Integral pieces of the Washington Capitals 2022-23 roster continue to show up at MedStar Capitals Iceplex for informal preseason skates. Training Camp is now just ten days away.

Monday, the Caps’ number one goaltender Darcy Kuemper hit the ice for the first time as a member of the team.

He is here and he is _________ pic.twitter.com/aGBnda5xA3

— Washington Capitals (@Capitals) September 12, 2022

The Capitals signed the 2022 Stanley Cup Champion netminder to a five-year, $26.25 million deal just 90 minutes after NHL free agency commenced in July. The team was in dire need of a new face in net as they had already traded Vitek Vanecek to the New Jersey Devils and chose to not extend a qualifying offer to Ilya Samsonov.

Kuemper, in 57 starts for the Western Conference-best Avalanche in 2021-22, went 37-12-4 with a .921 save percentage, 2.54 goals-against average, and five shutouts. When the calendar flipped to 2022, Kuemper played some of the best hockey of his career, second only to Igor Shesterkin in save percentage and fourth in high-danger save percentage only to Shesterkin, Ilya Sorokin, and Jake Oettinger.

He will be joined by another new face in Charlie Lindgren as the new goaltending tandem in town. The Athletic’s Tarik El-Bashir reported that Lindgren has already been skating with the team since last week.

Monday’s skate allowed Kuemper to debut his new mask, designed by longtime mask designer David Gunnarsson.

His first Capitals mask features the red, white, and blue color scheme that the team currently sports home and away. The Screaming Eagle from the team’s uniforms in the mid-90s and Reverse Retro fame is prevalent on top of the lid. Kuemper’s number 35 is joined on the chin of the mask by the Capitals wordmark logo that runs all the way up both sides of the jaw.

That mask and Kuemper himself will get their first taste of real action when Training Camp officially opens up on September 22.