Washington Capitals Development Camp 2009

The Washington Capitals will hold their annual summer development camp next week. The camp runs from July 13 to July 18, 2009. Participants include some rookie players, recent draft picks and other prospects. If you're a Caps fan and want to check out the youngsters, follow the links below for all the details.

Capitals Development Camp 2009 Links:

Development Camp Guide (PDF)

Development Camp Schedule

Development Camp Roster

Washington Capitals 2008 Preseason Games

The 2008 Preseason Games start at 7:00 PM tonight for the Washington Capitals. The first team they will face is the Carolina Hurricanes in Raleigh, NC.

The Capitals have made September interesting so far. The youngsters who attended Washington's Rookie Camp squashed their opponents from the Philadelphia Flyers camp 7-0 last Thursday, in the annual rookie scrimmage game. That was followed by the first annual Gaetan Duchesne Cup being awarded, after a series of scrimmage games at Training Camp. Now, it's time to check out our remaining players in the preseason games versus other teams, before the final cuts are made. To see the entire schedule, click here.

Fans can listen to all seven preseason games and watch (if they are within the Washington, DC area) the three home games live via WashingtonCaps.com . To watch the away games online, you might try the oppossing team's web sites. I don't know if that will work or not, but it's worth a try. The last four games can also be listened to via WFED 1500 AM and WWFD 820 AM radio.

Ovechkin Is Good With Kids

Photo from Getty Images

Well ladies, as if you needed another reason to fantasize about someday marrying Washington Capitals' superstar hockey player Alexander Ovechkin, he spent today showing how he's good with kids.

For Ovechkin, Monday September 15th was all about the kids. After checking with Coach Boudreau first thing this morning, Alex skated with the youngsters during their second day at Rookie Camp. Can you imagine what a thrill that must have been? Hey, people shell out good money to play with big name athletes at fantasy camps. These guys were getting to live a dream, while trying to earn there way into the NHL.

Later on, Ovie was working with some more kids. These were a little younger though. This time it was with 6 to 14 year olds in the Crazy Eights Skills Session at Kettler Capitals Iceplex. The participants in this event received hands on instruction from Ovechkin. Each of them also got an autograph afterwards. Alex made sure they all had a good time. What a guy!

It's About Time For Some Hockey!

Graphic from Washington Capitals team site

Finally, the time has come for hockey to get back under way. And not a moment too soon for me and my fellow hockey starved fans. The start of the 2008-2009 NHL Hockey Season is now fast approaching, and players are hitting the ice.

Veteran Washington Capitals players have been arriving in town over the last few weeks and starting to skate at Kettler Capitals Iceplex. Rookie and Training Camp Rosters and Practice Schedules have been posted. Rookie Camp started yesterday, and so now there is some real hockey news to be reported on.

Check out the team site and the Cap's bloggers every day, for there will be plenty of interesting things to take in on a daily basis from now through June. Don't miss out on the excitement that is sure to take place. There's already a few good interview videos over at Caps TV. When it comes to hockey, we no longer have to live with the phrase, "There's Not A Lot Goin' On".

Don't Cry, Hockey Doesn't End This Week

Right! The NHL's 2008 Stanley Cup Final will become final when the Detroit Red Wings are awarded the world of sports' most coveted championship trophy either tonight or after a Game 7 on Saturday. That's absolutely true. Sorry Pittsburgh Penguins fans. OK, so I'm not really sorry. My point is that there is so much more to come.

There's the NHL Awards Show in Toronto on June 12, 2008. New season ticket holders for the 2008-2009 season can enjoy the show while picking out their Verizon Center seats at the Washington Capitals Open House that same evening. Of course, Alex Ovechkin is expected to receive another award or two. After already claiming the Maurice "Rocket" Richard and Art Ross Trophies for leading the league with 65 goals and 112 points, he's up for a couple MVP awards as well. We will find out if he got the votes he deserved for the Lester B. Pearson Award and the Hart Memorial Trophy on the 12th. Keep in mind that Nicklas Backstrom may take the Calder Memorial Trophy for rookie of the year, and Bruce Boudreau should get the Jack Adams Award for coaching the team from the cellar to the playoffs.

The 2008 NHL Entry Draft will be held in Ottawa June 20 - 21. According to the NHL, 107 of the best draft eligible players arrived in Toronto last week for the Draft Combine. What do you think the Capitals will be looking for this year? General Manager George McPhee has done very well at the past few Drafts. Will he be as successful this time? It's a very exciting time for serious hockey fans.

On July 1st, hockey continues with the Unrestricted Free Agents hitting the open market. Although it's a more expensive route in acquiring veteran players, McPhee has also fared pretty well with this avenue. However, trades are where you usually get better value for your money. It'll be interesting to see who Washington is able to resign, who we might lose, and who George decides to bring to the team.

Another thing to look forward to is the Capitals Development Camp. Many of the young prospects will attend July 7th - 12th. Coaches and management get a better idea of what they have in the pipeline during this camp.

There really isn't that much down time. Sure, there will be a few weeks in the second half of the summer where things really slow down until training camp starts. But, there's plenty going on for a while yet.

Trophy Photos - NHL, Young Guns Photo/Graphic - Washingtoncaps.com