Upper Deck released its latest series of hockey cards on November 18. Entitled 2020-21 Upper Deck Series 1, the set is highlighted by Alexis Lafreniere’s Young Guns rookie card. But it also features a furry friend Capitals fans love.
Captain, the Washington Capitals’ adopted team pup, has a rookie card in the set, too.
Well, sort of.
Alex Alexeyev was loaned to the KHL for the start of the 2020-21 season and Monday, he scored his first goal.
In Salavat Yulaev’s 3-2 overtime loss, the Capitals 2018 first-round pick tallied at even-strength, 32:31 into the game, to give Salavat Yulaev a 2-0 lead.
Washington Capitals assistant general manager Ross Mahoney spoke to reporters on Zoom Wednesday a week ahead of the 2020 NHL Draft.
Mahoney, who described himself as a Zoomer due to all of the summer conference calls he’s done with draft-eligible prospects, said the Capitals will not focus on re-stocking any particular position and select the “best player available” when they pick 24th overall in the upcoming draft.
The longtime executive also spoke about several Capitals prospects he’s looking forward to watching during training camp to see if they’re ready to take the next step.
Over the last month, the Washington Capitals loaned five prospects overseas as the NHL continues to grapple with how to conduct and start its 2020-21 season. Other NHL teams have followed suit.
Damien Riat and Tobias Geisser were loaned to Swiss National League teams; Axel Jonsson-Fjallby was returned to his native Sweden to play in the HockeyAllsvenskan; and Alex Alexeyev and Aliaksei Protas are playing in Russia’s KHL. All five are expected to be called back for Capitals’ training camp.
The tradeoff of the loans is simple: Caps prospects continue playing hockey, but they also assume varying degrees of risk of contracting the coronavirus outside a bubble system. The latter has become a concern as the KHL is suddenly enduring a COVID-19 outbreak.
The Washington Capitals announced that they’ve loaned defenseman Alex Alexeyev to Salavat Yulaev of the KHL.
The move will give Alexeyev, one of the team’s top prospects, a chance to continue to develop and play competitive hockey while there’s uncertainty surrounding the start of the 2020-21 season.
Ilya Samsonov missed a seventh straight practice on Monday. The team’s talented backup goaltender has not taken the ice since Phase 3 Training Camp began Monday, July 13.
He’s the only player on the team’s 34-man roster who has been absent for every practice.
Washington Capitals head coach Todd Reirden appears to have set his initial forward lines nine days before the team is scheduled to fly to Toronto for the 24-team playoff.
Reirden continues to group the 2018 Stanley Cup trio of Alex Ovechkin, Evgeny Kuznetsov, and Tom Wilson together on the first line while Nicklas Backstrom has been reunited with his normal partners on the second. And yes, the HEK line is back.
The Washington Capitals were without Ilya Samsonov, Michal Kempny, and Alex Alexeyev during their first day of Phase 3 Training Camp on Monday. The reasons why are unknown. How long the players are out is unknown.
Due to an NHL and NHLPA agreement for the 2020 playoffs, medical issues of any kind will not be released. Players will either be present and skating or not.
We’re connecting some dots here (so if we’re wrong, please forgive us 🙏), but it appears both of the Capitals’ first-round picks from the 2018 and 2019 Drafts will be black aces for Washington during the NHL’s 24-team playoff.
Saturday, Russian defenseman Alex Alexeyev posted on Instagram from the Pulkovo Airport in St. Petersburg with the caption, “It’s been awesome time, but now it’s time to go back to work 🏋🏻♂️.”
Work for Alexeyev is hockey and his employer is the Washington Capitals. The NHL is also the only hockey league trying to resume right now. So that was clue number one.
Clue number two: Connor McMichael responded to Alexeyev’s post with the following comment.
The Hershey Bears held their annual Teddy Bear Toss Game Sunday night at Giant Center. 45,650 stuffed animals rained down onto the ice, breaking the world record they set last season of 34,798.
Stanley Cup champion Christian Djoos, who was sent down to the AHL earlier in the day by the Capitals, scored the historic Teddy Bear Toss goal.
By Ian Oland and Cara Bahniuk 1 year ago
