Observations from Scrimmage #2

Just a couple of quick notes as today was the second scrimmage and also the shortest day of development camp.

• Travis Boyd is unbelievable. He has incredible hockey sense and vision way beyond his 17 years. He has the innate ability to see exactly how a play is forming, and set up several chances and goals.
• Dmitri Orlov is very strong and makes great hits, but if he has the puck, he carries it way too far into the zone, nearly to the crease sometimes. It leaves just one defenseman back at the blue line, and if a breakaway forms the other way, Orlov is totally behind the play and in trouble. He has to learn how to reel in his excitement for contributing offensively and find a balance between contributing while remaining defensive-minded. I'm sure the coaches will try to get him to adjust that aspect of his game.
• Someone I may try to talk to at some point is T.J. Syner. He's very small (probably 5'6") but he's incredibly fast and very strong. I'm not sure if he's contributed any points in scrimmages (scoring is not being announced in the rink after goals), but he has an interesting skill set.
• Garrett Mitchell's shootout goal was gorgeous. A Twitter follower compared it to Matt Hendricks' chosen shootout move, and I don't disagree. He scored the lone shootout goal to win the scrimmage for Group A.
• Philipp Grubauer has been getting better every day. He was very sharp in the scrimmage. He stopped all shootout attempts, even boldly slapping away with his stick Stanislav Galiev's attempt. (a wonderful YouTube user got video of the whole shootout, catching Mitchell's lovely goal at about 0:48 and Grubauer slapping the puck right out out Galiev's grasp at 1:19)
• There were two fights in today's game, both involving Scott Wietecha. He fought both Garrett Mitchell and later, Danick Paquette. The fight with Mitchell was fairly tame, just a little bit of grappling, and the two were separated. The fight with Paquette was much more spirited. Paquette, in his area of expertise, was not hesitant to throw punches. Paquette got the take down, and Wietecha had to go to the dressing room for repairs. When he returned, his right eye was already massively swollen and it looked like he also had a cut above his eye.

Danick Paquette met the media after the scrimmage, and went to the main focus area in front of all the cameras and lights. As he approached the microphone, he was slightly awed that he was getting the attention, and said (my audio was not on at the time), "I feel like President!"

And now, presented without further comment: Danick Paquette.

Focus on Prospects: Travis Boyd

photo by Dan Hickling

Name: Travis Boyd

Position: LW

Shoots: Left

Height: 5'10"

Weight: 185 lbs

Birthdate: 1993-09-14

Hometown: Hopkins, MN

With their sixth round selection (177th), the Washington Capitals selected Travis Boyd of the U.S. National Development Team Program (NDTP). In 60 games this past season with USA, he scored 13 goals and 25 assists for a total of 38 points. His discipline is beyond compare with just 16 PIMs in those 60 games. He also participated in April's IIHF U18 tournament, with six points in six games, earning a gold medal with the USA team. 

Boyd is committed to attending the University of Minnesota beginning next year.

Boyd began drawing buzz as an 8th grader playing on his high school's hockey team in Hopkins, Minnesota. After leading his team in scoring with 46 points his first year, he was invited to join the U.S. NTDP. He couldn't turn down the invitation, considering the opportunity to play for his country the chance of a lifetime.

In post-selection interviews, Boyd compared himself to Claude Giroux. Scouting reports wouldn't disagree, saying he's a "shifty player that has great hands and a keen ability to read the play in front of him." While he doesn't have a very heavy shot, it is accurate. He has good vision, great playmaking ability, and is a skilled passer.

He showed off those exact talents in one game during the U18 tournament, an 8-1 USA win over Slovakia. Boyd scored a shorthanded goal during the game, and one observer marveled at the play that led to it.

Travis Boyd’s shorthanded tally was a thing of beauty. He out-raced a defenseman to the puck in the Slovakian zone, out-muscled said defender, put the puck to his backhand, and with one hand on his stick let it glide right into the net. It was a great goal and that was probably the straw that broke the Slovakian camel’s back.

As he prepares to head to Minnesota, Boyd says his main focus is getting stronger and faster. One weakness scouts see is his skating. While he does have maneuverability on the ice, his speed could use some work. He needs to put some weight on his relatively small frame, and he plans to work on skating with training coaches to improve his speed. 

Minnesota coach Don Lucia agrees with Boyd's conditioning plans. "He can play on the power play on the half wall and can kill penalties," Lucia says. "I think as he adds strength that he will be able to play in any situation that we have going into the next few years."

When his name was called on Saturday, Boyd was thrown for a loop. "I didn't really expect Washington, I never talked to them." Not that he's not happy to come to DC and be a part of the Capitals organization. "It's awesome because Washington's a great place, good team, I'm happy to go there."