The Washington Capitals took fans behind the scenes of a meeting management held with prospects before the start of Rookie Camp on Saturday.
The 20 players participating were treated to two speeches: one by Steve Richmond, the Capitals’ Director of Player Development, and another by Capitals head coach Peter Laviolette.
After listening to it, you’ll probably want to run throw a brick wall because I’m about to.
Richmond started the meeting with these observations.
Steve Richmond: Fellas, you’re here because our scouts believe there’s something in you that can help the Capitals. We’re looking for players. We don’t care where you come from, your background. We’re looking for players. You’re being judged every minute you’re here. You’re here for one thing: you’re here to make the Washington Capitals. That’s your goal. If that’s not your goal, you should leave. Respect the room. Respect all the people. We care about (you). We want you guys to be so successful and we will do everything we can to help you get to that goal. As long you guys get back to us, we’ll keep giving to you. So hey, enjoy the camp, play well, and best of luck.
Next, Laviolette identified the two things he thought were the biggest pieces of advice he could give these young kids, using his own experiences as a father as an example.
Peter Laviolette: I was thinking about everything that Steve said here. I have two boys that are your age. If I was going to give them advice as they’re coming into a training camp like this I’d tell them, first and foremost, be the hardest worker every day. You can control that. You can control how much you put in and how hard you work every day. The next thing I would say to them is: be a good person. Be a good teammate. Be good to the people you’re working with. It’s a real classy organization. There’s a lot of great people here. They’re really excited to have you in camp. Thank you.
It’s simple but inspiring.
Laviolette mentioned last season that he was constrained as a motivator and a teacher with all the NHL’s COVID-19 protocols. Now Capitals players will be getting the full experience. And perhaps the juice that comes with it.
Headline photo: Elizabeth Kong/RMNB
