via @DCRyzin
It’s National Bobblehead Day and we at Capitals Outsider have decided to rank the Top 10 Caps and Caps affiliate bobbleheads of 2016 bobbleheads.
1 Marcus Johansson
Not only did this bobblehead successfully capture the signature Marcus Johansson look, but it finally broke the Eric Fehr bobblehead curse that had its hands wrapped around Mojo’s neck. For years Mojo had been beaten out by fan favorites, such as Jay Beagle and Tom Wilson, and big off season signings, such as T.J. Oshie and Justin Williams. After signing a three-year extension, it wrestled him free from the curse and finally gave him the bobblehead he deserved. The bobblehead again captured his little beard and was a great way to end the year for the Capitals and their bobbleheads. For that we rank Johansson’s bobblehead at number 1 because of how long he waited and how well it captured his looks, and maybe because we were pulling for him to get one for all these years.
2 Trevor Gillies (Stingrays)
Trevor Gillies is a well-known enforcer, making a name for himself in the NHL when he played with the Islanders. With more than 250 fights between his professional and junior career he was truly a goon of his time. The South Carolina Stingrays were lucky enough to sign him for the 2015-16 ECHL season and although he only tallied two points that season, he reached the 100 PIM plateau for the first time since 2011-12. After bringing him back for the 2016-17 season there was no better way than to commemorate him with a bobblehead of his own. But this bobbled in a different way – his arm did the shaking. The body part that has most notably grown his hockey career was the center point of his game night giveaway. Given that this was the first hockey bobble-arm we could find and that the Stingrays handed it out with literal hours to spend in 2016, we have Gillies coming in at number 2.
3 Mike Moore (Bears)
The Hershey Bears introduced a fan vote before the Capitals tried it during the 2016 Presidential Election and the choices were between Firefighter Mike Moore and Policeman Mike Moore. Both of the bobbleheads were prototyped and pictures were released to the public. The winner ended up being Firefighter Mike Moore, which we may have been secretly rooting for, and the fact that a bobblehead of a hockey player not in hockey gear was being handed out which was also decided by the fans is the reason he comes in at number 3.
4 Doug Yingst (Bears)
Doug Yingst was the President and General Manager of the Hershey Bears from the 1998–99 AHL season to the 2015–16 AHL season. Over that span Yingst had seen the Bears secure three Calder Cups. Hershey Bears bobbleheads are usually well-made and this was no exception. The bobblehead took Yingst’s exact likeness and that along with the fact that he is holding a mini Calder Cup are the reason he jumped in the standings to number 4.
5 Dmitry Orlov
This bobblehead was a bit more unexpected for the blood drive bobbleheads of 2016. Orlov was going to become an RFA at the end of the 2015-16 season but Inova stuck to their guns and announced that Dima would be the bobblehead for the August blood drive. When August 6th came around he remained unsigned but his bobblehead greeted everyone with a smiling face that Saturday as fans still flocked to Kettler to bleed for Orly. The bobblehead itself took on a pretty good likeness of the Caps defensemen, who would eventually sign a one year deal before the season. Given that it was his first bobblehead and there was tension surrounding it, we will rank him at number 5 for 2016.
6 Alex Ovechkin
With Ovechkin creeping closer and closer to 1000 points, as well as the holidays at that time, this was a perfect holiday gift pack with tickets. The Ovechkin points counter is awesome simply because you can give Ovechkin 2858 points and make him the leading scorer in NHL history. The downfall to this bobblehead is that you had to buy tickets to two games in order to get your hands on one. This may not sound like a bad thing given that the packages were as low as $99, but for season ticket holders it was a bit of a nuisance that has yet to work itself out. That drops its ranking a bit but we’ll still give it number 6.
7 Justin Williams
When this bobblehead was announced Justin Williams had been on the team for less than half a season. However, he had quickly become and fan favorite and solidified his spot as a top six forward on the Caps. The bobblehead is well made, as have most of the recent blood drive bobbles, but we feel that it didn’t do him justice, at least as much as his election bobblehead. For this as well as the fact that he hadn’t been on the team for a tremendous amount of time we rank him at number 7.
8 T.J. Oshie
By time we had heard the news that Oshie would be an Inova bobblehead, the world was already flooded with Oshie bobbleheads. One by Forever Collectibles had featured Oshie in the Caps reds while another in the beloved Capitals holiday packs featured him in the fan favorite third jerseys introduced that same year. The blood drive bobbleheads are always wanted but the fact that there were already so many Oshie bobbleheads in such a short time, this one wasn’t that important, putting Oshie at number 8 in our rankings.
9 Barry Trotz (Portland)
Longtime fans may remember when Barry Trotz took the Portland Pirates to the Calder Cup finals in the 1995-96 season despite finishing the season with a losing record. The Capitals at the time were affiliated with the Pirates as well. The memories are great but won’t get you much traction in these rankings, and therefore Barry Trotz’s Portland Pirates bobblehead comes in at 9 only because they brought back that awesome hair of his.
10 Andre Burakovsky
Andre Burakovsky has managed to work his way into our hearts, and apparently Ovi’s, and was blessed with a bobblehead this past year however, let’s be honest, it didn’t do him much justice. The third jerseys are cool and all but the fact that it was a Monumental Sports Reward that started out at 30,000 points made it almost impossible for most fans to get. They dropped it to 15,000 points not too long ago but as of now is no longer available on the site. Andre will have his time, hopefully at a future blood drive, but for now we will have to rank him at dead last for the calendar year.
