It took me a while to find it, but I finally did. March 5 2004, Flyers vs. Senators. Donald Brashear gets into a tussle with Rob Ray in front of the Flyers net. The fight ignited 413 penalty minutes, a single game record in the NHL.
While it really wasn't Brashear's fight I was looking for, I remembered Brian Potheir and Brashear tussled. Potheir actually jumps Brashear over the head of the linesman.
The video is the first of three. If you want to see all three rounds which leaves a total of 5 players on the benches for both teams, here is part 2 and part 3.
The Irony of all this is now both players are now on the same team. I assume they got over it, let's hope. I knew of the scrap between both players but didn't realize it was in the middle of a brawl and that Potheir nearly took the head off the referee to get at Brashear. It is nice to see Potheir show a little toughness, which his stock is starting to rise as I do more research on the new Capital.
Sunday, September 10, 2006
Saturday, September 09, 2006
Some Old Time Hockey
Canada vs. England (1930)
Some really old footage I found on youtube. I had to share. Canada vs. England and Canada beat England (don't know the score, but it was the final game at the first Ice Hockey World Championship).
Notice the defensemen on this old footage. Kinda looks like the Capitals blue liners, just standing around.
Some really old footage I found on youtube. I had to share. Canada vs. England and Canada beat England (don't know the score, but it was the final game at the first Ice Hockey World Championship).
Notice the defensemen on this old footage. Kinda looks like the Capitals blue liners, just standing around.
Camp Roster Set
Caps have released their camp roster. It’s a list with some very familiar names on it, and not so familiar names. One thing is certain, the Caps are relying on their prospects to step it up for this season.
Some names that stick out that were in Hershey last year. Mike Green is a young talented defenseman that shows he is quick, strong and already a fan favorite. Brooks Laich is another to watch, who nearly secured a spot at the end of last season playing 73 games in the big league and getting some key goals in the Bears’ championship run in the minors.
If Alexander Semin actually shows up, he will certainly create a buzz for the Caps adding another weapon to the already loaded offensive threat. Brian Pothier will be the only major signing George McPhee did in the off season. The Caps are in desperate need of defense, as was evident last season where Olie Kolzig faced 50+ shots a game. Instead of getting a good stay at home defenseman, McPhee gets an offensive defenseman. It makes sense, kinda of.
The only other signing that raised some eyebrows was acquiring Donald Brashear. Brashear does not add anything to the club except brute toughness. He is the team’s policeman keeping those other goons in line. He will be a heavy hitter and an all out fighter that should keep the drunken lobbyists in the stands at the phone booth amused after they get bored watching Kolzig get pummeled with shots.
There are 6 goaltenders attending camp. The most familiar are of course Kolzig, Brent Johnson, Fredric Cassivi (who was signed by the Capitals after his spectacular effort in net for Hershey), and Maxime Daigneault. The other two are top prospects Daren Machesney and Michal Neuvirth.
It is also interesting that among the names who is not there. Like one, Ivan Majesky is not on the list. Still on the free agent list as of the morning of Sep. 8, Majesky may not be in a Capitals’ sweater this season.
Also missing are Brian Willsie (signed with L.A.), Jeff Halpern (signed with Dallas), Mathieu Biron (signed with San Jose), Nolan Yonkman (signed with Nashville), Jeff Friesen (traded to Anaheim), and of course Brendan Witt (traded to Nashville, signed with Islanders).
One thing is for sure about this camp, the Caps are putting all their cards in the hands of their young players. They are counting on the prospects to show signs of improvement once again this season.
Some names that stick out that were in Hershey last year. Mike Green is a young talented defenseman that shows he is quick, strong and already a fan favorite. Brooks Laich is another to watch, who nearly secured a spot at the end of last season playing 73 games in the big league and getting some key goals in the Bears’ championship run in the minors.
If Alexander Semin actually shows up, he will certainly create a buzz for the Caps adding another weapon to the already loaded offensive threat. Brian Pothier will be the only major signing George McPhee did in the off season. The Caps are in desperate need of defense, as was evident last season where Olie Kolzig faced 50+ shots a game. Instead of getting a good stay at home defenseman, McPhee gets an offensive defenseman. It makes sense, kinda of.
The only other signing that raised some eyebrows was acquiring Donald Brashear. Brashear does not add anything to the club except brute toughness. He is the team’s policeman keeping those other goons in line. He will be a heavy hitter and an all out fighter that should keep the drunken lobbyists in the stands at the phone booth amused after they get bored watching Kolzig get pummeled with shots.
There are 6 goaltenders attending camp. The most familiar are of course Kolzig, Brent Johnson, Fredric Cassivi (who was signed by the Capitals after his spectacular effort in net for Hershey), and Maxime Daigneault. The other two are top prospects Daren Machesney and Michal Neuvirth.
It is also interesting that among the names who is not there. Like one, Ivan Majesky is not on the list. Still on the free agent list as of the morning of Sep. 8, Majesky may not be in a Capitals’ sweater this season.
Also missing are Brian Willsie (signed with L.A.), Jeff Halpern (signed with Dallas), Mathieu Biron (signed with San Jose), Nolan Yonkman (signed with Nashville), Jeff Friesen (traded to Anaheim), and of course Brendan Witt (traded to Nashville, signed with Islanders).
One thing is for sure about this camp, the Caps are putting all their cards in the hands of their young players. They are counting on the prospects to show signs of improvement once again this season.
Friday, September 08, 2006
Hockey Around The Corner
It’s a great time to be a blogger for hockey. Teams are beginning to show up for camp, players are revisiting their old haunts. And all the off season trades and signings have observers like us buzzing with dreams of post season greatness.
Instead of chatting about mindless non-news the bloggers have a chance to talk more about the actual game. It’s a dawning of a new season that makes us giddy like school girls asked to dance for the first time.
No more will we dazzle you with boring youtube videos of the same goals over and over. No more will hockey bloggers complain about the latest signings or non-signings or bad trades. No more will you see yet another Alex Ovechkin montage that inevitably leads to “the goal.”
Now it’s time for us to sign on and tell you how ready our teams are to kick everyone’s butt. It’s that nervous anticipation for camp to start like a nervous first time father in the waiting room waiting to be told if it’s a boy or a crappy team.
The Capital’s camp officially starts September 15th. Circled on my calendar with a red marker that rivals the circle around my anniversary (don’t tell my wife). Caps fans have a lot to talk about, and surprisingly it’s not all about Alex Ovechkin.
How will Brian Pothier fit into the new scheme? Which prospect will step up this year and make the team for good? How will the Hershey Bears championship in the AHL last year affect the Capitals this year? And of course who will be the Caps new captain?
While all of those will be answered after the first couple of games the Caps play, the biggest question will be if this team is a contender. Ovechkin has already set the goal of making the playoffs this season, and it remains to be seen if this team has improved to that standard.
All these questions are swirling around in the mind of the hockey blogger about their respective teams. They are starting to spill them out on their pages. Now we are talking about hockey, not just the lack there of.
Instead of chatting about mindless non-news the bloggers have a chance to talk more about the actual game. It’s a dawning of a new season that makes us giddy like school girls asked to dance for the first time.
No more will we dazzle you with boring youtube videos of the same goals over and over. No more will hockey bloggers complain about the latest signings or non-signings or bad trades. No more will you see yet another Alex Ovechkin montage that inevitably leads to “the goal.”
Now it’s time for us to sign on and tell you how ready our teams are to kick everyone’s butt. It’s that nervous anticipation for camp to start like a nervous first time father in the waiting room waiting to be told if it’s a boy or a crappy team.
The Capital’s camp officially starts September 15th. Circled on my calendar with a red marker that rivals the circle around my anniversary (don’t tell my wife). Caps fans have a lot to talk about, and surprisingly it’s not all about Alex Ovechkin.
How will Brian Pothier fit into the new scheme? Which prospect will step up this year and make the team for good? How will the Hershey Bears championship in the AHL last year affect the Capitals this year? And of course who will be the Caps new captain?
While all of those will be answered after the first couple of games the Caps play, the biggest question will be if this team is a contender. Ovechkin has already set the goal of making the playoffs this season, and it remains to be seen if this team has improved to that standard.
All these questions are swirling around in the mind of the hockey blogger about their respective teams. They are starting to spill them out on their pages. Now we are talking about hockey, not just the lack there of.
Thursday, September 07, 2006
Not Ready To Be Captain
Go figure, I had to go to a Canadian website to get this gem. Alex Ovechkin turns down the Capital’s captain vacancy citing that his English is not very good to take that role this year. I totally agree with him, just for different reasons.
Ovechkin is an amazing talent and the Capitals are his team, but it’s only his second year in the league. Not an accomplishment to warrant a “C” on his shoulder. It’s the same problem I have with Sid “the Kid” Crosby taking the captain’s role. What can a second year player know that a 5 year veteran who had to earn a spot to play in the National Hockey League doesn’t?
Crosby and Ovechkin are two of the leagues most exciting players, each able to create unbelievable plays on ice that leave fans shaking their heads. It’s what they do on the ice can make or break games for their respective teams. They have created a buzz about the league that hasn’t been there since Wayne Gretzky’s smooth scoring, or Mario Lemieux’s brute strength and soft hands.
But are they ready to scold a teammate that has seen harder times in this league than they have? Can Crosby be tough with a player that has 10 seasons under his belt? Can Ovechkin keep the spirits up of his teammates that seesaw between the minors and coming back up and being sent down again, if Ovechkin has never set foot in the minor league system?
These are all challenges that many of the league’s captains have to face each time they practice, play and lead their teams. How can a year of playing in the NHL make these boys men? Not just men, but captains. Crosby and Ovechkin are certainly not ready to be that kind of leader when they themselves have so much learning to do.
Great hockey captains like Jason Smith, Rod Brind’Amour, Mark Messier, Stevie Yzerman, Joe Sakic, and Mike Modano all had accomplishments under their belt. They were all veterans that were true students of the game, even becoming teachers as well. They all had taken their experiences, years of playing in this league, the ups and downs of season after season and applied them to the team. It’s what made them great captains. They had earned the respect of their peers, not just handed the position after a “good” year.
I don’t know if Crosby and Ovechkin have that yet. They can earn their stripes with an “A” proudly on their chest of course. After a few years of experiencing what it means to bring your lunch pale and hard hat to every practice, every game, and every playoff series, they then can be the teachers and leaders that have the battlefield experience. It’s then, with the team solidly theirs, they can wear the “C” like a war medal.
It’s laughable to expect a player that has only played one season to become a leader. One year does not gauge a player’s overall career. If the season goes to crap under the leadership of a sophomore player, are they to blame? And is a sophomore player ready for the responsibility of being the team’s leader?
Crosby’s constant whining over every hit, or Ovechkin’s lack of good English are interesting arguments against putting them in charge. But in the end it’s not if they can lead, it’s if they really have earned that right to be the leader.
Editor's Note: This article is featured on the website WriteonSports.com.
Ovechkin is an amazing talent and the Capitals are his team, but it’s only his second year in the league. Not an accomplishment to warrant a “C” on his shoulder. It’s the same problem I have with Sid “the Kid” Crosby taking the captain’s role. What can a second year player know that a 5 year veteran who had to earn a spot to play in the National Hockey League doesn’t?
Crosby and Ovechkin are two of the leagues most exciting players, each able to create unbelievable plays on ice that leave fans shaking their heads. It’s what they do on the ice can make or break games for their respective teams. They have created a buzz about the league that hasn’t been there since Wayne Gretzky’s smooth scoring, or Mario Lemieux’s brute strength and soft hands.
But are they ready to scold a teammate that has seen harder times in this league than they have? Can Crosby be tough with a player that has 10 seasons under his belt? Can Ovechkin keep the spirits up of his teammates that seesaw between the minors and coming back up and being sent down again, if Ovechkin has never set foot in the minor league system?
These are all challenges that many of the league’s captains have to face each time they practice, play and lead their teams. How can a year of playing in the NHL make these boys men? Not just men, but captains. Crosby and Ovechkin are certainly not ready to be that kind of leader when they themselves have so much learning to do.
Great hockey captains like Jason Smith, Rod Brind’Amour, Mark Messier, Stevie Yzerman, Joe Sakic, and Mike Modano all had accomplishments under their belt. They were all veterans that were true students of the game, even becoming teachers as well. They all had taken their experiences, years of playing in this league, the ups and downs of season after season and applied them to the team. It’s what made them great captains. They had earned the respect of their peers, not just handed the position after a “good” year.
I don’t know if Crosby and Ovechkin have that yet. They can earn their stripes with an “A” proudly on their chest of course. After a few years of experiencing what it means to bring your lunch pale and hard hat to every practice, every game, and every playoff series, they then can be the teachers and leaders that have the battlefield experience. It’s then, with the team solidly theirs, they can wear the “C” like a war medal.
It’s laughable to expect a player that has only played one season to become a leader. One year does not gauge a player’s overall career. If the season goes to crap under the leadership of a sophomore player, are they to blame? And is a sophomore player ready for the responsibility of being the team’s leader?
Crosby’s constant whining over every hit, or Ovechkin’s lack of good English are interesting arguments against putting them in charge. But in the end it’s not if they can lead, it’s if they really have earned that right to be the leader.
Editor's Note: This article is featured on the website WriteonSports.com.
Bondra Back?
It’s time to hit the ice, work out the cobwebs, oil the hinges, and scrape the rust. And for a few Capitals, September 15th isn’t soon enough. A few sightings confirmed by Tarik El-Bashir of Caps at Ashburn signals the start of a new season.
Players such as Dainius Zubrus, Chris Clark, Brian Pothier, Shaone Morrisonn, and Olaf Kolzig dressed up for an informal skate at Ashburn Ice House. Plus a surprise guest, Peter Bondra.
Bondra expressed interest in coming back to the Capitals, but George McPhee showed no interest:
Peter Bondra was not only a fan favorite in DC, but a significant producer holding many scoring titles here as a Capital. Since the purge of 2004 where the Capitals basically dumped every veteran paycheck in an effort to get younger, Bondra has been bouncing team to team playing with Atlanta last year and Ottawa a season before that. It looks like he will be looking for work elsewhere for this season too.
It’s not about the past, but about the future and Alex Ovechkin is the bright star on the horizon. That is if we can pull him away from Toronto. Ovechkin seems to prefer our neighbors to the north even telling a reporter there that he would like to play in Toronto. Uh-oh.
Next week will mark the return of all Capitals for opening camp that will be split between Ashburn and Hershey. And that means the season is just around the corner. For Caps fans, it’s a new dawn that has to be better than the previous one. It all started on an informal skate with Bondra on the ice alongside. How ironic.
NHL Notes
That’s all I got.
Players such as Dainius Zubrus, Chris Clark, Brian Pothier, Shaone Morrisonn, and Olaf Kolzig dressed up for an informal skate at Ashburn Ice House. Plus a surprise guest, Peter Bondra.
Bondra expressed interest in coming back to the Capitals, but George McPhee showed no interest:
"We were waiting to hear from the Caps, and last week I got an answer" from General Manager George McPhee , said Bondra, who still has a home in Annapolis. "He said he wasn't interested. So now I have to look at some other options.
"The Caps were my first option," he added. "But unfortunately that isn't going to work out."
Peter Bondra was not only a fan favorite in DC, but a significant producer holding many scoring titles here as a Capital. Since the purge of 2004 where the Capitals basically dumped every veteran paycheck in an effort to get younger, Bondra has been bouncing team to team playing with Atlanta last year and Ottawa a season before that. It looks like he will be looking for work elsewhere for this season too.
It’s not about the past, but about the future and Alex Ovechkin is the bright star on the horizon. That is if we can pull him away from Toronto. Ovechkin seems to prefer our neighbors to the north even telling a reporter there that he would like to play in Toronto. Uh-oh.
Next week will mark the return of all Capitals for opening camp that will be split between Ashburn and Hershey. And that means the season is just around the corner. For Caps fans, it’s a new dawn that has to be better than the previous one. It all started on an informal skate with Bondra on the ice alongside. How ironic.
NHL Notes
- Evgeni Malkin is officially a Penguin. Like that wasn’t going to happen after sneaking him over an ocean and hiding him in Los Angeles.
- Stephen Peat is no longer a Cap, he’s a ‘Cane. Guess getting Donald Brashear was enough.
- NHL.com will be going under a major renovation. The word on the street is that NHL.com will become more like myspace.com allowing fans to have their own pages and more. It is going to be an attempt to get fans more involved with their teams and with the sport. It may change many of the hockey blogs you see today, instead of searching for them on google, they may all be at NHL.com.
That’s all I got.
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