Capitals Outsider » 2011 » August

The Lesser-Known Caps in the System (Two of Two)

M. Richter — Wed, 31 Aug 2011 19:57:00 +0000

Two weeks ago, I posted a look at the eleven invitees who were part of Group A at this summer’s Development Camp. Now attention turns to the victorious Group B, the red jerseys. Of the 23 men who made up this temporary team, more than half were unaffiliated invitees (15, in fact – a higher percentage than their white-shirted competitors).

Without further ado…

Allen, Conor (#58, D)

Age: 21. Hometown: Chicago, Illinois.

Repeat Offender – USHL Defensive Player of the Week.
Competed for the USAH Tier 1 title with Team Illinois in 2008.
Takes the college part of student-athlete just as seriously as the hockey.

… [visit site to read more]

The Lesser-Known Caps in the System (Two of Two) - Capitals Outsider - Capitals Outsider - A Washington Capitals blog

The Physical and Mental Effects of Fighting in the NHL

Jeff K — Thu, 25 Aug 2011 03:25:20 +0000

Photo by Alena Schwarz

On August 15th 2011, the hockey world mourned the loss of Rick Rypien, an enforcer who played several seasons with the Vancouver Canucks before signing a $700,000 contract this offseason to play with the Winnipeg Jets. Although the cause of death has yet to be announced and the toxicology reports have yet to be released, Rypien’s long battle with clinical depression have been linked to his passing. This is not the first piece of news this offesason to rock the hockey world as Derek Boogaard was found dead in his Minneapolis apartment on May 13th. The Hennepin County Medical Examiner found Boogaard’s cause of death to be a deadly mix of alcohol and the painkiller Oxycodone. While these untimely passings are unique, there are similarities, too.

First off, let me start off by stating that I thoroughly enjoy watching fighting in hockey. I am a frequent visitor to hockeyfights.com, and I know I’m not alone when I say I youtube hockey fights. Fighting can turn the momentum of a game back to a team and can get the crowd back into the game. However, nobody except the players themselves can truly understand the physical and mental toll it takes on a player. Studies have shown that depression can stem from concussions. Maybe in Rypien’s case it wasn’t from concussions. It could be from several things, such as abuse, conflict, death of a loved one, genetics, major events, serious illness, or other personal problems (I’m not stating Rypien had any of these things occur, I’m just paraphrasing from WebMD.) Rypien had taken many leaves of absence from the Canucks to deal with personal issues, but it is unknown if he was ever enrolled in the NHL/NHLPA Substance Abuse and Behavioral Health Program.

… [visit site to read more]

The Physical and Mental Effects of Fighting in the NHL - Capitals Outsider - Capitals Outsider - A Washington Capitals blog

How Not to Critique the Capitals

Ben Sumner — Thu, 25 Aug 2011 02:32:48 +0000

Generally speaking, I admire people who make Youtube videos of themselves talking, because they have the guts to put that up for the world to see. It’s how I met one of the writers for this site, and visit site to read more]

How Not to Critique the Capitals - Capitals Outsider - Capitals Outsider - A Washington Capitals blog

Earthquake Damages Caps Bobbleheads

Ben Sumner — Wed, 24 Aug 2011 01:30:43 +0000

Shortly after an earthquake struck the East Coast, people ran home to check on their possessions. Many found everything intact. But some weren’t so lucky.

Caps fan Ashley Colassard found that her limited edition Inova Blood Drive John Carlson didn’t make it. Colassard tweeted a photo of the casualty, as first reported by Caps Overtime. He lost his arm, one of the rarest injuries in hockey. It’s unclear how Carlson will play one-handed in the coming season, but we’ll assume he’ll at least be demoted to the third line.

But it got worse.

… [visit site to read more]

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Roundtable: Predictions for Ovechkin in 2011-12

Ben Sumner — Tue, 23 Aug 2011 03:35:20 +0000

After Alex Ovechkin posted several career lows last season, it became obvious that Capitals Outsider needs to get out of the prediction business. We thought he’d have his best overall season in 2010-11, but all we got right was that Ovie would flash the HBO cameras (and that only sort of happened). As for the numbers? We were way off, except for short-handed goals which we nailed. Ovie had zero. Yeah, we’re the Amazing Kreskin of Caps bloggers.

So instead of embarrassing ourselves at the end of the 2011-12 season when we revisit our predictions, we’ll ridicule and mock the predictions of a carefully-selected group of people (unless they nail it). The ~~victims~~ panelists are Washington Caps Examiner‘s Michael Hoffman, D.C. Sports Box‘s Abram Fox, Caps News Network‘s Dave Nichols, Kings of Leonsis‘s Adam Vingan and our Fansided brother, Jacob Ware of DC Pro Sports Report. Blogger extraordinaire Neil Greenberg politely declined so he could write about it himself, but be warned that his article is filled with logical arguments and math.

Here are the numbers our panelists picked, along with Ovie’s stats from last year for comparison. We will revisit these at the end of the season to see just how off these guys are.

… [visit site to read more]

Roundtable: Predictions for Ovechkin in 2011-12 - Capitals Outsider - Capitals Outsider - A Washington Capitals blog

Is Semin D.C.’s Most Disliked Athlete?

Ben Sumner — Sun, 21 Aug 2011 20:14:57 +0000

After former Capital Matt Bradley recently verified what everyone in D.C. had already suspected, that Alex Semin ‘doesn’t care,’ the remaining folks in Semin’s cheering section grabbed their stuff and prepared to walk out. Sure, Semin still has the potential to put up a bunch of goals, and so long as he’s a Capital, fans will pull for him to help bring a Stanley Cup to Washington. But it’s not his potential that fans are concerned about. Even if he’s just misunderstood, Semin is widely perceived as not caring, and it’s hard to like a player who ‘doesn’t care.’

… [visit site to read more]

Is Semin D.C.’s Most Disliked Athlete? - Capitals Outsider - Capitals Outsider - A Washington Capitals blog

DCPS Beautification Day is Mascot-Disaster Free!

M. Richter — Sat, 20 Aug 2011 22:08:01 +0000

Matt Hendricks stuck to manual labor, with the occasional pause to supervise the goings-on.

Today, the Caps Community Relations team (with a little help from Matt Hendricks, Wes Johnson, and more than 120 volunteers) lent their talents to the 2011 incarnation of DCPS Beautification Day. Weeds were cleared, doors and a mural were painted, and a rather impressive garden was planted.

But you know who wasn’t there? Slapshot.

… [visit site to read more]

DCPS Beautification Day is Mascot-Disaster Free! - Capitals Outsider - Capitals Outsider - A Washington Capitals blog

How to Get Your Capitalsology Degree

Jeff K — Wed, 17 Aug 2011 02:14:10 +0000

As August turns into September, we are once again reminded of a time honored tradition. No, I’m not talking about opening week of the NFL season, but returning back to school. Long lines in the bookstore for expensive textbooks, mediocre food in the cafeteria, and registering for pointless classes gives one a sense of accomplishment once someone receives that hard-earned degree. (Okay, seriously, can someone explain to me when in everyday life would one need to know what a sine, cosine, and a tangent is? I didn’t think so.) What if I told you that I came up with an associate’s degree program that you could use in everyday life? It’s informative, practical, and would make you want to go to school every day! And besides, it’s an associate’s degree program. You can save yourself money every year instead of giving American or George Mason $30,000+ a year for tuition. So without further ado, I present “Capitalsology.” the study of the Washington Capitals!

To get into this program, you must maintain a 2.0 GPA. There are a few prerequisite classes you must take before applying to admission, but if you think you’re going to have an issue maintaining this GPA, I’m pretty sure you can bribe the admission committee with season tickets or a few jerseys. Down below are the prerequisite courses. You can take them in any order, but this is a sample schedule. Pittsburgh fans are barred from applying for admission into this program.

Prerequisites – Learn Hockey

Semester 1 – 17 credits

(You can skip these if you’ve played or watched the game without having to interrupt someone to explain a basic rule)

MTH 112- Hockey Statistics (3 credits)- This math course will teach the student how to determine basic hockey statistics, such as goals against average, save percentage, and shooting percentage. Course will also go over probability of scoring a goal in relation to where on the ice a player shoots the puck from. Scientific calculator is required for class.

… [visit site to read more]

How to Get Your Capitalsology Degree - Capitals Outsider - Capitals Outsider - A Washington Capitals blog

Leap Towards A Cure Tourney Raises $15k to Fight Cancer

Abram — Tue, 16 Aug 2011 01:29:41 +0000

Even though they lost in the Division 2 Championship Game, Victorious Secret won marks for their name, jerseys, and attitude. Photo by Christy Fox.

Hi, I’m Abram Fox. You may remember me from such Capitals Outsider blog posts as How to Subtly Incorporate the Caps Into a Wedding and Second Annual Leap Towards A Cure Tournament in Laurel. This time, Caps Outsider has given me a bully pulpit to trumpet the great success of the Second Annual Leap Towards A Cure presented by Outback Steakhouse, Laurel, MD.

Even though national media might disagree, there’s no question that the D.C. area is a hockey hotbed. DMV residents watch hockey, love hockey, play hockey, and support hockey. On the weekend of August 5-7, The Gardens Ice House in Laurel, MD played host to 261 hockey players and several hundred guests who all gathered to play some puck and raise money for the Sidney Kimmel Comprehensive Cancer Center at Johns Hopkins.

… [visit site to read more]

Leap Towards A Cure Tourney Raises $15k to Fight Cancer - Capitals Outsider - Capitals Outsider - A Washington Capitals blog

The Lesser-Known Caps in the System (First of Two)

M. Richter — Sun, 14 Aug 2011 17:52:25 +0000

Photo by Alena Schwarz

One month ago, the Washington Capitals held their annual Development Camp. While 40 young men took part in the camp, most fans and spectators walked away remembering a scant handful of names. Cody Eakin, Mattias Sjogren, two of the three Russians in town this year (your options are Stanislav Galiev, Dmitri Orlov, or Dmitry Kugryshev), and maybe Steffan Soberg or Philipp Grubauer if one is a goalie aficionado. If you’re into Twitter, then you might also know who Garrett Mitchell is, simply because Andrew Gordon chirped him at the beginning of camp due to some form of Junior Hockey Solidarity.

So that’s, what, eight players at D-Camp this year who have anything resembling name recognition? And I challenge the average Caps fan to pick more than two out of a lineup (Eakin doesn’t count – his hair alone is a dead giveaway). That’s strike one against most of the players in attendance. Strike two is determined by a very simple question – were you drafted, yes or no? If yes, a player’s name will be littered throughout press releases leading up to the camp, and they’ll be listed on the Prospects Page of the Caps website. Attention will be paid, and opportunities will come a touch more easily and frequently. If no, a player is in the awkward position of being a Cinderella from the start, back against the wall and with the knowledge that they’ve been invited to camp to serve as cannon fodder so that the benches are full – third and fourth liners, who exist to provide a matte background upon which the stars can shine.

Here at Caps Outsider, however, we believe in the little guy. Sure, we may write about a team that’s been considered a cup-less powerhouse for the last few years. And maybe Alex Ovechkin is something of a household name in the hockey community. But we mourn the loss of Matt Bradley and Boyd Gordon just as much as Jason Arnott (and believe me, we’ll miss the Semin-whisperer). And it’s with that spirit in mind that I’m going to share a few facts to help you remember the background dancers on this year’s summer stage. Today’s post looks at the members of Group A. Its counterpart will touch upon Group B, who won two out of the three scrimmages held over the course of the week.

… [visit site to read more]

The Lesser-Known Caps in the System (First of Two) - Capitals Outsider - Capitals Outsider - A Washington Capitals blog