By Scott Lowe
Washington Capitals coach Bruce Boudreau gave the world a heads up about Matt Hendricks at training camp on Tuesday, but his comments didn’t get much play in the media, and apparently the Columbus Blue Jackets didn’t get the hint.
When asked if anyone had surprised him at camp without getting much attention, Boudreau replied, “I really love the way Matt Hendricks plays. I’ve been a big fan of his for about the last five years. He played on a team in Colorado that nobody thought would go anywhere and they ended up with 100 points and in the playoffs. He’s come in here to earn a spot on the team, and so far he’s pushing guys. He’s done a great job.”
Those comments came before Wednesday’s effort by the left winger, who describes his game as adding some “sandpaper” to the Caps’ lineup. If Boudreau loved Hendricks’ game before, imagine what he thinks after the 29-year-old with 60 games of NHL experience recorded a hat trick to lead Washington to a 6-2 victory against Columbus in front of nearly 11,000 in its preseason opener.
“The only thing he could have done a little better was maybe be a little more physical,” Boudreau said. “He killed penalties for us and scored three goals. He’s making a bid for sure.”
Hendricks is making his bid seemingly out of nowhere. After he recorded nine goals and seven assists in 56 contests with the Avalanche last season, his signing with the Capitals in June stayed mostly under the radar as Caps fans and media clamored for the team to sign a big-name defenseman or a second-line center. In fact, his name went largely unreported until Boudreau mentioned him after yesterday’s training camp workout.
“I couldn’t ask for more,” Hendricks said after his three-goal opener in a Washington sweater. “It was a good game all around, obviously. We have to tighten up a little bit defensively. It was a great game for both of our goaltenders. It’s been a while since I’ve done that.”
To this point, the training camp focus has been on which three players would lock down the second- third- and fourth-line center slots. The “third line” of Jason Chimera, Matthieu Perreault and Eric Fehr had been perhaps the most impressive offensive group to date, while second-line center Tomas Fleischmann and left wing Alexander Semin had earned some harsh words from Boudreau who said they were “passing the puck around like it was shinny.” It’s funny how things can change when stakes are raised.
Fleischmann (two goals and an assist) and Semin (three assists) combined for six points in Washington’s victory, with linemate Brooks Laich also notching an assist, while the third line was the only Caps’ trio to finish the game on the minus side of the ledger. Fehr was the only third-liner to notch a point, assisting on Fleischmann’s second-period power-play marker.
Meanwhile, 2009 first-round draft pick Marcus Johansson, who has been praised consistently by Boudreau since the start of rookie camp, handed out a pair of assists in his first appearance at the NHL level. His no-look drop pass set up Hendricks’ first goal, and impressed his veteran linemate. “It was a great play by a very young man,” Hendricks said. “He played well. He made a lot of great plays out there and really plays with his head and with his head up.”
Said Johansson: “I heard him from behind and no one else was there, so I just dropped it for him instead of making the harder pass, and he made a great shot.”
Assuming that Fleischmann has at least somewhat solidified his spot as the No. 2 pivot, that leaves Perreault and Johansson battling for the third center slot. Each player figures to appear in four or five preseason games, so the Columbus game will ultimately be a small part of the equation, and Boudreaux really likes both players.
“For a guy like Marcus preseason games will mean a lot,” he said. “We’ll learn a lot more about him at the NHL level when he plays against NHL players with NHL players on his wings. He makes a lot of things happen out there and he’s such a beautiful skater. He’s one of those players you’ll have to watch and watch. His positioning is very good. He’s not a dynamic, I got three goals today kind of guy. He just doesn’t make a lot of mistakes out there.”
Still, the efforts of smallish Perreault, who has gained about 12 pounds of muscle since last season, have not gone unnoticed. “He’s a good little player, and he’s pushing hard to have a place on this team. What does being ready mean? He has bulked up, he’s stronger and he’s a good player. We think that if he didn’t make it he’d be very close to making it.”
So where does that leave the roster? The first line appears set with Alex Ovechkin, Nick Backstrom and Mike Knuble. After the first preseason outing you can at least pencil in Semin, Fleischmann and Laich as the second line. Chimera, Perreault and Fehr have impressed until tonight, with Johansson pushing Perreault at the pivot.
Initially it looked like the fourth line would be a rotation of Boyd Gordon, David Steckel, Matt Bradley and enforcer D.J. King, but now with Hendrickson stepping up and Gordon and Steckel spending time in and out of Boudreau’s doghouse last season, it appears as though Hendrickson has an inside shot at a roster spot.
It makes sense that Gordon, who is the most versatile of the group, would have the edge to center the line consistently based on his showing in the playoffs vs. Montreal last year and Steckel’s disappointing season. King will make the roster to fill the tough-guy role, and Bradley has been one of the team’s heart-and-soul guys for the past several years.
Does that mean Steckel, a longtime Boudreau favorite who helped the coach win a Calder Cup at Hershey, will end up on the outside looking in? You can’t tell for sure after one preseason game, but it should make for an interesting couple of weeks in D.C.
Other Camp Notes
The Caps have been busy the past couple of days, signing defensemen Tom Poti to a two-year extension through 2011-12 and signing 22-year-old goaltender Michal Neuvirth to a two-year deal. They also signed WHL junior goalie Brandon Anderson to a three-year entry-level contract.
The signing of Poti means the Caps have five d-men – Poti, Mike Green, John Carlson, Tyler Sloan and Jeff Schultz -- signed through 2011-12.
Neuvirth, who will probably be considered the No. 2 goalie behind Semyon Varlamov, is the first tender to be the primary netminder for two consecutive Calder Cup champions since Pete Peeters in the late 1970s.
Neuvirth was 9-4 with a 2.75 GAA and a .914 save percentage in 17 games for the Caps last year and is 11-5, 2.80, .910 for his career. He went 7-1 at the Verizon center last season with a 1.75 GAA. Neuvirth was 14-4 for Hershey in the playoffs last spring after earning the MVP the year before with a 16-6 mark and a 1.92 GAA.
“When you look at the NHL there are a lot of goalies without a job,” Neuvirth said. “My goal is to play in the NHL. I could have waited to sign, but I decided not to. This is a great organization with a big chance to win the Stanley Cup, so why not sign with them now?”
By the way, Varlamov was very sharp in his first outing against Columbus, stopping all 20 shots he faced, including a spectacular series of saves early in the second period. “It was a great first statement,” Boudreau said of Varlamov’s play. “He kept us in. You could tell it was a preseason game. We had a tremendous amount of turnovers in the first and second period and gave them opportunities to score. We were a little ragged in our zone at times, but the goaltending was there to back it up when we weren’t very good …”
On Tuesday Ovechkin’s Team A won its second straight Duchesne Cup as the top squad in training camp despite falling to Team B, which had been shut out by Team C, 5-0, in its first game by a score of 4-3 on a late goal by Semin. Team A won the cup on goal differential after refusing to pull its goalie despite trailing by a goal.
Team B rebounded after a little “pep talk” from Boudreau following its shutout loss in the first game of camp. “Obviously it helped,” said Boudreau of his speech, “since they played a much better game against a team with some pretty good players who weren’t just cruising around out there.” …
The Caps’ roster stands at 47 after 12 players were assigned to Hershey and another five were returned to their junior teams …
Washington’s line combinations at Columbus looked like this:
Laich-Fleischmann-Semin
Chimera-Perreault-Fehr
Hendricks-Johansson-A. Gordon
Greentree-Eakin-Rechlicz
Cody Eakin, a 2009 third-round draft pick, scored in his debut at the NHL level, netting the Caps’ fifth goal. Eakin also scored the game-winner in the rookie game vs. the Flyers rookies last week.
The defensive pairings:
Alzner-Carlson
Sloan-Fahey
Erskine-Collins
Showing posts with label Cody Eakin. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Cody Eakin. Show all posts
Wednesday, September 22, 2010
Tuesday, September 14, 2010
Rookies Johansson, Eakin, Finley Impress
By Scott Lowe
With two days of rookie camp in the book, it’s not hard to tell who is catching the eye of Washington Capitals head coach Bruce Boudreau. Boudreau has mentioned first-round draft picks Marcus Johansson, Cody Eakin and Joe Finley following each day’s workout.
Each player has his own interesting story and timeline. Johnasson, a Swede who has played both center and wing, has average size, but is mature with good speed and skill. He is one of the youngsters mentioned by some as a possibility to fill the open No. 2 center spot for the Caps this year. While on the surface it would seem to be a longshot for a soon-to-be 20-year-old (Oct. 6 birthday) to become the second-line center for the defending Presidents’ Trophy winners, upon further review, it might make sense to give him a shot.
Nicklas Backstrom also came to Washington from Sweden and was mentored initially by countryman Michael Nylander. Now, Backstrom could handle that role for his young compatriot. Johansson likely would be surrounded by talented, veteran players such as Alex Semin and Brooks Laich (or Tomas Fleischmann) on the second line, and with all the offensive firepower the Caps have, he wouldn’t feel a tremendous amount of pressure to score goals. The hope would be to have him spend a good portion of the season getting acclimated to the NHL game and developing and understanding of what it takes to succeed in the league as well as his linemate’s tendendices.
Washington can afford to be patient without jeopardizing its standing as an Eastern Conference favorite, and Johannson has played at a very high level internationally as a member of Swedish professional championship teams and the captain of Sweden’s World Junior Championship team in 2010.
“He’s looked pretty good so far,” Boudreau said. “Of course there’s no hitting yet, but he does look really smooth and skilled. I think he’s going to be a good player.”
Eakin is a 2009 third-round draft pick who finished last year with Hershey after his season with Swift Current of the WHL concluded. Still 19, he recently was named captain of the Broncos for the 2010-11 campaign, but certainly would be willing to give that up if he were to land an NHL job with one of the league’s elite teams. A center in an organization looking for depth at that position, Eakin was dominant in the WHL a year ago with 47 goals and 44 assists. Although not big at 5-11 and about 185 lbs., he has tremendous speed and is solid at both ends of the ice. Because he has a year of junior hockey left, either Eakin makes the Caps’ roster full time or must be returned to Swift Current. While it appears to be a longshot for him to stick at the NHL level, Eakin will get a long look from Boudreau: “He’s been impressive so far, and I’d really like to get a look at him in one or two NHL exhibition games before I decide exactly where he belongs.”
Finley is a 2005 first-round draft pick who suffered a rare arm aneurysm last year that limited him to 17 games with South Carolina of the ECHL. A big, strong defenseman at 6-8, 255 lbs., Finley appears headed for a full season at Hershey this year. There is no rush for the Caps, who already will have four former first-round draft picks in their lineup, but it wouldn’t be surprising to see Finley get a couple of NHL games under his belt to benefit his and the team’s future if there are some injuries. In this day and age of salary cap constraints, it seems unlikely that Washington will be able to keep their NHL-level first-rounders together forever, so finding that next generation of blueliners is a key to the team’s long-term success.
“Last year we had Joe in camp and we tried him at forward,” Boudreau said. “I just don’t think his heart was into that, and it showed. He seems more comfortable and determined this year. Joe’s a big, strong guy and those are the types of guys you really want to work with.”
Another young player who has been impressive but will be returning to juniors this year is Russian QMJHL prospect Stanislav Galiev. Galiev, who recorded 60 points in 69 games and 19 points in 21 playoff contests for St. John last season, is a winger who general manager George McPhee has asked Boudreau to move to center during rookie camp. That move was made easier when 2008 first-round pick Anton Gustafsson, drafted as a center, asked to be shifted to wing during the summer. The Caps are desperately trying to build depth at the pivot, so this move could expedite Galiev’s path to the NHL, especially if he keeps impressing.
Eakin and Mitchell Named Captains of Junior Teams
Both Eakin and another Washington prospect, Garrett Mitchell, have been named captains of their respective WHL junior teams – Swift Current and Regina, respectively. Mitchell, a 2009 sixth-round pick, recorded 31 points in 57 games for Regina before appearing in one game for AHL Hershey last season.
“It’s great to have those types of leaders in the organization,” Boudreau said. “You can see why they are captains. They are the first ones to do the drills here, they always get the drills right the first time and the always work hard. When they go back to their junior teams there are going to be 16-year-old kids who want to be just like them. Then they come in here and do the same things. You can’t have enough leaders. For our future that is a really good thing.”
Upcoming Schedule
Rookie camp continues tomorrow (Wednesday, Sept. 15) with an 11:45 a.m. scrimmage at the Kettler Iceplex, followed by Thursday’s annual rookie game against the Flyers. That game, which starts at 3 p.m. at Kettler, has become very popular among Caps’ fans in recent years, annually drawing upwards of 1,500 fans. For those who can’t miss work or school, the usually intense battle will be streamed live on www.WashingtonCaps.com. Veteran players have been skating every day this week at 8 a.m. That skate will be moved to 10 a.m. on Thursday. Full training camp opens on Saturday, Sept. 18.
Holtby Tuning Up
Braden Holtby, who turned in a fine year as the No. 2 netminder in Hershey last season, has been working out with the rookies to get more reps. He is hoping to be sharp when camp opens and realizes that with four goalies at the NHL camp, including Semyon Varlamov, Michael Neuvirth, Danny Sabourin and himself), he might not get as much work as he would like.
With two days of rookie camp in the book, it’s not hard to tell who is catching the eye of Washington Capitals head coach Bruce Boudreau. Boudreau has mentioned first-round draft picks Marcus Johansson, Cody Eakin and Joe Finley following each day’s workout.
Each player has his own interesting story and timeline. Johnasson, a Swede who has played both center and wing, has average size, but is mature with good speed and skill. He is one of the youngsters mentioned by some as a possibility to fill the open No. 2 center spot for the Caps this year. While on the surface it would seem to be a longshot for a soon-to-be 20-year-old (Oct. 6 birthday) to become the second-line center for the defending Presidents’ Trophy winners, upon further review, it might make sense to give him a shot.
Nicklas Backstrom also came to Washington from Sweden and was mentored initially by countryman Michael Nylander. Now, Backstrom could handle that role for his young compatriot. Johansson likely would be surrounded by talented, veteran players such as Alex Semin and Brooks Laich (or Tomas Fleischmann) on the second line, and with all the offensive firepower the Caps have, he wouldn’t feel a tremendous amount of pressure to score goals. The hope would be to have him spend a good portion of the season getting acclimated to the NHL game and developing and understanding of what it takes to succeed in the league as well as his linemate’s tendendices.
Washington can afford to be patient without jeopardizing its standing as an Eastern Conference favorite, and Johannson has played at a very high level internationally as a member of Swedish professional championship teams and the captain of Sweden’s World Junior Championship team in 2010.
“He’s looked pretty good so far,” Boudreau said. “Of course there’s no hitting yet, but he does look really smooth and skilled. I think he’s going to be a good player.”
Eakin is a 2009 third-round draft pick who finished last year with Hershey after his season with Swift Current of the WHL concluded. Still 19, he recently was named captain of the Broncos for the 2010-11 campaign, but certainly would be willing to give that up if he were to land an NHL job with one of the league’s elite teams. A center in an organization looking for depth at that position, Eakin was dominant in the WHL a year ago with 47 goals and 44 assists. Although not big at 5-11 and about 185 lbs., he has tremendous speed and is solid at both ends of the ice. Because he has a year of junior hockey left, either Eakin makes the Caps’ roster full time or must be returned to Swift Current. While it appears to be a longshot for him to stick at the NHL level, Eakin will get a long look from Boudreau: “He’s been impressive so far, and I’d really like to get a look at him in one or two NHL exhibition games before I decide exactly where he belongs.”
Finley is a 2005 first-round draft pick who suffered a rare arm aneurysm last year that limited him to 17 games with South Carolina of the ECHL. A big, strong defenseman at 6-8, 255 lbs., Finley appears headed for a full season at Hershey this year. There is no rush for the Caps, who already will have four former first-round draft picks in their lineup, but it wouldn’t be surprising to see Finley get a couple of NHL games under his belt to benefit his and the team’s future if there are some injuries. In this day and age of salary cap constraints, it seems unlikely that Washington will be able to keep their NHL-level first-rounders together forever, so finding that next generation of blueliners is a key to the team’s long-term success.
“Last year we had Joe in camp and we tried him at forward,” Boudreau said. “I just don’t think his heart was into that, and it showed. He seems more comfortable and determined this year. Joe’s a big, strong guy and those are the types of guys you really want to work with.”
Another young player who has been impressive but will be returning to juniors this year is Russian QMJHL prospect Stanislav Galiev. Galiev, who recorded 60 points in 69 games and 19 points in 21 playoff contests for St. John last season, is a winger who general manager George McPhee has asked Boudreau to move to center during rookie camp. That move was made easier when 2008 first-round pick Anton Gustafsson, drafted as a center, asked to be shifted to wing during the summer. The Caps are desperately trying to build depth at the pivot, so this move could expedite Galiev’s path to the NHL, especially if he keeps impressing.
Eakin and Mitchell Named Captains of Junior Teams
Both Eakin and another Washington prospect, Garrett Mitchell, have been named captains of their respective WHL junior teams – Swift Current and Regina, respectively. Mitchell, a 2009 sixth-round pick, recorded 31 points in 57 games for Regina before appearing in one game for AHL Hershey last season.
“It’s great to have those types of leaders in the organization,” Boudreau said. “You can see why they are captains. They are the first ones to do the drills here, they always get the drills right the first time and the always work hard. When they go back to their junior teams there are going to be 16-year-old kids who want to be just like them. Then they come in here and do the same things. You can’t have enough leaders. For our future that is a really good thing.”
Upcoming Schedule
Rookie camp continues tomorrow (Wednesday, Sept. 15) with an 11:45 a.m. scrimmage at the Kettler Iceplex, followed by Thursday’s annual rookie game against the Flyers. That game, which starts at 3 p.m. at Kettler, has become very popular among Caps’ fans in recent years, annually drawing upwards of 1,500 fans. For those who can’t miss work or school, the usually intense battle will be streamed live on www.WashingtonCaps.com. Veteran players have been skating every day this week at 8 a.m. That skate will be moved to 10 a.m. on Thursday. Full training camp opens on Saturday, Sept. 18.
Holtby Tuning Up
Braden Holtby, who turned in a fine year as the No. 2 netminder in Hershey last season, has been working out with the rookies to get more reps. He is hoping to be sharp when camp opens and realizes that with four goalies at the NHL camp, including Semyon Varlamov, Michael Neuvirth, Danny Sabourin and himself), he might not get as much work as he would like.
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