The Washington Capitals cut 13 players this morning from training camp before travelling to Columbus for tonight's pre-season game with the Blue Jackets.

Among the cuts were Stan Galiev, who had a strong camp, and Danick Paquette, who was acquired in the off-season trade with Winnipeg for Eric Fehr.

Galiev was sent back to St. John of the QMJHL, his junior team, after a strong showing in both the rookie game against the Flyers and in Tuesday's pre-season opener against Nashville.

All of the players cut except Galiev are expected to report to Hershey's camp, which begins Sept. 25.

The rest of the players cut were:

F Francois Bouchard

F David de Kastrozza

F Kyle Greentree

F Boyd Kane

F Maxime Lacroix

F Graham Mink

F Garrett Mitchell

F Danick Paquette

D Paul Baier

D Zach Miskovic

D Phil Oreskovic

D Dustin Stevenson



Yes, some were sucking wind during the first day of camp. (photo by Cheryl Nichols)

We'll have plenty of quotes in a longer post later on, but here are some quick observations from Day 1 of the Washington Capitals  2011 Training Camp.  Everyone (including us) has been talking about the shaving cream pie in the face Alex Ovechkin received from some of his running mates for his birthday, but there was actually hockey content as well.

First, injury updates.  D Tom Poti failed his physical and will be placed on the Long Term Injured List, according to GM George McPhee.  Poti is unable to participate in hockey drills of any kind even after the summer of rehabilitation.  The team will try a different tack with his conditioning, McPhee said, but they have no timetable for Poti's return.  McPhee did say, rather matter-of-factly, that like Brian Pothier two years ago, if and when Poti is healthy enough to return the Caps will welcome him back.

Other players that had injuries at the end of last season, such as Troy Brouwer (shoulder), John Erskine (shoulder) and Dennis Wideman (leg) all took the ice.  Wideman said he was game-ready "when they put me in" and Brouwer announced himself 100 percent fit, but Erskine wore an orange jersey today, indicating no heavy contact.  McPhee described Erskine's full rehab from surgery as a six-month process, but the Caps expect Big John to be able to play before that.  For him, it's a strength issue, not a range of motion issue.

Another big topic of today was the conditioning drill, the first ever for the Capitals at the start of camp.  Everyone asked said it was a good exercise -- and some looked completely worn out after the test.  Coach Bruce Boudreau talked about it as "data points" to use in the future for following seasons as a base line.  Mike Knuble described it as "part ball-busting and part team building," and that probably hit the nail on the head.  By the way, Knuble, participating in Group A with Ovechkin, Nicklas Backstrom, Alexander Semin, Brooks Laich, Marcus Johansson and Mike Green, "won" his flight.  It's a testament to the 38-year old's conditioning and core strength.

The only player to not complete the conditioning test was new D Roman Hamrlik.  Out of an abundance of caution, Boudreau instructed Hamrlik to stop the test when the veteran defenseman complained of his groin tightening.  We noticed in the team portion of his groups practice that Hamrlik appeared at times to not be going 100 percent full power.  Boudreau expects Hamrlik to practice Sunday and take the test perhaps next week.

Every player interviewed reiterated that this team will be measured not on regular season performance, but on the success -- or failure -- in the playoffs.  Newly acquired veterans such as Tomas Vokoun and Jeff Halpern spoke about their upcoming opportunity in D.C. as their best chance at a Cup in their careers.  Returning Caps veterans spoke about accountability and a renewed focus on the team construct.  It's telling that so many of the Caps veterans arrived to Kettler early the last couple of weeks, ready to meet this year's challenge.  It'll be interesting to follow this season to see how many are able to retain that enthusiasm as the seemingly endless regular season plods along.

We'll have much more over the next couple of days, including George McPhee and Bruce Boudreau talking about leadership, accountability, and their effort for the sport's top prize.  We'll have an in-depth discussion with goalie Tomas Vokoun, in a very daunting spot as a one-year free agent backstopping a championship-caliber team and the challenge of playing with a countryman -- at the same position -- who looked up to him as a youngster.  And comments from many players, new and returning, about their quest for the ultimate goal.

Oh, one last thing.  Brooks Laich was -- of course -- the first player on the ice this morning at a little past 9:00 am.

The Washington Capitals announced their training camp schedule and roster via press release today:

Every practice open and free to the public

ARLINGTON, Va. – The Washington Capitals will begin their 2011-12 Training Camp at Kettler Capitals Iceplex on Saturday, Sept. 17, vice president and general manager George McPhee announced today.

Training camp will last 19 days with the NHL regular season beginning on Thursday, Oct. 6. This marks the Capitals’ fifth training camp at Kettler Capitals Iceplex, the Metro-accessible, inside-the-Beltway practice facility that features two NHL-sized rinks. All on-ice sessions, like every Capitals practice at Kettler Capitals Iceplex, will be open to the public and free of charge. The training camp roster will be broken up into three squads (Teams A, B, C) and their schedule will vary.

Washington will play its first preseason game at the Baltimore Hockey Classic on Tuesday, Sept. 20 vs. Nashville at 1st Mariner Arena in Baltimore. The Capitals will open the 2011-12 regular season versus the Carolina Hurricanes on Saturday, Oct. 8 at Verizon Center.

2011 Washington Capitals Training Camp Team Assignments

TEAM A
3 Tom Poti.......................... D
4 John Erskine..................... D
8 Alex Ovechkin.................. LW
17 D.J. King........................ LW
19 Nicklas Backstrom.......... C
21 Brooks Laich.................. C
22 Mike Knuble................... RW
28 Alexander Semin............. RW
30 Michal Neuvirth............... G
41 Patrick Wellar.................. D
43 Kyle Greentree................. LW
44 Roman Hamrlik................ D
46 Patrick McNeill................ D
52 Mike Green...................... D
62 Sean Collins...................... D
83 Jay Beagle........................ C
90 Marcus Johansson............. C

TEAM B
6 Dennis Wideman............... D
15 Jeff Halpern.................... C
16 Ryan Potulny.................. C/W
20 Troy Brouwer................. RW
25 Jason Chimera................. LW
26 Matt Hendricks................ C/LW
27 Karl Alzner....................... D
29 Tomas Vokoun................. G
38 Christian Hanson............... C/RW
39 Danny Richmond............... D
42 Joel Ward......................... RW
45 Zack Miskovic................... D
53 Jacob Micflikier................. LW
54 Joel Rechlicz..................... RW
55 Jeff Schultz........................ D
56 Chris Bourque................... RW/LW
59 Julien Brouillette................ D
67 Matthew Ford................... RW
70 Braden Holtby................... G
74 John Carlson...................... D
85 Mathieu Perreault............... C

TEAM C
23 Keith Aucoin...................... C
34 Boyd Kane........................ RW
35 Dany Sabourin................... G
36 Francois Bouchard............. RW
51 Graham Mink.................... RW
57 Paul Baier......................... .D
58 Maxime Lacroix................. LW
64 Andrew Carrol................... LW
72 Phil Oreskovic................... D 

WASHINGTON CAPITALS TRAINING CAMP SCHEDULE

Saturday, Sept. 17
9:15 a.m.Group A Practice
11:15 a.m.Group B Practice
1:15 p.m. Group C Practice

Sunday, Sept. 18
9:45 a.m.Group B Practice
11 a.m.Group C Practice
12:15 p.m. Group A Practice

Monday, Sept. 19
9:45 a.m.Group B Practice
11 a.m.Group A Practice
12:15 p.m. Group C Practice

Tuesday, Sept. 20
11 a.m. Morning Skate (1st Mariner Arena)
10:45 a.m. Scrimmage (Kettler)
7 p.m. Baltimore Hockey Classic vs. Nashville Predators

Wednesday, Sept. 21
9 a.m. Morning Skate
10:15 a.m. Practice
11:45 a.m. Practice
7 p.m. Game at Columbus Blue Jackets

Thursday, Sept. 22
10 a.m. Practice
11:45 a.m. Practice

Friday, Sept. 23
10 a.m. Morning Skate
11:15 am Practice
8:30 p.m. Game at Chicago Black Hawks

Saturday, Sept. 24
10 a.m. Practice
10 a.m. Capitals Convention presented by GEICO

Sunday, Sept. 25
10 a.m. Practice
11:45 a.m. Practice

Monday, Sept. 26
10 a.m.Morning Skate
11:15 a.m. Practice
7 p.m. Game vs. Columbus Blue Jackets

Tuesday, Sept. 27
10:30 a.m. Practice

Wednesday, Sept. 28
10 a.m. Morning Skate
8 p.m. Game at Nashville Predators

Thursday, Sept. 29
11 a.m. Practice

Friday, Sept. 30
10 a.m. Morning Skate (Verizon Center)
7 p.m. Game vs. Buffalo Sabres

Saturday, Oct. 1
11 a.m. Practice

Sunday, Oct. 2
5 p.m. Game vs. Chicago Black Hawks

Monday, Oct. 3
Day Off

Capitals Insider has a look at the lines for tonight's preseason matchup with the Buffalo Sabres.

No Ovie. No Semin. No Green. No Nylander. But it should be a good look at some guys that coul dbe called upon this season as the grind of 82 games takes its toll.

It'll be the first time we see Mike Knuble and Brendan Morrison pull on the red, white and blue. Knuble scored twice earlier this week to lead his team to the Gaetan Duchesne Cup, the winning team in a round robin tournament coach Bruce Boudreau set up to relieve some of the tediousness of training camp.

Here's the schedule for this weekend at Kettler:

Thursday, Sept. 17
10 a.m.: Morning skate
11:15 a.m.: Practice
1 p.m.: Practice
7 p.m.: at Buffalo, HSBC Arena, Buffalo, N.Y.
Audio: WashingtonCaps.com

Friday, Sept. 18
10 a.m.: Group A practice
11:30 a.m.: Group B practice

Saturday, Sept. 19
10 a.m.: Morning skate
11:15 a.m.: Group B practice
8:30 p.m. ET: at Chicago, United Center
Radio: Caps Radio 1500 and 820 AM, WashingtonCaps.com TV: CSN (Chicago)

And great big Happy Birthday to Alex Ovechkin, who turns all of 24 years of age today. It's good to be Ovie!

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.

From the team's release:

Rookie camp will begin Monday, Sept. 7, and will conclude with a road game against the Philadelphia Flyers rookies at 3 p.m. on Friday, Sept. 11, at Virtua Center Flyers Skate Zone in Voorhees, N.J. The game is open to the public and free of charge. This is the third straight year that Washington rookies will play Philadelphia rookies prior to training camp.

Veterans will report to training camp on Saturday, Sept. 12, and will be available for interviews and photographs at Kettler Capitals Iceplex that day. On-ice training camp activities will begin on Monday, Sept. 13.

Also, a little late on this, but here are the Caps' national NHL TV schedule, again, via the team's press release:

VERSUS will broadcast seven Washington Capitals games to a national television audience in 2009-10, the network announced today. NBC, which will operate under a flexible schedule for eight of the network’s regular-season dates, has five potential Washington games to pick from.

VERSUS, which will broadcast 54 regular-season NHL games, will feature the Capitals seven times this season starting with Washington’ season-opening visit to Boston on Oct. 1. The network will also broadcast the following games: Oct. 6 at Philadelphia, Oct. 27 vs. Philadelphia, Nov. 17 at the New York Rangers, March 8 vs. Dallas, April 5 vs. Boston and April 6 at Pittsburgh.

In addition to the national broadcasts in the United States, 17 Capitals games will be televised nationally in Canada. CBC will televise five Capitals games: Oct. 3 vs. Toronto, Nov. 21 at Toronto, Nov. 28 at Montreal, Dec. 12 at Toronto and Dec. 19 at Edmonton. TSN will televise eight Washington games: Oct. 27 vs. Philadelphia, Nov. 20 vs. Montreal, Dec. 18 at Vancouver, Jan. 7 vs. Ottawa, Jan. 15 vs. Toronto, Feb. 10 at Montreal, Feb. 11 at Ottawa and April 5 vs. Boston. TSN2 will televise four games: Oct. 6 at Philadelphia, Nov. 17 at New York Rangers, March 8 vs. Dallas and April 6 at Pittsburgh.