It’s that time of year again, time for the Washington Capitals to go through their preseason paces and begin preparation for the upcoming 2024-25 season. Thursday marks the first day of on-ice activity for the Caps’ 2024 training camp, and three separate groups of players took to the ice at MedStar Capitals Iceplex today, breaking the seal on a 25-day camp.
With the addition of seven offseason acquisitions, there are new faces aplenty at Caps camp, more than we’ve seen at this time of year in quite a while. Season two of the Spencer Carbery era gets underway on Oct. 12 when Washington opens up its 50th anniversary season at Capital One Arena against the New Jersey Devils.
Between now and then, the Caps will take part in half a dozen preseason contests, with the first four of those coming up rather quickly after the opening of training camp. Washington opens its exhibition slate on Sunday afternoon when it hosts the Philadelphia Flyers. Sunday’s game against Philly is the first of four preseason tilts in a span of just six nights; the Caps will conclude their preseason slate by playing the last two exhibition matches in a span of eight nights.
Sixty-four of the 72 players on Washington’s official camp roster took the ice on Thursday. Ailing veterans Nicklas Backstrom and T.J. Oshie will both open the season on the team’s long-term injured reserve list. Blueliner Rasmus Sandin is dealing with visa issues and has yet to report to Arlington, and 2023 seventh-round center Brett Hyland is absent for personal reasons.
Forwards Zac Funk and Luke Philp and defensemen Logan Day and Jon McDonald missed Thursday’s camp-opening session because of varying ailments.
Today marks the start of a journey of at least seven months for this group of players, and they – and every other player on every other NHL team across the continent – are hoping to stretch that out to nine months. But the first day of camp is always a grind, partially because of the skate test, and partially because of the grueling, hourlong practice session that follows for each group.
“The skating test is always [rough],” says newly acquired Caps’ center P-L Dubois. “Every team has a variation of it, and you can prepare; we’ve done it like once or twice a week the past month. You feel good, and then the day comes, and you don’t feel good; nobody feels good.
“It’s never easy. But it’s behind us now, and now every day is just getting better and better and more comfortable. It’s not as new every day, so you’re getting settled in, whether it’s your linemates, defensemen drills, anything. That’s the key in training camp, is that when the season starts, you’re ready to play. Today I thought was a really good first day.”
Some of the injured/ailing players did not take the skate test, and one of those was Caps’ captain Alex Ovechkin. A day before he celebrated his 39th birthday on Tuesday of this week, Ovechkin left informal captain’s practice early with an undisclosed ailment. His participation in the first day of camp was not a given when the sun rose on Thursday, and although he was held out of the skate test as a precautionary measure, he was a full participant in practice.
“He looked good,” says Caps’ coach Spencer Carbery of his team's captain. “He’s a little bit nicked up right now, but able to participate in practice, which was a positive sign.
“We just want to be smart with it early in camp because the first few days are tough, they’re difficult days. He, as our captain, wants to be out there. But we need to be intelligent about him trying to be out there, and then he takes a step back, which we don’t want.”
Over the summer, the Caps added seven players via trade and free agent signings, including Dubois. Late in the summer, they also issued an invitation to former Caps winger Jakub Vrana, a member of the team’s 2018 Stanley Cup championship team. Vrana needs to open some eyes in the next three weeks if he is to earn a contract and a spot on the team’s opening night roster.
Vrana was Washington’s first-round pick (13th overall) in the 2014 NHL Draft, and his total of 110 career goals (in just 367 games) ranks 16th among his draft class. Of the 15 players ahead of him on that list, 14 have played well over 100 more games than Vrana to this point in their careers. Last season, the Caps were goal starved, so giving Vrana a look-see makes a lot of sense.
Day one of camp showed that Vrana’s wheels and his shot are both still formidable weapons, but the forward group is also formidable, and the 28-year-old Czech native will need a strong showing to stick. But he is also clearly happy to be back where his NHL career started.
“Definitely,” he says. “I definitely want to be part of this team. I’ve always loved this team, and it’s great to be back here for the camp, and to try my best to earn a spot on the team.”
During his days in the District, Vrana was popular with his teammates and with fans. With Oshie on the sidelines, the Caps are down to just three remaining players from their championship season of 2017-18: Ovechkin, John Carlson and Tom Wilson. If Vrana can make his way onto the roster, they’d have another Cup champ in the house.
“I’m really excited,” says Carlson of Vrana. “I missed him. He’s one of my favorite young guys from over the years and he looks great; he looks fantastic out there. He’s been champing at the bit to get another chance, and I think he is ready to make the most of it.”
“He’s a guy that just lights up the room when he walks in,” says Wilson. “It feels like old times having him around. You go through a special thing together and win a championship and you have a bond for life. And just seeing him walk in the first day was a really cool feeling.
“I think he’s still got game. He is one of the best skaters out there and he’s got a ton of skill. He’s had some ups and downs in his career – like a lot of us – but he seems like he is in a good spot right now. I want him to do well. I’m excited to have him around; it’s been fun to get him back in a Caps’ uniform and Caps’ t-shirt and hang out at the rink and stuff.”
