Caps Steve Oleksy Hershey Hockey Fight

The Caps have called up Steve Olesky from the Hershey Bears.  Earlier this year I got to see Oleksy first-hand, and of course he got in a fight just for my entertainment.  Watch as Hershey Bears version of Steven Oleksy vs Nicolas Deslauriers of the Manchester Monarchs (the Kings affiliate).  Check it:

Hockey Mom Talks Holtby And Neuvirth

Saleena Andrea is the definition of a hockey mom.  Her two kids have been playing hockey since they were old enough to walk and she spends most of her days at the ice rink.  Whether she is driving the kids to practice, screaming from the stands, or helping out her husband the hockey coach, Saleena knows that the most important person at the rink is mom.  All season long she will be giving out rewards to the good, and dishing out punishment to the bad little boys.  One thing is certain Caps players, you better not cross The Hockey Mom!

INCREASED ALLOWANCE: Holtbeast

As a goalie mom myself, I of course have a soft spot for our goalies and always have.  The one with the name closest to my own son Brady’s name gets my vote for “Lockout Winner” because he spent this lockout racking up his 70th pro win, securing his name in the shutout history books, and letting in a paltry average of 2.14 goals.  In a town that ended last season sporting “Team Holtby” shirts to rival Twihards, he’s riding a massive wave of success and goodwill the mere-2-hours back to DC.

ALLOWANCE REVOKED: Neuvy

Neuvy, on the other hand , will have more to think about during his flight back from Europe.  He spent the lockout posting relatively good, but not earth shattering, numbers with HC Sparta Praha, his old Juniors organization in the Czech league.  And when it comes to the court of public opinion, a gigantic Taylor Swift – vs- Kanye West sized advantage goes to Holtby courtesy of Neuvirth’s remarks backing up Grandpa Hamrlik’s remarks against the Caps.

Were Neuvirth’s remarks probably the victim of a translation decision assigning a negative spin to words with multiple English equivalents?  Most likely.  Will that matter when it comes to whose name adorns the behind-the-net signs the Caps faithful will hold up as a vote in the starting goalie campaign?  Probably not.

And check out Holtby & Neuvy Making This Kid Happy Then Sad

Lockout Quick Hits: Braden Holtby

What were the Caps players doing over the lockout?  DOMINATING no doubt...

Let's take a look at what Braden Holtby was doing up in Hershey with the Bears of the AHL this lockout:

Other Caps Lockout Quck Hits Videos:

• Other Caps Lockout Quck Hits Videos:
  • Alexander Ovechkin
  • Nicklas Backstrom

Sergey Kostenko Signs With Hershey Bears

The Hershey Bears have announced the signing of 2012 7th round draft pick Sergei Kostenko from Russia.  Kostenko got out of his contract in Russia, so was free to sign anywhere.

Kostenko had a good showing at Caps Development Camp which helped him earn his contract.  The Russian goalie's shining moment at camp was when he stonewalled Filip Forsberg on two breakway shots in a row, garnering a large round of applause by the onlooking crowd.

Kostenko and fellow development camp participant Brandon Anderson have contracts with the Bears and both may spend time in the ECHL.

David Vallorani Signs With The Hershey Bears

According to David Vallorani, he has signed with the Hershey Bears for the 2012-13 season.  Vallorani confirmed the news with me via Twitter.

Vallorani will join Washington Capitals Development Camp mates Barry Almeida, David Civitarese, Cameron Schilling and T.J.Syner who already have contracts for next season at Hershey.  The Umass-Lowell player was one of the most impressive forwards in camp where he scored 4 goals in the weekly scrimmages, the most out of anyone at camp.


Listed somewhere around 5'8" Vallorani had to fight extra-hard to prove he was contract-worthy.  His speed along with his nose for getting the puck on goal helped him to earn that contract with the AHL affiliate of the Washington Capitals.


You can read more about Vallorani's impressive camp here and you can congratulate him and follow him on Twitter @Val_5710.


Update 7/16:  The Bears also signed defenseman Scott Wietecha from camp.

Notes:  David Vallorani played four seasons at the University of Massachusetts-Lowell where he finished 5th on the team in scoring in 2011-12 with 29 points.  The senior was a shooting machine, leading the team in shots on goal with 119.  Vallorani went undrafted and was invited to Caps D-Camp as a free agent.

D-Camp Day 5: Syner House Rules

===================================================

We will be live at Kettler each day at some point for Development Camp.  So follow us on Twitter @Dru90 @Camcoco10 and @TheDugsSports for live-tweets and check back all week for coverage.

===================================================

T.J. Syner has been here before.  In 2011, following his junior season at Umass-Amherst, Syner participated in Washington Capitals Development Camp.   He turned some heads in camp but the Caps chose not to sign him.  Syner went back to play his senior season where he led his team in assists and points.

When the college season came to a close Syner signed a contract with the Hershey Bears for the following season (2012-13) and was given an opportunity to make the team as a late season addition in 2012.

Syner appeared in 10 regular season games for the Bears scoring only 1 point and didn't play with the team in the playoffs.

In 2012 Syner finds himself back in Caps D-Camp with 3 of his counterparts from Hershey; Almeida, Civitarese, & Schilling.   This time he doesn't have as much pressure to prove himself, but he is showing why the Bears gave him a shot last year.

Clay Eakin Headed Back To Chocolate World

With Matt Hendricks returning from injury, Cody Eakin will be going back to Hershey, which he seems to be quite sad about:

He played 19 games and had 3 goals and 3 assists...back to develop some more, but we will probably see him again at some point.

Caps Need Help From Hershey

Capitals owner Ted Leonsis wrote the following in his blog:

"Hang on to your hats. We are short-handed. We are improvising. We need to heal up and bring in some fresh recruits from Hershey to help."

So who is gonna get the call up?

Cheers To The Eakin Weekend: The AHL & Hershey

The Caps have called up Clay Eakin's brother Cody from Hershey for the game tonight. I barely know anything about the main roster, and I know nothing about the minor league team except that every girl on Twitter is a Bear stalker. (They love the Hershey hi....nevermind).

The AHL (American Hockey League) is apparently the developmental/minor league for the NHL. It seems to be like a smaller scale MLB minor league/NFL practice squad hybrid. Unlike the NBA D-League, which is the biggest joke in the world, the AHL actually is important.

This season the Caps have already called up a few guys. I believe both goalies have come up to practice with the team and Something Collins actually got some ice time. As everyone on Twitter reminds me every day, I need to not only go to a game, but I need to follow the Bears.

Maybe this Christmas if I win the lottery I will go on a Hershey Christmas Hockey Spectacular vacation. This would be 2 nights at the expensive Hotel Hershey with skating at the outdoor rink. I would hit up the expensive Christmas town followed by the expensive Christmas song show. I would go to Chocolate world and watch the hoards of obese people fill up shopping carts with candy. And of course I would go see a Hershey Bears game and my favorite player [Insert a player I learn about later]. (This trip with exact costs will be a future blog post)

I'll figure out what the hell the KHL and WHL are later...