Marcus Johansson: A Solution at Center?

 photo by Neil Greenberg

TFP ended up posting this article!  So go to the TFP website to view it here: http://www.thefourthperiod.com/news/was100811.html.

Focus on... um... Dudes Traded to the Caps

I've admitted that I have a weakness when it comes to the Western Conference - basically I don't (edit: can't without Center Ice which I can't afford) really watch much of it or know all the players.  But I definitely wasn't the only Caps fan saying "Who?" when it was announced that the Capitals traded (Ed. note: *sniffle*) prospect Stefan Della Rovere to the St. Louis Blues in exchange for D.J. King.  So for all those Caps fans who were wondering who the heck this D.J. King is, I've compiled some information, much in the style of my "Focus on Prospects" posts.  Just to help Caps fans get acquainted and know what to expect.  Here we go...

photo by Jamie Squire/Getty Images

Name: Dwayne "D.J." King

Position: LW
Shoots: Left
Height: 6'3"
Weight: 230 lbs
Birthdate: 1984-06-27

Hometown: Meadow Lake, Sask.

Based on popular opinion, there's no question over what King's role is on a hockey team: he's a fighter.  A Donald Brashear 2.0 if you will - obviously younger than Brash at 26, but big, tough, and willing to drop the gloves with the toughest guys in the league.  In fact, he's already dropped the gloves with, well, all the toughest guys in the league.  Blues fans have pointed most often to his regular bouts with Derek Boogaard pretty much every single time the Blues met the Wild (and now with Boogaard also joining the East as a New York Ranger, their bouts can continue).  A notable fight with Boogaard is below, and is one of the longer hockey fights I've seen, as well as covering about half the ice:
 

He's also regularly matched up with Ducks tough guy George Parros (three times alone in the 2007-08 season).  King has even traded blows with... John Erskine?  In the 2003 preseason (a year after King was drafted), Erskine was with the Dallas Stars.  In a preseason game against the Blues, King and Erskine got into it, and King dropped Erskine with a heavy right hook.

All right, so the guy can fight.  Anything else?  Well, not really.  But that's why he's a fourth-line guy.  King started out his career playing in the WHL with the Lethbridge Hurricanes.  While there, his stats very much mirror Matt Bradley's current NHL stats - usually averaging around 12 goals a season.  He hasn't scored much more than 1 goal a season since being in the NHL, though that's not his job.  Hockey's Future says he can be a "fourth-liner in the NHL when his team is in need of some muscle."  He doesn't have much of an offensive prowess but can "bang in the occasional goal."  Not that we would need another power forward with the likes of Ovechkin, Backstrom, and Semin.

And "muscle" is something that the Capitals need - the Caps have been without a proven fighter since the departure of Donald Brashear, aside from the occasional fights courtesy of Matt "Paper Skin" Bradley, and to a lesser extent, Jason Chimera.  This has been a bit of a weak spot for the Caps - without a tried and true enforcer, guys like Mike Green, Alexander Semin, and Nicklas Backstrom have had a target on their backs (targets that have gotten Green and Semin injured in the past).  It's important to note in the above video that in the scrum, King seems to be coming to the defense of his teammate Weaver, who was boarded a bit after the whistle.  Case in point: after the trade, King was told about Max Talbot's recent comments on Ovechkin, and King responded:

"Wow. I guess that’s not going to be happening too much longer, I guess."

In summary, King is huge, physical, and protects his teammates.  While he's not exactly a 2C or the defensive defenseman that the Caps still need, he is filling a role that has been missing in the past.  He's had major problems with injuries, but seems to be recovered from his latest, and is fresh off a conditioning stint in Peoria.  He should be right at home on a tough forechecking line with Bradley and David Steckel.  It's tough to say how well he's going to do in an offense-loaded system as is typical to the East, but let's just say that training camp should be very interesting.

Exciting News

I've announced this on Twitter and Facebook, but The Fourth Period has come to me and asked me to be the Washington Capitals Correspondent for next season.  I have accepted.

I will be posting exclusive weekly content on The Fourth Period's website beginning in September with training camp.  I will still be posting here with prospect profiles and anything else that I feel like writing.  I'll also link to my TFP articles on here so you know where to find them.  I hope to eventually earn press credentials and be able to bring you in-depth coverage from a fan's perspective.

I'm thrilled for this opportunity to break into an industry that I've wanted to get into for some time.  Thanks everyone for your support and GO CAPS!

Focus on Prospects: Andy Miele

 photo by me

The last scrimmage of the Washington Capitals' development camp drew approximately 4,000 fans to Kettler Capitals Iceplex on a Saturday morning in July. One of the standouts of the scrimmage game, with the game-winning shootout goal, was Andy Miele, a camp invitee. So who is he? The Rink Rebel decided to find out.

 photo by Associated Press (Miele in white)

Name: Andy Miele

Position: LW
Shoots: Left
Height: 5'8"
Weight: 175 lbs
Birthdate: 1988-04-15

Hometown: Grosse Pointe Woods, Michigan

Andy Miele started early in the last development camp scrimmage - he scored the first goal with a pretty move to send the puck past goaltender Philipp Grubauer. Later on, in the shootout, he scored the game winner with a stutter-step move to beat Braden Holtby.

Small (his listed roster height may be a tad generous) but speedy, the undrafted Miele began his hockey career in the USHL in 2005 with the Cedar Rapids RoughRiders. He blossomed after a 2006 midseason trade to the Chicago Steel, becoming a strong scorer and the star of the team. He was selected to the USHL All-Star roster in 2007, and was the team's top scorer. However, becoming college-eligible in January 2008, Miele announced his intention to attend Miami University (OH) and departed Chicago midseason. But not before breaking the Chicago Steel's all-time scoring record with 43 goals in his time on the Chicago roster.

When Miele got to Miami, he kept up his energetic scoring pace, scoring the game-winning goal against Lake Superior State in his first game as a RedHawk, just over a week after departing Chicago. In his next season in 2008-09, he improved still, becoming a reliable member of the power play unit (4 of his 15 goals in the season came on the power play). He was selected as the CCHA Offensive Player of the Week in October for his performance in a double-header against Notre Dame. Though he wasn't racking up the scoring numbers he'd seen in Chicago, he was earning the respect of the Miami coaching staff and his fellow players. According to Miami Assistant Coach Chris Bergeron, Miele came in to Miami "with his mouth shut and his ears open" and while he isn't a vocal leader in the locker room, he leads by example on the ice. 

2009-10 was an even better year for Miele. He was selected to the All-CCHA second team and was second on the RedHawks in points with 44. Miele's outstanding ability to see the ice and his puck control were benefits for both him and his linemates - he recorded a team-high 29 assists and was +22 for the season, which was also second on the team. He proved a defensive prowess as well and became a valuable guy in front of his own net and on the penalty kill, blocking 34 shots. The RedHawks went to the Frozen Four in 2010, besting Michigan in overtime to get to the tournament. However, Miami was knocked out of the tournament in a rout courtesy of Boston College, who won 7-1.

 

But Miele has high hopes for next year, especially as the rising senior has been awarded an "A" on his sweater. Miele hopes for a national championship for the RedHawks, but whatever the outcome, Bruce Boudreau may have a job for him after the season - Miele was one of the players the coach singled out at the conclusion of this week's development camp. Boudreau's "all-camp" team consisted of Miele and his former Steel teammate Eric Alexander, Evgeny Kuznetsov, Marcus Johansson, Cody Eakin, Dustin Stevenson and Joe Finley. Boudreau was obviously impressed with the diminutive forward:

"I really liked that Andy Miele, I thought he had a great camp... How can you not like the little guys? He was shifty, made great plays, and had a beautiful first goal. When you get little guys and they compete, it’s hard not to be pulling for them... His skating is tremendous, there's little things he has to do, but we've got three weeks in training camp with the best players we have, and I think you'll see a marked difference... I like what I saw and I know he's going to improve."

The folks over at Rock the Red were able to sit down and have a chat with Miele during the week - it's worth a read.

Note: Miele was one of two current Miami RedHawks to be invited to camp - his teammate Steve Spinell (So.) also attended. Teammate Pat Cannone (Sr.) attended last year's Capitals camp.

Focus on Prospects: Philipp Grubauer

I was in Las Vegas working during the NHL Draft, and missed about 99% of it, so all my draft news came in tidbits of the 4 seconds a day I was able to check Twitter. So the second I saw that with our fourth-round selection, we traded up two draft picks in order to get Philipp Grubauer, I squealed in the middle of a crowded restaurant (yes, people stared). So without further ado, I present... Philipp Grubauer, my very favorite Capitals draft pick of the 2010 Entry Draft.

photo by Aaron Bell/OHL Images

 
Name: Philipp Grubauer

Position: G
Catches: Left
Height: 6'0"
Weight: 180 lbs
Birthdate: 1991-11-25

Hometown: Rosenheim, Germany

I've become a Windsor Spitfires fan over the past two seasons, and while I was sad to see Andrew Engelage (now with the ECHL's Reading Royals) go after the 2009 Memorial Cup Championship, I grew to know Grubauer after he was traded from the Belleville Bulls to the Windsor Spitfires in January 2010. Grubauer took over the top goalie position for Windsor, and quickly made an impression with the 2009 Champions, being named as the Spitfires Player of the Week (as voted by Windsor coaching staff) in March. At that point, he was tied for first in GAA among all OHL goalies and second in save percentage. Grubauer entered the Spitfires roster as they were gearing up for their 2010 playoff run, and he helped them toward that lofty back-to-back CHL Champions goal.  

As we know, the Spitfires did indeed repeat, and Grubauer was an integral part of the victory - in the Memorial Cup tournament alone, his stats were outstanding: besides being undefeated, he had a 2.14 GAA and an exceptional .930 SV%. Keep in mind that though these stats were only over 4 games, they were against the best teams in the Canadian Hockey League. During the games he played with the Spitfires in the regular season (19 games) he was 13-1-2 with a .906 SV% and 2.37 GAA. Still impressive numbers for the well-traveled German.  

He becomes more well-traveled next season - he and a 2010 draft pick were traded to the Kingston Frontenacs just last week in order for Windsor to gain higher draft picks in the OHL Entry Draft. Windsor has also signed WJC US goalie Jack Campbell, and thus didn't seem to have much use for Grubauer with Campbell's pedigree and experience putting him as the obvious starter in Windsor. However, it should be a good move for Grubauer, since with Campbell in charge in Windsor, Grubauer would play limited minutes, whereas he is slated as the Kingston starter next season.

There has been talk amongst Capitals analysts that has labeled Grubauer as "inconsistent." He was yanked from net after allowing 12 goals in the first 2 games during the tough playoff series with the Kitchener Rangers (the Rangers went 3-0 the first 3 games). However, as the starter in Game 5, he shut out the Rangers, stopping 28 shots. In the Spits' later series with the Barrie Colts (Stefan Della Rovere's club) for the OHL Championship, Grubauer was seeing (and stopping) over 30 shots in the majority of those games.

In terms of the consistency issue, I'd just say keep in mind that he is only 18, and has played just two full seasons in juniors. He has had a great amount of experience in just these past few months: winning the 2010 Memorial Cup, and also competing as the starting goalie for Germany in the 2010 WJC-20 Division I Championships: where he racked up unbelievable numbers - a 0.64 GAA and .974 SV% in 5 games (he also participated in the 2008 U17 Challenge and the 2009 WJC-20 Championships). At the end of those 2010 WJC-20 D1 Championships, Germany finished with the gold medal, and Grubauer with the "Top Player on a Team" honor. Germany's win means that they will be competing in the 2011 WJC. So we know he at least is good under pressure.

And of course, he has many years to continue to develop as a goalie. Being just 18, he has at least two more seasons in Canadian juniors before he ages out, plus he will be gaining experience in this year's Capitals development camp. His glove hand definitely needs to be improved, but his kick saves in general are excellent due to his agility and quickness in the crease. With next year's expected Caps goalies being Varlamov and Neuvirth, Grubauer could end up in Hershey after juniors. But I wouldn't worry about any inconsistency just yet - he's got a lot of time before he sees solid ice time with any team in the Caps organization. Right now his job is to take all he can from development camp and get as much experience as possible as the starter in Kingston next season. Overall, he may condition enough to be a great goalie, and it is a good goalie draft pick for the Caps.

To see more of his grace under fire, check out the below video (which I watched live and was outraged over of course) during Windsor's OHL Finals series against the Barrie Colts. In the final minute of Game 3 of their series (which Windsor swept), the Colts were already losing 5-2 when Colt Darren Archibald ran over Grubauer as he stepped behind the net to clear a puck to his defensemen. The collision was troubling, but Grubauer got up, smirking a bit as if to say, "Is that all you got, punk?" I think Grubauer has the sense of humor necessary to deal with the pests in hockey, and also has the smarts to brush off the insults. Archibald, by the way, was suspended for this incident.
 

(Note: I wish I could have used a picture of Grubauer in a Caps draft jersey, but alas, there isn't one, as Grubauer was in Germany during the draft and thus was obviously not present. Grubauer's first appearance in a Caps jersey will be during next week's development camp - all five 2010 draft picks are slated to attend.)

Partying with the Bears

Note: This blog post is pretty much purely fluff. I just wanted to share my experience of the Bears Cup Celebration and some of the funny things that happened. Also, I'm barely conscious due to lack of sleep from this very event.

After watching the thrilling conclusion of the Calder Cup Finals on Monday night, after the tears of happiness subsided, news came out that the party would be Tuesday night, 7:00-10:00 PM. In my stupor, I suddenly thought, "I have to be in Hershey tomorrow!"  So I reserved a Zipcar, printed out directions, and went to bed thinking thoughts of that shiny Calder Cup being passed around the ice of the Giant Center.

The problem? I work a 9-5 job and wouldn't be able to leave early. The second the clock hit 5:00 PM on Tuesday, I bolted out of the office. Three hours of infuriating traffic and some speeding later, I arrived at the Giant Center around 8:00 PM (free parking when it's usually $7? BONUS!) I entered the floor and found a swarm of people (as I learned later, estimated to be about 5,000) on the covered ice surface. I was able to track down my friend Kathryn, waiting for Karl Alzner's autograph. I'd missed the presentation/speech part, but was just in time for the autographs. I slid into line with Kathryn.

Alzner, much to my dismay, had shaved completely, and there was no trace left of the once-glorious lumberjack beard.

Before:
 

via DC Sports Bog

And *sob* After:
 

Next stop for me? Cody Eakin. A short line led to a very excited me nabbing a picture with the flame-haired Canadian. But here's him with a small child.

I was continuing to pass by Michal Neuvirth's table (his line was too long for me to wait in) and he is one of the guys who chose to keep his stunna shades on. Probably because his eyes were glazed over from how much he'd had to drink.

Steve Pinizzotto and Alexandre Giroux were sharing a table, and it was the next place I headed. I already have Giroux's autograph (courtesy of last year's Caps Convention), so waited in the line for Pinner. While some guys like Roo and Bryan Helmer opted for shaving their playoff beards into handlebar mustaches...

Pinner decided to go... a different route...

Yes, those would be stripes shaved into Pinner's beard.

I decided that with that look, Pinner strongly resembled a late-1990s AJ McLean, of Backstreet Boys fame:
 

Next... the time had come... for Keith Aucoin. A shockingly short line meant I thankfully didn't have much time to panic, though by the time I got to him I was still shaking like a leaf. He happily signed my jersey, which features his name and number, and I had enough time to snag a picture with him. One of the best quotes of the night was courtesy of Coiner. I wanted Coiner to sign on his numbers on the back of my jersey (the numbers are brown so a black Sharpie would not have worked), so Coiner reached over to grab the silver pen in front of tablemate Andrew Gordon. It had run dry (thankfully I had bought silver Sharpies that day). As I dug the pen out of my purse, Aucoin jokingly said of his linemate:

"I can't count on him for anything!"  

As with Alzner, Aucoin also shaved off the glory of his playoff, um, mutton chops.

Tablemate Andrew Gordon had a significantly longer line. We soon found out why. Gordo was having a conversation with everyone. By the time I got to him, he confessed to me that he really had to go to the bathroom (being as the guys had been drinking, several of them kept hopping over the boards and sprinting off to use the restroom). I found it hilarious that Gordo decided to share the status of his bladder with me.

By that time, there wasn't a whole lot of time left in the party. I sprinted to Chris Bourque's line, who was trying to drive people from his long line into tablemate Simon Ferguson's nonexistent line (ribbing Ferguson in the process). Bourque was sporting a Red Sox shirt and his MVP trophy was sitting on the table in front of him. Bourque also was gracious enough to take a picture with me.

There were about 10 minutes left, and I noticed that Zach Miskovic had no line.  Signed and picture (and absolutely kicking myself for not chatting with him about growing up in the Chicago suburbs, as both of us did). Braden Holtby's line was looking less than 10 minutes long. Signed and picture. I resisted asking him to be a part of my "Why Does He Do That?" feature regarding the famed "Holtbyisms."

After autographs were over, I made my first visit to the Bear's Den with tweeps Natalie (who shared her celebration experience with The Hockey Chronicles) and Kim, then hit the road, and finally got home around 2:15 AM. It was a stellar evening, and well worth the less-than-5-hours of sleep. Congratulations to the Hershey Bears, Calder Cup Champions for the 11th time.

(Autographs are, clockwise from the top left corner, Grant McNeill, Karl Alzner, Cody Eakin, Chris Bourque, Zach Miskovic, Andrew Gordon, Braden Holtby, Boyd Kane, and Steve Pinizzotto. And of course the back features Keith Aucoin.)

Final Note: Unless otherwise noted, all photographs in this post were taken by me and are my property.

Focus on Prospects: Joe Finley

photo by me

Name: Joe Finley

Position: D
Shoots: Left
Height: 6'7"
Weight: 247 lbs
Birthdate: 1987-06-29

Hometown: Edina, Minnesota

By popular demand, RoaRR presents: the man, the legend, Joe Finley.  Let's start off with the elephant in the room, shall we?

 created by the lovely Dana

Yes, the guy may not have the best judgment under the influence of alcohol and gets arrested for throwing lawnmowers into the street with his buddy, then gives the cops a fake name.  Oops.  He's also known as a bit of a thug by opponent teams.  He once allegedly slashed the Bucky the Beaver UW mascot during a game, and YouTube is littered with a few videos of fights and nasty hits.

But the bottom line is that he is a decent defenseman.  A first-round draft pick of the Capitals (27th overall) in 2005, Finley opted to go the college route instead of entering the minor leagues.  After a pre-college stint with the USHL Sioux Falls Stampede, Finley enrolled at University of North Dakota, where he quickly became a standout with the Fighting Sioux.  In his freshman year, he ended the season with a +18.  

He continued to improve his numbers through college (leading the team in +/- his sophomore and junior years) and learned to work with his large frame, but suffered a concussion in October of his senior year, which caused him to miss half the season.  The Capitals signed him after graduation in 2009, and he was assigned to the Hershey Bears.  He played one game with the Bears in 2009, and promptly made an impression, getting into a fight with Wilkes-Barre/Scranton enforcer Paul Bissonnette (now with the Phoenix Coyotes).

He attended Capitals development and rookie camps in 2009, and was briefly moved to forward by coach Bruce Boudreau.  The move didn't quite work out, but Finley went pro as a defenseman, spending the 2009-10 season with ECHL's South Carolina Stingrays (and eating the entire buffet at Golden Corral while he was at it).  Unfortunately, he was only able to play 17 games, as he suffered a freak hand injury (an artery in his hand ruptured) which required surgery, as well as sitting out the rest of the season.

Generally, I hate to quote blocks of text from Hockey's Future, but in Finley's case, it sums him up much better than I could:

In addition to his enormous frame, Finley has tremendous focus and work ethic. He has steadily improved his overall game (in particular his puck handling and skating) since being drafted. Finley is a surprisingly good skater for a 6’7 player. He is very agile, and has a heavy, accurate shot.

He'll need some more development before we see him playing with the Capitals, but he's on his way.  Development camp will be a good time to look at him - he's coming off of injury plus some pro game experience.  With all signs pointing to DC for John Carlson and Karl Alzner next year, Finley will be one of the prospects fighting for the open d-men spots on the Hershey roster.  General Manager George McPhee and Boudreau will have their eye on him; after the fight with Bissonnette, McPhee said, "It certainly showed some moxie."