Capitals

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Building a Capital Community

Friday, April 3, 2009 | No comments

Michael Pivonka was the first person who ever tried to teach me to skate backwards. I had no idea what he was saying. I didn’t understand a word. I had never played hockey and had no context for what he was trying to explain. His accent didn’t help either, but it didn’t matter. I was hooked.

That was in 1987. It was at Washington Capitals hockey camp. At the end of the week I got a Certificate of Completion signed by David Poile and Yvon Labre. I got my picture taken with future Hall-of-Famer Scott Stevens and I learned that you could actually play hockey if you lived below the Mason-Dixon line.

It’s interesting and amazing to see the way the residents of the DC Metro area have started supporting the Caps. It helps that they have Ovechkin, Green, Backstrom, Semin and are playing as good as ever but these seeds were sewn a long time ago.

Hockey didn’t just sprout in Washington, Virginia and Maryland overnight. It’s been growing for a long time. The Capitals have always been active in that regard. They allowed for the creation of a hockey community and then they fostered it and watched it grow.

They are responsible for more than just putting a great team out on the ice this year. They are responsible for having made a 34-year investment in a city and in a metro area that has not only grown as an NHL community, but as a overall hockey community. And the Caps are responsible for that growth. The Caps are also directly responsible for turning out some great hockey players.

Caps fans should be proud of what the 2008-2009 team has accomplished, but they should be just as proud as what the team has accomplished for the hockey community in and around the District since they entered the league.

Unfortunately, I did find a couple photos from some of those years at Caps camp. They might be a little embarrassing, but it could’ve been worse than just the bowl cut. I could’ve been sitting next to Larry Murphy.


Scott Stevens


Mike Ridley

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When A Sniper Fights

Monday, January 5, 2009 | No comments

It could have been just one of those fights where two guys tussle, don’t really get in a good punch and fall to the ground. And it was…until the end.

Why don’t most snipers fight? Well most people probably think it’s because they don’t want to break a hand, or a nail, or maybe it’s a more logical matter like coach doesn’t want them wasting their time in the penalty box.

Well, Alexander Semin provides his own answer to that question. He shows us that he just, straight-up, doesn’t know how to punch horizontally. Apparently he can throw a temper tantrum or play the bongos, or throw a lower-cut, but whatever it is, its ugly.

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Great Tribute to a Great Goalie

Tuesday, November 11, 2008 | No comments

New Years Day, 1pm EST. NBC, CBC, RDS. Buffalo Sabres v. Pittsburgh Penguins. Outside.
Tribute to Olaf Kolzig from Capitals v. Lightning game last night (Nov 10th)

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Sweater Showdown: Bupkis

Wednesday, October 24, 2007 | No comments

Both of you reading this are probably wonding, “what happened to that good ole Sweater Showdown?” You, third person, who googled something else but ended up here and have no idea to that of which I refer are probably confused.

The Sweater Showdown consists of web site that features a bracketed competition where visitors are urged to vote on which “new” jersey he or she prefers. Although, I must mention that while at first it seemed like a novel idea it has now degraded into bupkis*.

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Main Entry: bupkis
Part of Speech: n
Definition: something worthless; nothing
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Why do I feel this way? What has tarnished the reputation of such a worthy attempt to combine the two great pastimes of hockey and bracketed competition? The answer to that question must be answered in two parts, each of which involves the other.

First, the Caps jersey lost. I’ll say it again. Bupkis. How can anything top what the Washington Capitals have done with their uniform this year? What? You don’t have an answer? That’s because there isn’t one. Nothing can top combining a slightly new design and classic colors with retro throwback foundation. I’m not even doing justice to what the organization was able to accomplish with the creation of their new jerseys. And yes, I mean new.

Which brings me to my second point. As the sweater showdown (yes, it has been downgraded to all lowercase) has reached the final four jerseys, it should be noted that all 4 of them are Original Six jerseys. Now, one could look at this as a good thing and take it as the voting public recognizes that the classics never need to change to be the best. And I probably would look at it the same way if the Blackhawks uniform hadn’t beat out the Caps. My issue centers more on the idea that none of the Original Six jerseys are new. They are classics, I get that, and in fact I agree, but they aren’t new. Sure the Bruins (barely) changed their font and the Hawks have different piping on their sweaters, but still, neither is actually new in a general sense.

Actually, based on that logic the Caps isn’t really new either but more a recognition of that which is classic. And I guess what I’m really saying is that they should be rewarded for that by winning the sweater showdown. At the end of the day though, it doesn’t matter. I’ll just pull on my sweet new Caps sweater with the big 8 on the back and be completely satisfied regardless of whether or not 58% of hockey fans would rather be wearing a Jonathan Toews jersey.

“bupkis.” Webster’s New Millennium™ Dictionary of English, Preview Edition (v 0.9.7). Lexico Publishing Group, LLC. 24 Oct. 2007. .

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