Posts by Ian Oland

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About Ian Oland (@ianoland)
Oland, a 2006 graduate of UMBC's art school, is a co-founder of RMNB and serves as an editor, publisher, and author. During his time with RMNB, he has done features for the Caps' TV show CRL, written a story for the print edition of the Washington Post, and helped first-report the Chelyabinsk meteor in the English language. Oland's favorite blog memories include raising enough money to get reader Ryan Ellis into a NASCAR race with a RMNB sponsored car and holding the Stanley Cup for the first time. Follow Ian: Twitter | Instagram

Dmitry Orlov and Stanislav Galiev Try Trick Shots After Practice

Following today’s development camp activities, Dmitry Orlov (now and forever spelled with a y) and Stan Galiev spent a few minutes goofing around on the ice. Moving the net up the ice, they practiced point-blank distance trick shots before calling it a day.

Orlov and Galiev flipped the puck from around the back of the net, from halfway up the ice, and from extreme angles. Perhaps they’re working on one of those Granlund-style lacrosse goals, or maybe Stanislav Galiev’s header (13 seconds in) is the real future of the Capitals’ offense. Either way, we’re probably looking at the future of the Caps: fun, creative, and somewhat mischievous.

Ovi’s gonna love these guys.

By Ian Oland 12 years ago

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Jeff Halpern: “I Jumped on the Opportunity to Come Back”

Photo credit: John McDonnell

Five years ago to the day, Jeff Halpern signed the first big-time contract of his career, a four-year, $8 million pact with the Dallas Stars. The contract took Halpern, who had just completed the most prolific two year stretch of his career (90 points in 149 games), away from his hometown team, and left Washington without a captain.

When Mike Luit, Halpern’s agent, addressed the signing with the Washington Post’s Tarik El-Bashir, he said, “It took Jeff a very long time to come to this decision. He said to me, ‘No matter which way I go, when I sign a contract, I’m going to feel sick.'”

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By Ian Oland 12 years ago

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Olie Kolzig’s 90-Acre Washington State Mansion Up For Sale

UPDATE: The house is now off the market and under new ownership, so we’ve removed the photos and struck out the now-inaccurate content.

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Former Capitals great and new associate goaltending coach Olie Kolzig has put up his 15,260 square foot property up for sale. The 90-acre Kennewick, Washington estate is available for just $4.1 million or, in other words, just a few Maybachs.

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By Ian Oland 12 years ago

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In Caps, Roman Hamrlik Finds Shot at Cup Glory

Photo credit: Richard Wolowicz

After absorbing an eight-game losing streak in December and seeing their offense repeatedly not click, Bruce Boudreau and George McPhee decided that the time had finally come to change the team’s run ‘n’ gun style to a more defense-first system. During the year, the Capitals traded top six forward Tomas Fleischmann to Colorado for veteran Scott Hannan and also picked up Dennis Wideman at the trade deadline. The results were stunning.

After finishing 16th in the league in 2009-10 with a goals allowed per game of 2.67, the Capitals finished in the top five in 2010-11, with 2.33. Washington also had the third best penalty kill in the league last year, improving almost six percent from the year before. However, the Caps still flamed out early on in the playoffs, being swept by the Tampa Bay Lightning.

“I felt we needed to add a defenseman last year in the summer and we didn’t do it,” McPhee said Friday. “We made the trade the during the year, but it’s a hard process to go through.”

So in response, McPhee signed 37-year old defenseman Roman Hamrlik, who played the last four seasons in Montreal, to a two year, seven million dollar deal.

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By Ian Oland 12 years ago

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Must-Buy: Washington Capitals Russian Nesting Dolls

Photos via Moscow on the Potomac

I’m a 26-year old male without a mortgage, so my only life goal right now is to save cash like a squirrel hoards nuts. And every month, I fail. Looking at my growing stash of gadgets, jerseys, and random Capitals memorabilia, my family and friends just sigh. Somewhere deep inside I know I don’t need any of this stuff. But dude, I just can’t help it.

Last week the Caps’ new official Tumblr, Capitals Overtime, furthered my spending woes with another product I don’t need but must have: Washington Capitals Matryoshka dolls. The dolls feature Ovi, Backy, Sasha Minor, Greenie and good ol’ Kanoobs, and are beautifully hand-painted by Moscow on the Potomac. They are available for $39, and you can purchase them here.

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By Ian Oland 12 years ago

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George McPhee: “I Haven’t Loved This Draft”

Sure his nickname is the Undertaker, but even for himself, Capitals General Manager George McPhee has been particularly dour regarding this year’s NHL Draft. Last week, when Olaf Kolzig was introduced as the new associate goaltending coach, McPhee was asked about the draft and said that it lacked “real difference makers.” Today, McPhee sat down with Capitals’ senior writer Mike Vogel and elaborated. “I haven’t loved this draft,” McPhee lamented. “There are some decent players early on. I think it levels off in a hurry. I think once you get past 14 or 15 players, there are lots of players who have a chance to play but by no means are a lock.”

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By Ian Oland 12 years ago

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Photos and Video of Evgeny Kuznetsov’s Wedding in Chelyabinsk

Evgeny Kuznetsov is now officially a married man. The 19 year-old Caps prospect got hitched today to Anastasia Zinov’yeva, his girlfriend for less than a year, in a small, quaint ceremony at Trakor’s 7,500 seat arena. Capitals captain Alex Ovechkin was even in attendance, flying from Moscow to Chelyabinsk to make a wedding banquet held later in the day at Beryozka. Below the fold, RMNB’s Fedor Fedin translates the account of KP.ru reporter Alexey Mikushin, while we also share cute photos and video from the day that was.

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By Ian Oland 13 years ago

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Video: Matt Hendricks Talks About His First Hockey Fight

As Caps fans know, fan favorite Matt Hendricks is never afraid to drop the gloves, even if it means getting some facial redecorating. But he wasn’t always that fearless. In an interview last week with Hockeydiaries producers Gemma Hooley and Chris Nelson, the 29 year-old Minnesotan discusses his first ever hockey fight in the professional ranks, which didn’t exactly go as planned.

Gemma and Chris chronicled Hendricks along with Braden Holtby throughout the 2010-11 campaign, just as they’ve done the past two years, and the documentary will be released sometime this summer. For more details plus bonus audio and video, follow Media Chameleon on Twitter and on Tumblr.

Additional reporting by Chris Gordon

By Ian Oland 13 years ago

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Stanislav Galiev Talks About the Caps, His QMJHL Championship and the Memorial Cup with the Russian Media
Stanislav Galiev

Stanislav Galiev celebrates his first career Memorial Cup goal (Photo: Aaron Bell/CHL Images)

By all accounts Stanislav Galiev has had a good year. On June 26, 2010, the 18-year-old Russian sniper was selected by his favorite NHL team, the Washington Capitals, in the third round of the 2010 Draft. Shortly thereafter, he attended Caps Development Camp — where he impressed many by being one of the fastest and most exciting players on the KCI ice.

After taking a short break, Galiev returned to his junior team, the Saint John Sea Dogs, in the fall. The talented Sea Dogs were coming off a 2009-10 season in which they started the campaign with a 22-game winning streak (from October 17 until December 12) and made it to the QMJHL Finals. To the surprise of no one, the squad continued its dominance in 2010-11, relying on Galiev’s play-making (37 goals, 28 assists) and the development of four potential first round picks in the upcoming 2011 NHL Entry Draft: Jonathan Huberdeau (top five), Nathan Beaulieu (top 15), Zack Phillips and Tomas Jurco.

Saint John racked up an insane 58-7-3 record in the regular season and lost just three of 19 games on the way to capturing their first QMJHL Championship in franchise history. Notably, Galiev finished in the top five of postseason scoring, notching 27 points (10 G, 17 A). The team’s winning ways have continued in the Memorial Cup, as the Sea Dogs won their first two games of the tournament and earned a bye to the finals which are set to begin Sunday.

Several Russia media members have spoke with the Caps prospect over the past week. RMNB’s Igor Kleyner and Fedor Fedin offer the translations.

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By Ian Oland 13 years ago

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Joe Beninati: The Year in Suits

Whether we like it or not, we carry profound memories of last season. We’ll be taking a few opportunities to revisit the Capitals’ 2010-2011 campaign soon, but we thought we’d start with the most important matter of all: Joe Beninati’s suits.

We at Russian Machine Never Breaks are the Ken Burnses of Joe B. fashion. We’ve been documenting every green blazer, every ostentatious houndstooth and argyle combo, and every– let’s be honest– pimp suit. The esteemed Beninati was your guide through a spastic season, and now we return the favor. Here are (awful cell phone) photos of Joe’s suits from every telecast this season– with links to our gamers.

So let’s take a stroll down memory lane with the sharply dressed, silver-tongued man himself.

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By Ian Oland 13 years ago

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