former coach Matt Greason of USA Hockey.  “Tommy is a warrior, he just plays extremely hard,” added Danton Cole, his current coach.  “He’s a talented kid, he’s probably one of the best faceoff guys that we’ve had come through.  Just very tenacious, the kind of kid that you win championships with.” Di Pauli is committed to the University of Notre Dame.

Cameron Schilling, D – Signed as a college free agent by the Capitals in late March, Schilling played his college hockey at Miami (OH) and played in 144 career games for the Redhawks, posting 57 total points in four seasons.  After Miami’s season ended, he went to Hershey and played out the end of the year with the Bears, where he was held pointless in seven games and posted a minus-three rating.  Overall, Schilling profiles as a steady defensive defenseman who is smart in coverage.  He isn’t a very good passer, but can shoot well and could evolve into a shutdown partner for a guy like Dmitry Orlov.  It is also important to note that George McPhee mentioned his development as one of the reasons that the team let Dennis Wideman go.

Connor Carrick, D – Another product of the National Team Development Program, Carrick is an offensive defenseman.  Last year in 57 games in Ann Arbor, he posted eight goals and 21 points as well as 46 penalty minutes; he had two goals and two assists in the U-18 World Championships.  “He’s got sick skill,” says former coach Greason.  “He always went first in our shootouts, and that’s saying something.”  An NCAA scout compares him to Dennis Wideman, but with a “bit more upside; Carrick likes to hit and be physical.”  “Really good feet, extremely strong, moves the puck real well,” said Cole.  Carrick recently altered his commitment to the University of Michigan for next season, and will instead play for the OHL’s Plymouth Whalers to develop his game in Major Junior instead.  I doubt this will have a significant impact on his NHL ETA, but it seems in the early stages like the Capitals may have gotten a steal here.  He should be very fun to watch in camp.

Group A hits the ice for their first skate Monday at 9 AM. I will be at Kettler for all your needs.

Harry Hawkings is a college student credentialed to cover the Capitals for RtR.  Follow him on Twitter here.

Alex Ovechkin is taking in Wimbledon this week. Here he is seen cheering on Russian tennis star Maria Kirilenko as she takes on Poland's Agnieszka Radwańska on ESPN2 today.

In this photo, the television announcers asked, "Alex Ovechkin, what are you chewing there? I think it's like a bottle cap or something."

Follow Andy Green on Twitter here.

Photo by the Washington Post

George McPhee cannot win.

Heading in to free agency on July 1^st, many expected the Capitals’ General Manager to make a splash – like he has in almost every other free agency period during his tenure.

But as Sunday and Monday passed, only Joey Crabb, a bottom six forward, was added to the Washington player corps.  There was no winger to replace Alexander Semin.  There was no top-four defenseman.

And for some reason, the Capitals’ fan base is in an upoar.

July 1^st is a funny day almost every summer, but this summer, it had the potential to be extra funny.  With a ridiculously thin market, players like Dennis Wideman and Paul Gaustad had already signed crazy deals as potential unrestricted free agents.  As noon passed on Sunday, the same thing began happening again.

Jiri Hudler got four years, $16 million from Calgary.  P.A. Parenteau, who has one 20-goal season at age 29, got the same.  Jason Garrison, who had 33 points last season, received a six-year. $27.6 million deal with his hometown Vancouver Canucks – and left money on the table.

“It’s a very inflated market this summer, and there aren’t very many players and a lot of teams pursuing those players.” McPhee said at a press conference Monday afternoon.  “At some point you start inventing players, making them out to be more than you should.  Sometimes it’s better to sit back and stay out of it.  It’s not a great crop of free agents this summer anyway.

“We added a skill guy in [center Mike] Ribeiro, and we expect that move is going to make us a whole lot better.  We got a pretty good hockey team here.  I don’t anticipate a lot happening.  You gotta do what you think is right in terms of dollar and term.  With respect to certain players, if it doesn’t make sense, you don’t do it.  It’s gotta be right for us.”

Contrary to what seems to be popular belief, McPhee is absolutely correct to employ this course of action.

That’s not to say that this team doesn’t need to be improved.  Of course it does.  Marcus Johansson and Mathieu Perreault are not top-six wingers on a Stanley-Cup caliber team.  But spending big money over long term on players that are not worth said money and term is always a bad idea, especially with such a thin market.  There is little to be had, and the prices go up for mediocre players as a result.

“There’s not a lot of depth,” McPhee added.  “People talk about Parise and Suter, but then where does it go after that?  There’s not a lot to talk about.  Everybody wants to do something, but you’ve gotta be careful, because we all know what it’s like to feel like you’ve gotta do something, you do something, and the end of training camp or the end of October you look at the guy and say ‘why did we do that?’”

Read on by clicking here.

The Washington Capitals enter the free agency period on July 1 with several question marks and holes to fill.  General Manager George McPhee has already named a head coach and acquired the much-needed #2 center in Mike Ribeiro.  The team's next steps are filling out the rest of the roster and coaching staff, all while assuming business as usual which might not be the case come September.  The good news for the Washington Capitals is the salary cap is set at $70.2 million for next season.  That's assuming of course there is a next season or that the Collective Bargaining Agreement that is agreed upon for next season even includes a salary cap.  Assuming no changes to the salary cap, the Capitals currently have $49.4 million tied up in two goalies, five defensemen, nine forwards, one injured player and one buyout.  That means the Capitals have approximately $21 million left to sign their existing restricted free agents and targeted unrestricted free agents. 

Read on for the Capitals' 6-Step Plan

Photo by Mitchell Layton/NHLI via Getty Images

When developing players, organizations often come to crossroads.  Is this guy who we really thought he was?  Do we want to build around him? Is he expendable, or an untouchable?

Among many fans and media, such has become of Marcus Johansson.

The 21-year-old Swedish center, who recently finished his second season in the NHL, has not been terrible in his two seasons in a Washington sweater.  After recording 13 goals and 14 assists in his rookie season, he took a big step forward in terms of point production this year, scoring 14 goals and adding 32 assists for 42 points.

Those are not stellar numbers by any stretch of the imagination but they are not terrible. And with any young player, patience must be a virtue – expecting a late first round pick to contribute at a top level right away is unrealistic.  But would the Capitals be better off trading Johansson?

First, it is important to take a look at Johansson’s more advanced metrics, beginning with puck possession.  In both of his two years as a Capital, Johansson has been a poor puck possessor, ranking second to last among forwards in corsi rating in both 2010-11 and 2011-12.  His rookie year, he did it against tough minutes (the toughest on the team among forwards, in fact), but last year, his minutes were right in the middle and his corsi was still bad.  Moreover, Johansson’s PDO – which measures “puck luck,” was above 1000 each of his first two seasons, indicating a bit of luck.  Eventually, that would regress.  For a player many are hoping breaks out this upcoming season, the signs are not looking very good.

It is not fair, however, to judge Johansson just on his offensive numbers.  Looking more to the defensive aspect of his game, that too has not been particularly good.  Johansson only averaged 32 seconds of shorthanded ice time this year, a significant tick downwards from the almost 1:10 he saw in that situation last season.  His faceoff skills have also remained anemic, posting a 40% winning percentage on the dot in 2010-11 and only 43.2 in 2011-12.  Both of those numbers were last on the team among regular centers.

Is Marcus an untouchable? Read on here.

Photo by AP Photo

WASHINGTON – For George McPhee and the Washington Capitals, the time is most certainly now.  In the hiring of Adam Oates as the 16^th coach in franchise history, McPhee made it clear that he is going for it.

“We wanted to go hire the guy with the highest upside,” McPhee said Wednesday as he introduced Oates.  “A guy who could really be a difference maker.  It’s not unlike what we do in the draft.  Go in there, and try to find the difference makers, try to find the players with the most upside and really swing for the fences.  We believe Adam Oates is a guy who has lots of upside and can be a real good coach for our club.”

Oates, who was elected to the Hockey Hall of Fame on Tuesday afternoon, is widely regarded as one of the best offensive players in the history of the National Hockey League.  In 1,337 NHL games, Oates recorded 341 goals and 1,097 assists – one of only 11 players in history to pass the millennium mark in helpers.  Immediately, he hopes that he can bring this style of play to Washington to help revive the Capitals once-dominant offense.

“When you look at the Finals this year, you saw L.A. and New Jersey, two teams that were basically in your face teams.  All over the ice, in all three zones.  I really feel the game today is territory.  You have to establish territory and protect it.  I look at the Caps’ lineup, and the talent level, and I don’t see any reason why we can’t push the pace and be an aggressive team, but at the same time not sacrifice defense and protecting our goalie.  That requires commitment all over the ice.”

For a team like the Capitals, who have swung from one extreme to the other in terms of style of play over the last four seasons, that type of balance could work wonders for the entire team.  Especially, however, the focus will be on Alex Ovechkin’s whose statistical decline over the last three seasons has been alarming and sudden.

“I’m sure when Alex gets back to town for training camp, we’ll sit down, and talk about his game,” Oates said.  “He scored 37 [38] goals last year, and the league gets better and better.  There’s not a lot of goal scoring anymore, but I think the physical element of his game is unprecedented.  I think he’s a special player.  In terms of adding a little bit to his game, I think I can.”

Read more about Oates and the implications of the hire here.

Washington Capitals defenseman Dennis Wideman has been traded to the Calgary Flames for D Jordan Hendry and a 2013 5th round draft pick. The Flames promptly signed Wideman to a 5-year contract worth $5.25 million per season. Wideman had been set to become an unrestricted free agent on July 1.