The Washington Capitals at the Winter Olympics

Posted on February 16, 2010 | No Comments

This is a guest post from Eric McErlain, long-time hockey blogger who hails from the Washington, DC area. I’m hoping Eric can give us some perspective from the land of the Capitals, who sit on top of the NHL standings. You can follow Eric on Twitter.

The creator of SportsButter, Ben Nevile, was kind enough to ask me to contribute some thoughts on the Washington Capitals for the remainder of this NHL season. As somebody who’s been watching the team up close for about 25 years, I have lots to say about what life is like for hockey fans in America’s capital after so many years of frustration, but with the Olympic tournament only hours away, I figured the best way to start was to give you some quick advice on the five members of the team who will be on the ice in Vancouver. I’ve listed the players here in reverse order of potential. Thanks again to Ben for the invite, and I’m looking forward to getting to know the SportsButter community better over the remainder of the season.

Semyon Varlamov (G: 12-2-2, 2.44 GAA, .916 SV%): Going into the season, Washington head coach Bruce Boudreau made it clear that Jose Theodore was still his starter, which was something of a surprise considering the way Varlamov saved the team’s bacon after Theodore melted down in the playoffs the previous Spring. If anything, the young Russian took it as a challenge and started the season on a 12-1-2 run that seemed to win him the top job. But it was all derailed by a knee injury in early December, and a lengthy rehab kept him out of the lineup for more than two months. Slotted behind Evgeni Nabokov and Ilya Bryzgalov on Team Russia, Varlamov likely won’t see any time barring injury or catastrophic emergency. Obviously not worth a pick now, be sure to keep him in your file for Sochi 2014.

Tomas Fleischmann (C: 18-25-43. +3, 20 PIMS): If there’s one word to keep in mind for the 2009-10 Washington Capitals, it’s maturation. All up and down the lineup, the players that General Manager George McPhee had been stockpiling since before the lockout suddenly seemed to come into their own. The wait on Fleischmann took a little longer, as he was sidelined at the start of the season thanks to a case of deep vein thrombosis that probably developed on a long flight home to the Czech Republic at the end of last season. Unable to skate, Fleischmann worked on his upper body strength. When he did return to the lineup, it was a whole lot harder to knock him off the puck. Combine that with a new taste for driving the net, and the young Czech was posting close to a point per game upon his return. He’s scored 18 goals thus far, only one off the career high he set last season. Hearing that the Czech Republic wanted to use Fleischmann as a center in the Winter Games, Boudreau started giving him minutes as a pivot, though it seems that experiment ended just shortly before the break. With the Czechs in Group B with Russia, Slovakia and Latvia, there’s only one game in the preliminary round where he may be able to pile up the points. He has cooled off a bit since his hot start, but might be worth a look depending on how deep your pool goes.

Alexander Semin (LW: 30-35-65, +25, 50 PIMS): While his teammate Alex Ovechkin is about power, Semin is all skill and finesse. So while Ovechkin might run over defenders, Semin is more likely to befuddle them before he unleashes what may be the best wrist shot in all of hockey. In fact, the best kept secret in the league may be that Semin actually has more talent than Ovechkin — it’s just a matter of whether or not Semin is properly motivated, something that will manifest itself from time to time with an untimely minor penalty. But given the fact that he’ll be playing with Ovechkin and more than likely reunited with former teammate Sergei Fedorov, Semin could be an absolute monster in Vancouver. When that trio last played together on the international stage in 2008, they combined for 37 points in just nine games and led Russia to a World Championship. So, if he’s still around, you ought to snag him.

Nicklas Backstrom (C: 26-50-76, +32, 44 PIMS): Yes, I know that Henrik Sedin was the NHL’s leading scorer. And yes, I know that Peter Forsberg, a national hero and also a center, carried Sweden’s flag in the opening ceremony. Despite this, the best pivot on Team Sweden may just be the 22-year old Backstrom. While it might have taken two seasons, Backstrom has finally suppressed his “pass first” instinct to set a career-high in goals (26) while posting 76 points, good enough for fourth overall in the NHL. And while he won’t be setting up Ovechkin for the next two weeks, there’s more than enough offensive talent in the Swedish lineup for Backstrom to activate if/when he gets the chance. Grab him if you can.

Alex Ovechkin (LW: 42-47-98, +43, 66 PIMS): I don’t really need to tell you to snag the NHL’s reigning two-time MVP and current leading scorer in your pool if he happens to be available in your pool. After all, when the lights are burning the brightest, that’s when Ovechkin turns it up a few notches. Outside of the Stanley Cup Finals, it’s hard to think of a bigger stage than the Winter Olympics. And if Team Russia faces Team Canada once we get to elimination play, watch out. There’s nobody in the league that Ovechkin likes playing against more than Team Canada’s Sidney Crosby. For all we hear about from those two players that there isn’t any rivalry, the results when the two meet on the ice tell us something completely different. Something else to think about: Ovechkin has already said that he’s going to play in Sochi in 2014 even if the NHL doesn’t release its players to participate. The Olympics really do matter that much to him. Expect a monster performance.

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