In the grand scheme of things, the vast majority of the players on the ice today will never wear a sweater in an NHL game.  But for the rookies and free agent invitees that donned Washington Capitals and Philadelphia Flyers gear for the annual rookie game, this game meant a lot to whether or not they would be gainfully employed playing for those respective organizations when camp breaks.

And for the fans, it didn't much matter who was wearing it, they were representing the Capitals and a return from a much-too-long summer of disappointment from another early-round playoff exit.

That the Flyers rookies defeated the Caps rookies 3-2 is pretty much immaterial.  In this case, it's not the "how many", but how the individuals handled their assignments, displayed their talents, and held their composure.

The Caps had a few standouts in this one, and they are names you'd expect to be on that list.  Defenseman Dmitry Orlov was the best player on the ice for either team in the game.  Stan Galiev had a beautiful drop pass to set up the first Caps goal by free agent Garrett Ross.  Garrett Mitchell had the second goal -- a third period rebound effort -- and did his customary work along the boards and in the corners.  Both goalies, Philipp Grubauer and Brandon Anderson were solid, with Anderson making a pair of spectacular saves in the late going.

Of course, some players have to take other measures to get noticed, so there were a handful of fights as well.  Dustin Stevenson, who donned the captain's C for the contest and also assisted on the Mitchell goal with a blast from the point, mixed it up, along with Reid Edmondson and Danick Paquette, acquired along with a fifth round pick for Eric Fehr.

Centers Cody Eakin and Mattias Sjogren, in a battle for perhaps the last roster spot with the big club this year, were both solid if unspectacular, and played together on the first power play unit.

So this first game -- scrimmage really -- is in the books.  Everybody got their feet wet, some players stood out and Caps fans finally got a small taste of the game.  With the veterans reporting Friday and camp opening in earnest on Saturday, the pressure gets ratcheted up a notch.

Who's ready?

The Washington Capitals announced the roster and schedule for next week's Development Camp, held at Kettler Capitals Iceplex July 11-16. The roster is highlighted with some of the brightest prospects the organization has to offer, including forwards Mattias Sjogren and Cody Eakin and defenseman Dmitri Orlov.

The 6’2”, 214-pound Sjogren (23) spent last season with Farjestad of the Swedish Elite League, recording a career high 24 points (seven goals, 17 assists) and 44 penalty minutes in 51 games. He helped lead his team to the SEL championship after registering nine points (one goal, eight assists) in 13 playoff games. The 23-year-old also played for Sweden at the 2011 World Championship in Slovakia, winning a silver medal while tallying a goal and three assists in nine games. This will be his first season in North America.

Eakin, 20, began the 2010-11 season as the captain of Swift Current before being traded to Kootenay for five players and three draft picks. The Winnipeg native recorded 83 points (36 goals, 47 assists) in 56 games during the regular season and was a key component of his team’s run to the Memorial Cup, adding 11 goals and 27 points in 19 playoff games. He finished tied for second among all WHL players in postseasons scoring as his Kootenay Ice won the WHL championship. Eakin hopes to translate his strong track record of success to the pro level.

Orlov, 20 on July 23, the highly-touted Russian defenseman, won a gold medal for Russia at the World Junior Championship this year and was named to the tournament all-star team while recording the most assists (8) by a defenseman in the tournament. He recorded a career-high 12 points for Metallurg of the KHL before signing an entry level deal with the Caps in March. He appeared in 19 games with Hershey, collecting two goals and seven assists. He will be beginning his first, full season in North America this year.

All on-ice sessions, including the three intersquad games, are free and open to the public.  Fan Fest is Saturday, July 16, a free-to-the-public event that features the team's annual equipment sale, games, autographs and public skating.

FULL ROSTER

29 FLEMMING, Brett D 5-11 184 2/26/91 Mississauga (OHL) Draft ‘09*
31 GRUBAUER, Phillip G 6-0 180 11/25/91 Kingston (OHL)/Germany (WJC) Draft ‘10*
33 SJOGREN, Mattias C 6-1 209 11/27/87 Farjestads BK (SEL)/Sweden (WC) Free Agent ‘11*
38 HAAR, Garrett D 6-0 193 8/16/93 Fargo (USHL) Draft ‘11
40 SOBERG, Steffen G 5-11 176 8/6/93 Manglerud (Norway)/Norway (WJC) Draft ‘11
44 KOUDYS, Patrick D 6-4 210 11/15/92 RPI (NCAA) Draft ‘11
49 GALIEV, Stanislav LW 6-1 188 1/17/92 Saint John (QMJHL) Draft ‘10
50 EAKIN, Cody C 5-11 179 5/25/91 Swift Current/Kootenay (WHL)/Canada (WJC) Draft ‘09*
53 BOYD, Travis F 5-10 185 9/14/93 USNDT/USA (WJC) Draft ‘11
54 BURKE, Greg LW 6-3 205 5/1/90 New Hampshire (NCAA) Draft ‘08
56 WEY, Patrick D 6-2 200 3/21/91 Boston College (NCAA)/USA (WJC) Draft ‘09
65 CARRIER, Samuel D 6-1 186 4/28/92 Lewiston (QMJHL) Draft ‘10
66 STEVENSON, Dustin D 6-5 220 8/12/89 South Carolina (ECHL) Free Agent ‘10*
72 HERBERT, Caleb F 5-11 185 10/12/91 Sioux City (USHL)/USA (WJAC) Draft ‘10
76 MITCHELL, Garrett RW 5-11 195 9/2/91 Regina (WHL)/Hershey (AHL) Draft ‘09*
78 ANDERSON, Brandon G 6-0 163 6/13/92 Lethbridge (WHL)/Hershey (AHL) Free Agent ‘10*
81 ORLOV, Dmitri D 6-0 197 7/23/91 Metallurg (KHL)/Hershey (AHL)/Russia (WJC) Draft ‘09*
93 KUGRYSHEV, Dmitry RW 5-11 193 1/18/90 Hershey (AHL)/S. Carolina (ECHL) Draft ‘08*
96 STEFISHEN, Taylor LW 6-0 185 8/15/90 Prince George (WHL) Trade ‘11


CAMP SCHEDULE

Monday, July 11
9:45 a.m.: Group A on ice
2:00 p.m.: Group B on ice
Approx. 12 p.m.: Media availability

Tuesday, July 12
9:30 a.m.: Group B on ice
11:45 p.m.: Group A on ice
Approx. 2 p.m.: Media availability

Wednesday, July 13
9:00 a.m.: Group A on ice
10:20 a.m.: Group B on ice
3:00 p.m.: Intrasquad scrimmage
Approx. 12:30 p.m.: Media availability

Thursday, July 14
9 a.m.: Intrasquad scrimmage
Approx. 11:30 a.m.: Media availability

Friday, July 15
9:30 a.m.: Group A on ice
11:15 a.m.: Group B on ice
Approx. 12 p.m.: Media availability

Saturday, July 16
Capitals Fan Fest
10 a.m.: Intrasquad scrimmage
Approx. 1:00 p.m.: Media availability

*Player descriptions from Capitals development camp guide.

Cody Eakin scored with a little over a minute remaining and Josh Godfrey scored twice, leading the Washington Capitals rookies over the Philadelphia Flyers rookies, 4-3, before a packed house at Kettler-Capitals Iceplex.

John Carlson, Jeff Schultz and other Hershey Bears & Caps watching GOAL!

Many of the Capitals varsity -- and much of the Hershey Bears roster -- stood at the far end of the practice rink watching the affair, with Caps coach Bruce Boudreau and General Manager George McPhee watching from the landing off the Caps offices.

Much of the first period was spent in the Caps' end, and there were plenty of bumps being thrown both ways.  But mid-way through, Marcus Johansson sent a backhand pass into the crease that was tipped, then stuffed under Flyers goalie Sergei Bobrovsky by Stanislav Galiev.

The second period started with Trevor Bruess keeping his word and getting into a scuffle with Zac Renaldo, and he took an extra two-minute roughing call.  The Caps killed that penalty, but the rest of the period was filled with Flyers penalties.  Unfortunately, Philly scored on the first Caps PP, as Ben Holstrom beat Philipp Grubauer on a shorthanded breakaway to tie the game at one.

Trevor Bruess

Brandon Anderson relieved Grubauer at the 9:19 mark of the second.

Brandon Anderson

With one minute remaining in the period, the Capitals broke the tie, as Godfrey got his first of the game, on a feed from Eakin in close.

The power plays continued for the Caps in the third, and Godfrey hit again, on a big slapshot from the high slot, off a feed from Dmitry Kugryshev, pushing the lead to 3-1 with 15 minutes left in the game.  Johannson picked up his second assist on the play.

Josh Godfrey

The Flyers made a game of it though, beating Anderson twice, on goals by Eric Wellwood and Marc-Andre Bourdon.

But with 1:16 remaining, Eakin gained control of a bouncing puck and snuck it past Flyers goalie Adam Morrison for the game winner.

Cody Eakin

CAPS NEWS NETWORK THREE STARS

*** Josh Godfrey.  Two big goals, lacks concentration on defense.

**   Cody Eakin.  Was all over the place in the offensive zone.  Gets knocked off the puck a lot though.

*     Marcus Johansson.  Easily the best player on the sheet today.  Makes passes none of the other rookies see or can handle.  Skating ability off he charts.

Honorable Mentions:  Grubauer played very well in his half-game and Stan Galiev was strong up front too.  Hat tip to Bruess for mixing it up after telling the media he would.  Joe Finley was invisible most of the day, and declined several offers to get physical.

Dustin Stevenson and Marcus Johansson

Anton Gustafsson

Philipp Grubauer

Full house!

Posted by Cheryl Nichols, Contributor and Photographer for Capitals News Network

The Caps held their first practice of training camp on Sunday, Sept. 13 in preparation for the 2009-10 NHL season. Fans won't be surprised to hear that Alex Ovechkin was the first player on the ice at Kettler Capitals Iceplex.

Sixty-eight players (40 forwards, 22 defensemen and six goaltenders) are listed on the Capitals’ training camp roster and 65 of those players took the ice today at Kettler.

The absentees were left wing Tomas Fleischmann, goaltender Braden Holtby and defenseman Grant McNeill. Holtby tweaked a groin and was held out as a precautionary measure. McNeill had off-season knee surgery and is not ready to go as of yet.

According to Mike Vogel, Fleischmann is suffering from deep vein thrombosis, a condition that may have been inflicted on the long airline flight from D.C. to Fleischmann’s home in the Czech Republic at the conclusion of last season. Caps coach Bruce Boudreau expects Flesichmann to be able to return to practice sometime in October and perhaps to the lineup by the second or third week of next month. See Vogel's other training camp updates here. *UPDATED* Fleischmann talks about his blood clot.

The first practice brought many season ticket holders and other fans to Kettler to catch a first glance at the Caps and welcome them back to the ice. Some fans were impressed by Mike Knuble, one of the newest Caps, and his drives to the net.

One fan mentioned that both Jose Theodore and Semyon Varlamov looked strong and made some "awesome" saves. One of the younger players, John Carlson, took one to the lower lip in a battle for the puck.

PLAYER THOUGHTS AND NOTES:

·Newcombers Mike Knuble and Brendan Morrison are ready to play.

·Mike Green has a good feeling about this year.

·Alexander Semin will be conversing more with the media thanks to translator Dmitry Chesnokov.

·Jose Theodore is facing biggest challenge of his life after the recent death of his two month old son.

·Michael Nylander wants to play in NHL.

·Check out the interviews with Coach Bruce and several players from training camp here.

ROOKIE GAME:

If you missed the Annual Rookie game on Friday, Sept 11 against Flyers in Philadelpha, you can watch the game online. Flyers win 7-3. Caps outshoot Philly 32-27. Period 1, Period 2, Period 3.

NEXT UP:
Teams B & C scrimmage at 12:15 p.m. today, Sept. 14 at Kettler which is free and open to the public.