(Photos by Caps Outsider)
12:00: Leave work at my other job, hop on Metro and pray to divine entities that I somehow make it to KCI before the media availability is over.
1:05: First on-ice session ends, players enter the locker room for media interviews. The exact time I walk in the door.
Lucas Johansen, the first round pick of 2016, made it onto the ice for today after feeling “under the weather” yesterday (“I think I ate some food that wasn’t good for me” he said of his illness). For him, the point of this camp is in its name: development.
“They [the coaches] made it clear it’s about learning and developing for the camps ahead and just gaining experience so, hopefully when I try to make this team one day, I’ve had this experience in my back pocket” Johansen said. He’s also glad to have Madison Bowey, a former teammate at Kelowna, in the room and on his team: “We won the championship together; that was a great experience, a great run that we both cherish.”
Steven Spinner, a sixth round pick from 2014, is in his third Development Camp. “I feel like this one’s a lot easier than the past two,” Spinner said. He’s looking to improve on his speed and his effectiveness in the corners while at camp, but also looks forward to the team rowing trip they take on the Potomac River.
Beck Malenstyn, a fifth rounder from 2016, is happy to have a few familiar faces from the WHL, even if he played against them while with the Calgary Hitmen. “You definetly feel more comfortable that way,” he said. It’s his first time in the District.
“[Seeing the monuments] is gonna be a really cool experience for a Canadian kid to walk around and see that,” Malenstyn said.
1:50: Troy Mann, Hershey Bears head coach, holds court for the media and details many important things, all of which are too detailed for this piece.
The players and coaches break for a few hours as the fans start to file in for Fan Fest. This year’s festival featured two stret hockey rinks, a slapshot accuracy challenge, a bounce house, cornhole, a DJ, and free Rita’s Italian Ice.
3:00: Fans begin the festivities with a faceoff at one of the street hockey rinks (photo above).
3:00-5:00: Caps Alumni begin to show up and sign autographs for fans.
3:27: Taylor Hall is traded from Edmonton to New Jersey for Adam Larsson. Neither player seemed particularly happy with their place in the organization, so the trade appeared to help both sides.
3:57: Steven Stamkos signs an eight-year, $8.5 million average annual value deal to stay with the Tampa Bay Lightning.
Cancel the Stamkos Sweepstakes, he has decided to return to the Tampa Bay Lightning. #TSN
— Bob McKenzie (@TSNBobMcKenzie) June 29, 2016
4:01: P.K. Subban is traded to the Nashville Predators for Shea Weber. No salary retained, no other commodities; a straight-up one-for-one swap between Montreal and Nashville.
Hockey Twitter blew up accordingly.
https://twitter.com/DannyPage/status/748246392754286593
The Oilers just traded Taylor Hall for a handful of beans. And not even magic beans. Like they reached into a dented can of baked beans.
— Down Goes Brown (@DownGoesBrown) June 29, 2016
Everyone this afternoon #NHL #cool pic.twitter.com/LVGJyLu1dp
— Joe Dan Tony (@slowhnds) June 29, 2016
“I want to be a hockey reporter”
– Me 30 minutes ago, before these trades.
— marisa ingemi (@Marisa_Ingemi) June 29, 2016
4:03: I walk into the Caps media room and break the Subban trade. Ben Raby tells me “You’re full of s—-.” Then he checks Twitter.
4:46: Caps players begin to filter back into the locker rooms. Kids are with their hockey equipment for the Caps Youth Hockey showcase. Caps staff divide up the rinks into six parts to get the maximum use out of them.
5:00: Youth Showcase begins. Caps prospects assist squirts in running drills and scrimmages on both the Capitals Rink and the public skating rink.
5:41: James, from Williamsburg, VA, shows off his impressive collection of autographs. He started his collection at the 2008 Development Camp, including every player for the last five. His favorites include Alex Ovechkin, Steven Stamkos, Vladislav Tretiak, and Denis Maruk, which he got today.
6:18: The mini-camp wraps up after taking a group picture. Players are stopped for autographs as they come off the ice. Pictured, Ilya Samsonov and Axel Jonsson-Fjallby sign for some fans.
6:55: As he signs for some fans, I ask Adam Carlson “are you ever gonna get used to being this big?”
“Nope,” he said.
6:56: Caps Alumni begin their warm up skate. Wes Johnson takes his place between the penalty boxes for Public Address duties. Bob McDonald is in the house in a retro white screaming eagle Caps jersey to sing the anthem.
7:10-8:35: The Alumni game happens, with Team White pulling out the comeback victory over Team Red in a shootout.
When asked if being a hockey player ever gets old, Brian Sutherby replied “No; putting on the equipment does, but nothing else.”
Also, Sutherby and Alan May both wore 16 for Team White, but Sutherby’s helmet had the number 20. “I finished my career in Dallas [where he wore 20], so that’s where my equipment’s from,” Sutherby said.
9:13: Leave Kettler after spending pretty much the whole day there.
