Caps Camp Gets Underway

Thursday was the first day of autumn and the first day of Capitals training camp in preparation for the 2022-23 season. The local media was out in full force as the Caps hit the ice for the first time, and while some attention was paid to a handful of newcomers on the Washington camp roster, there were also some big names who were absent from Thursday's proceedings.

Over the last decade or so, the first day of Caps training camp has been one of the most grueling and dreaded days of the year. Players would report for the first day of practice, and that 45-minute session would be immediately followed by a taxing "skate test" that would leave them utterly spent and in some more extreme cases, losing the contents of their stomachs. An off-ice workout always followed that skate test, so it makes for a difficult day coming right out of the offseason, but it also provides coaches and management with in instant indicator of individual fitness levels.
Thursday was skate test day at MedStar Capitals Iceplex, but this year's version was slightly more compassionate. There was no practice to worry about beforehand; players did the test and then the workout. But the skate test was a bit more oppressive than in years past, consisting of five reps as opposed to three in previous years. Goaltenders and injured players Nick Backstrom, Carl Hagelin, T.J. Oshie and Tom Wilson were excused from the test, but each of the other 58 forwards and defenseman on Washington's camp roster underwent and passed the test.
Backstrom (hip surgery) and Wilson (knee) will not be ready for the start of the season, but we learned a bit more on the status of both Hagelin and Oshie today. A serious eye injury suffered at practice last March 1 put Hagelin's career in peril, but the determined veteran winger has forged through multiple surgeries on the eye and he came to camp with the hope and intent of resuming his career. Unfortunately, a lower body injury has put the brakes on that for now.
"He has a lower body injury that needs to be addressed and we're working through the final parts of it right now," says Caps general manager Brian MacLellan of Hagelin. "He'll be out indefinitely."
Because of the ongoing concern over Hagelin's eye injury, the Caps have several options in camp to replace the veteran winger, who has been a staple on the team's fourth line and on its penalty killing outfit over the last few seasons. Sophomore winger Axel Jonsson-Fjallby and veteran forward Marcus Johansson are among many candidates to fill that slot on a deep camp roster.
Washington's group of 42 forwards includes two dozen who saw NHL action at some point last season, and 10 of the 20 defensemen on the camp roster skated in the League last season.
Oshie underwent an offseason "procedure," and he was kept out of the skate test for precautionary reasons. He is expected to be on the ice on Friday morning when the Caps conduct their first full practice session of training camp.
"It was just a core procedure that I needed to get done," says Oshie. "It happened at the end of March - something I played through - and I got it done two or three weeks after the season ended. We're almost kind of back to full [participation]. I didn't do the skate test today; I just didn't want to get too sore before the practices and playing the real hockey. I'll be on the ice [Friday] playing on a line, and ready to rock."
The absences of Backstrom and Wilson are expected to be more long-term. After missing the first 28 games of last season while rehabbing a hip problem that has vexed him for several seasons, Backstrom underwent offseason surgery on his hip, and he is hopeful of suiting up and playing at some point during the upcoming 2022-23 campaign.
"I'm pain free; no more pain that I had before," says Backstrom. "I'm feeling good, I'm in the gym working out and doing my rehab. So far, so good."
Given his day-to-day aches from last season, being pain free is a significant step forward for Backstrom, who has long been one of the elite centers in the NHL. His life away from the rink has already taken a turn for the better, but he's not settling for that.
"It was a life-changer for me, just in daily life," says Backstrom. "Just to pick up socks, tie my shoes, stuff like that. And to play with my kids; I couldn't really do that either. It helped me a lot functionally, and I'm happy about that, obviously. That part, I'm feeling great. Now it's just the next step to get me back on the ice."
Backstrom still faces a lengthy and grueling rehab to get back on the ice, and even then, there are no guarantees that he'll be able to return to being the sublimely talented playmaker and leader he has been here for the last decade and a half. But there were no other options available to him aside from the surgery, so he finally went under the knife.
"I think I tried everything else to make it better," he says. "But at the same time, this was kind of the last resort. It's unproven technology - I would want to say for sports - so I think that's the biggest thing. But I had to do it because I had no other choice. It's either that or I'll skate on one leg again."
Wilson suffered his injury early in Game 1 of the Caps' playoff series against Florida last May, and he was shelved for the remainder of the series at that point.
"Everything has been good, it's been pretty smooth," says Wilson of his own ongoing recovery. "It's definitely something different than I've had to go through, so I just kind of take it day-by-day. But all is going well."
Neither Wilson nor MacLellan was willing to offer up a timeline for Wilson's eventual return.
"It's one of those things where you can be ahead of schedule, but you still need to wait," says the big winger. "It's kind of a weird mental one that way, because you've got to let the injury heal itself. And the science and the research and everything on all this stuff is saying you've got to wait, and do it once.
"I feel good. I feel like I've been ahead of schedule per se since day one, but that doesn't mean much, unfortunately. Obviously, I want to be as good as I can every day, but you've still got to wait."
As we all know, the waiting is the hardest part and there will be more waiting ahead for Backstrom, Hagelin and Wilson. But we won't have to wait long for Friday's opening practice or for Sunday afternoon's first preseason game, at Capital One Arena against the Buffalo Sabres.
Summer is over, and hockey has returned.