Rookie Development Camp Begins at Kettler

Capitals Also Sign Their Top Goaltending Prospect to an Entry-Level Contract

White Team

Forwards - Oskar Osala, Kyle Wilson, Maxime Lacroix, Andrew Joudrey, Andrew Gordon, Justin Taylor, Phil DeSimone(Pictured Left), Luke Lynes

Defensemen - Patrick McNeill, Karl Alzner, Oscar Hedman, Sean Collins, Josh Godfrey(Pictured Right)

Goalies - Michal Neuvirth, Simeon Varlamov, Justin Mrazek

Blue Team

Forwards - Nicklas Backstrom, Francois Bouchard, Steve Werner, Andrew Glass, Travis Morin, Pasi Salonen, Brett Bruneteau, Brett Leffler, Mathieu Perrault

Defensemen - Jaime Hunt, Theo Ruth, Sami Lepisto, Viktor Dovgan, Joe Finley

Goalies - Daren Machesney, Dan Dunn

Goals on the Night
White - Beagle (2), Lerg, Patrick McNeill, Justin Taylor
Blue - Radja, Mathieu Perrault (2),

The scrimmage consisted of two 30 minute periods with constantly running clock. A notable absence tonight was 2005 1st round pick, Sasha Pokulok. He missed a lot of time this past season with concussion problems so hopefully they are just holding him out as a precaution.

As you can tell by the goal scorers there are players taking part in the camp that are not on the official roster. I asked a Capitals spokesman if there was an updated roster, but unfortunately there isn't so I can't tell you much about them.

I can tell you that Nicklas Backstrom centered a line with Pasi Salonen on the left and Francois Bouchard on the right. Bouchard had some of the nicest moves of the night, continuously displaying his stickhandling skills that resulted in his leading the QMJHL in points last season with 125 (45 g, 80a).

Goal of the Night - Patrick McNeill pinching in, taking a nice pass from behind the net, and beating goaltender Daren Machesney. Hopefully we will see a lot more of that in the near future.

Hit of the Night - The 6'0" 180 pound Maxime Lacroix knocked the 6'7" 233 pound Joe Finlay (Pictured) directly on his backside on the forecheck. Honorable Mention goes to Oskar Osala who provided a physical presence throughout the scrimmage with big hits on Jamie Hunt and Viktor Dovgan.

Goaltender of the Night - Michal Neuvirth. He came up with some exceptional saves during the second half of the final period, helping to secure the win for the white team.

And lastly the big news of the day was the announcement that the Capitals have signed their second pick of the 2006 draft, goaltender Simeon Varlamov. He signed a three year entry-level contract after playing the past season with Yaroslavl of the Russian Super League where he posted a 15-7-6 record with a 2.12 goals against average. Varlamov's contract includes a clause during the first year where if he doesn't make the NHL team, he can be reassigned to his Russian Super League team. So unless he has an unbelievable training camp he will most likely spend one more season with Varlamov before coming to the NHL full time for the '08-'09 season.