Day 2 of Caps Development Camp started out opposite to Day 1.  The group that took the ice second took the ice first today, so fans who arrived by the 9:30 start time were treated to a full dose of Marcus Johansson and Stanislav Galiev.  Galiev continued his trend of shoot first, shoot second play, rarely even using a linemate as a decoy.  Johansson still was shaking off a little rust, but again his passes were right on the money.  He is the type of player who would rather pass first, but he will use his shot if he must or to try to fool the goalie.  He displayed a rare patience with the puck, waiting for the last possible moment to make a good decision with the puck rather than hurry a decision for the sake of hurrying it.  He doesn't waste puck possession or a scoring chance.  It was nice to see Galiev sticking with Johansson's line on day 2, Coach Bruce Boudreau gave Johansson a winger who could do something with the passes.  Galiev again displayed his eagerness to shoot and an ability to find holes in opposing goalies.

• Andy Miele once again used his playmaking skills to control the pace of play.  He made good use of time and space and consistently found passing seams.  Like Johansson, he knows he's most effective in space on offense, but he will get his nose dirty when he has to.  While he whiffed on a few shots in drills, he displayed nice stickhandling and deking ability in other plays, showing off why he was named to the All-CCHA second team last season. Read our interview with him here.

• In the second group, Anton Gustafsson displayed the skill and hockey IQ that made him such a high draft pick.  He wasn't bowling opponents over with tenacity, but he was effective once he was warmed up.  He looks like he could be a solid addition to the Hershey Bears this season.

• All smiles except during sprints, forwards Stefan Della Rovere and Jake Hauswirth once again displayed their joy for the game with sharp drills and a good display of skill while crashing the net.

• Dan Dunn was showing solid positioning in goal, the 2007 draftee displaying nice poise.

• Evgeny Kuzetsov was also showing off his hands and patience.

• Defenseman Zach Miskovic displayed nice hand and playmaking skill.

• Caps Coach Bruce Boudreau only knows one volume.

• Project defenseman Joe Finley looked decent, but he will have to have better hands to even have a sniff at the NHL.

• Cody Eakin played hard and fast, showing why he is so highly regarded.  A couple early flubs aside, he played particularly well.  His natural instinct to shoot first may land him a winger role in DC, but he definitely showed why he earned the trust of the Hershey coaching staff last season.  He will get the chance to work on his game when he returns to junior this fall, and he ought to focus on using his linemates a little better.

• Finally, while Marcus Johansson and Dmitri Orlov were happy to sign autographs after the sessions, the best part of the day was perhaps a pair of young fans eagerly receiving plain practice pucks from Stefan Della Rovere and Jake Hauswirth.  Who knew a $3 plastic rubber disc could make someone so happy?

Comments (2)

Name

Email

Website

Title

Comment

smaller | bigger

Subscribe via email (registered users only)

Add Comment