Vitek Vanecek

DSP’s back! Capitals recall Devante Smith-Pelly from Hershey ahead of Game Five

The Washington Capitals lost TJ Oshie to injury, likely longterm, after getting boarded in the third period of Game Four.

Capitals general manager Brian MacLellan has responded by calling up Devante Smith-Pelly from the Hershey Bears. DSP had 14 points in 20 games with the Bears after being sent down in February. The forward tallied a hat trick in March against the Hartford Wolf Pack.

In a corresponding move, the Capitals sent down goaltender Vitek Vanecek.

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By Ian Oland 1 month ago

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Capitals recall Vitek Vanecek, return Ilya Samsonov to Hershey in time for playoffs

The Capitals announced on Sunday morning that they have recalled goaltender Vitek Vanecek from the AHL’s Hershey Bears and have re-assigned Ilya Samsonov to the Bears.

The move allows the Caps to keep three goaltenders available while also letting Samsonov return to the Bears to prepare for the AHL playoffs. The Bears will play the final game of their regular season on Sunday night before facing off against the Bridgeport Sound Tigers on Friday.

Vanecek will travel with the Capitals to Raleigh for Game Three on Monday evening. This is Vanecek’s first call-up to the Capitals.

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By Elizabeth Kong 1 month ago

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Ilya Samsonov crashes Vitek Vancek’s postgame press conference to ask him a question

Vitek Vanecek posted his second shutout of the season on Tuesday night, in the Hershey Bears’ 1-0 win over their rival, the WBS Penguins. But the Hershey backup goaltender had to face one more shot in his postgame press conference: a question from New York Post reporter….Ilya Samsonov?

Samsonov trolled Vanecek by pretending to be a member of the media.

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By Elizabeth Kong 2 months ago

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Hershey Bears tie 76-year-old franchise record with points in 15 straight games

After starting the season with seven consecutive losses in October and sitting near the bottom of the standings, the Hershey Bears have turned their season around dramatically.

The Bears have rattled off a 9-0-0-1 record in their last 10 games, and have tallied points in 15 straight games, tying a 76-year-old franchise record. Let me repeat: a SEVENTY SIX YEAR-OLD-RECORD.

The last time Hershey had points in 15 straight games was during the 1942-1943 season.

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By Julia Karron and Donya Abramo 3 months ago

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Hershey Bears goaltender Vitek Vanecek named to 2019 AHL All-Star Game

In his third full season with the Hershey Bears, Capitals goalie prospect Vitek Vanecek has been named to his first AHL All-Star Game.

The 22-year-old Czech, who has split time with Ilya Samsonov this season, has seven wins, including one shutout, and a .909 save percentage.

Vanecek ranks eighth in the AHL with a 2.55 goals against average this season. According to the Bears, the 2014 second-round draft pick has allowed two or less goals in nine of his 16 starts this year. He posted a career-high 40 saves in Hershey’s win at Wilkes-Barre/Scranton on October 17. Vanecek was named the CCM/AHL Player of the Week for the period ending on October 21.

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By Ian Oland 5 months ago

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Hershey Bears’ goaltender Vitek Vanecek named AHL player of the week

On Monday Hershey Bears’ goaltender Vitek Vanecek was named the AHL player of the week. Vanecek went 2-0-1 with a .949 save percentage and a 1.67 goals-against-average. The 22-year-old Czech also posted his first shutout of the season against the Charlotte Checkers on Saturday.

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By Alex Hayes 7 months ago

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The Hershey Bears record their first shutout of the season against the Charlotte Checkers

On Saturday the Hershey Bears recorded their first shutout of the season in a 2-0 win over the Charlotte Checkers. Vitek Vanecek made 25 saves in goal as the Bears handed the Checkers their first loss of the season.
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By Alex Hayes 7 months ago

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Sergei Shumakov and Ilya Samsonov assigned to Hershey after Capitals trim roster to 30

The Capitals have once again trimmed their roster a day after sending eight players down to Hershey including Axel Jonsson-Fjallby.

Thursday’s cuts include KHL top-20 point-getter Sergei Shumakov and top goaltending prospect Ilya Samsonov.

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By Cara Bahniuk 8 months ago

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Hockey is back! Photos from the first week of Capitals training camp

On Saturday, the Capitals took to the ice at Medstar Capitals Iceplex for the second day of training camp. With the camp roster and invites split into three group, each group spent time doing on-ice practice, off-ice training, and video review.

Although the roster has gone through their first cuts, such as sending first-round draft pick Alexander Alexeyev back to his junior league team, Saturday’s practice featured everyone. Alexeyev, who had an impressive training camp, was in Group White with Caps vets Braden Holtby, Nicklas Backstrom, and TJ Oshie. Group Red paired goalies Pheonix Copley and Ilya Samsonov, both of whom are in the running to be number two in the net behind Holtby this season. Group Blue featured Alex Ovechkin and the Caps’ Russians, who along with Tom Wilson were on the celebratory end of a competitive two-on-two drill–Ovi was jumping up and down on his skates celebrating the win.

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By Elizabeth Kong 8 months ago

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