A day after news broke that restricted-free agent Dmitry Orlov was in negotiations with KHL CSKA Moscow on a potential contract, the Russian defenseman was spotted at Kettler Capitals Iceplex.

The 25-year-old defenseman, wearing a Russian national team practice jersey and Capitals-colored gloves, played picked up hockey with Caps fans and local hockey players. According to goaltender Justin Mercer, there were 25-30 people there, most of which were college students. Several unidentified members of the Capitals organization/front office also played.

Justin wrote about his experience.

A few of my buddies and I went out to Kettler to play some pick-up hockey. When I got on the ice I noticed a guy in the corner that looked really familiar. Then my buddies Zach and Justin skated by and confirmed that it was Dmitry Orlov. I was kind of excited, kind of terrified because I played in the net he was shooting against first. He was really cool during the game because he would pass it around to everybody and made sure everyone was involved. He got a couple of shots off on me and I got lucky and managed to stop them. He put one bar down on the other goalie after he and I switched ends. Made it look effortless too, like you saw him flick his wrists, heard a loud ping, and suddenly the puck was sitting in the net. After the game he talked with everybody that came up to him and took pictures with us. It was probably one of the coolest nights I’ve had in a long time.

Orlov, who just won a bronze medal in the 2017 World Championship last Sunday, told the hockey players that he is planning to fly back to Russia on Monday. Orlov and teammate Evgeny Kuznetsov had been in Europe for Worlds since mid-May. Orlov scored a goal in five games with Russia.

Capitals general manager Brian MacLellan will meet with the press on Tuesday. Orlov is finishing up a one-year, $2.75 million contract.

Photo: Justin Mercer

@russianmachine @justmerc_n_me35 My friend met him too pic.twitter.com/QQXKzkoJ0y

— Tina Butera, M.D. (@TinaBMD) May 28, 2017