Photos by Andy Wallace
The Washington Capitals hosted their Inova Spring Blood Drive on Saturday, and yet again offered an illustrious bobblehead to those who took time out of their day to give a measly pint of blood.
This time the bobblehead was none other than former Cap and current associate goaltending coach Olie Kolzig. Why Kolzig now, instead of a current Capital? Because of the lockout. The blood drive would have happened whether the NHL started up or not, and the Capitals had to pick someone who they had rights to distribute had the NHL and the player’s union not come to an agreement. (BTW, this isn’t the only Kolzig bobblehead that came out recently).
Dressed in the newest Caps jersey with red, white and blue blocker, pads and glove, Kolzig looks like he’s still ready to play for the Caps. However, one missing detail that would have put this bobblehead over the top was his famous ‘Zilla’ goalie mask.
Another difference between this and past bobbleheads is that he has a finish or glaze on him giving the bobblehead a nice and smooth feeling instead of the rough feeling of the previous ones. In a side-by-side comparison between Olie, Neuvy, and Varly, the facial features of the Kolzig bobblehead blow the other two out of the water.
The previous company used was Pro Sport Image but Bobble Factory made the Kolzig. I’m still having mixed views of the new company as some details are better and some are worse, but we’ll just have to see how future bobbleheads turn out before becoming too judgmental because hey, it’s a free bobblehead.
The next blood drive will be take place in Sterling, VA on July 20th. The next bobblehead will be either Braden Holtby, Joel Ward, or Jay Beagle. Though it seems Holtby is the most obvious choice, I would much rather have a game giveaway bobblehead of him holding the Vezina Trophy in the coming years. But then again, having two Holtby bobbleheads wouldn’t be the end of the world.
