4/30, 9:17 PM - Recognition for Alzner, Boudreau
By now many Capitals fans have undoubtedly heard of both Nicklas Backstrom’s place amongst Calder finalists and Alex Ovechkin’s place among Hart (MVP) finalists.
Today brought more accolades for members of the Capitals organization, as Coach Bruce Boudreau was announced as one of the finalists for the Jack Adams Award (coach of the year) and top prospect Karl Alzner laid claim to both the Western Hockey League’s Top Defenseman and Player of the Year honors.
The significance of Boudreau’s nomination can measured in part by his competition: the other finalists for the Adams Award are Mike Babcock (Detroit) and Guy Carbonneau (Montreal). Babcock’s Red Wings finished with 54 wings and 114 points, both tops in the NHL, and Carbonneau’s Canadiens finished with 104 points, the most in the East.
Alzner, the fifth overall pi
ck in the 2007 Entry Draft, captained both the the WHL’s regular season Eastern Conference champion Calgary Hitmen and the gold medal winning Canadian team at the World Juniors tournament. Past winners of the Four Broncos Memorial Trophy (WHL MVP) include Cam Ward, Eric Fehr, Steve Konowalchuk, Joe Sakic and Jarome Iginla. Past winners of the Bill Hunter Memorial Trophy (WHL’s best defenseman) include Dion Phaneuf, Brendan Witt, Jason Smith and Chris Phillips.
1) Looking forward to seeing Alzner this summer in rookie camp. Most are penciling him in as a starter next fall. Thats a big jump/a lot to ask of a kid at a difficult position, but it sounds like he’s the real deal.
2) Gabby deserves the Adams. Taking a team from 30th in the NHL to a division crown is amazing. Ovechkin should win ALL the awrds he’s nominated for. Hart, Pearson, etc.
3) Backstom will probably place behind Kane for Calder. The voting was probably close, but if two players are close in points, it usually goes to the guy with more goals(Ovechkin over Crosby in 2006)
I agree about Alzner - I’m trying to not get too excited, but at the WHL’s MVP and the captain of the Canadian junior team, it’s hard to not expect Alzner to come in and play for the Caps, but being a season removed from the draft should help. Expecting him to be a stud at this point is unrealistic, but I could see him playing a very solid role as a second pairing guy.
Luckily, the Capitals won’t need him to be a stud: I assume the Morrisonn/Green pairing stays the same, so what I’d like to see is Alzner with Tom Poti, a veteran who is also a decent two-way defender.
If Pothier comes back, let Jurcina, Schultz, Lepisto, Eminger battle it out for that last defense spot; if Pothier is out, those four guys can have at it for the last pairing.
1) From what’s been written it seems it would be a minor miracle if Pothier returns.
2) If he’s not traded we could see Eminger as a top 4 guy. He’ll be about 25 or so, and if healthy and plays regularly can see him stepping up his game
3) As the Caps found out this year you can never have too many NHL calibre defensemen!
I get that same impression about Pothier. It’s sad that his NHL career may be over, but it’s better for him that he take care of his life before he takes care of his hockey career - it’d be better for him to leave now than to suffer another major concussion if he’s at risk.
As for the hockey end of things, I think Eminger would be an ideal replacement. He’s a similar type of player except (IMO) with a better physical edge, better skating and better puck handling skills.
I see Alzner in Hershey next year after Rookie Camp - maybe bouncing between the Caps and Bears. I agree if Pothier isn’t back (and my bet is, unfortunately, his health will keep him out) that Eminger is resigned and back as a Cap after his great play in the playoffs since his style is more like Pothiers than the others. I too see Green - Morrisonn back but see Poti - Lepisto, Emminger - Schultz as the top six with Erskine and Jurcina as 7 & 8. But Green, Morrisonn, and Emminger are all RFAs and who knows what stupidity someone might try to lure them that GMGM would need to match. All the rest are securely signed for next season already. LETS GO CAPS!!!!
1) GMGM needs to NOT allow a team to try to ‘lure’ Green with a silly RFA offer sheet. They need to get a deal done before July 1! Can’t see a team trying to give the other 2 an offer, but Green would be an attractive player to acquire. Did the Caps learn from last summer’s nonsense in Edmonton? Guess we’ll find out.
Mark,
I think Alzner will get every chance to make the team, and given his combination of natural talent and work ethic, plus the fact that Capitals can put him in a position to play only in certain situations (i.e. he doesn’t have to come in and be a stud right away), I think he’ll stick in the NHL all season.
Faux,
I think team may try to go after the Capitals other RFAs, the only difference is that if they do, it won’t be so much money that the Capitals will mind matching, since no one is going to want to give up two first round picks for Brooks Laich or Morrisonn. I do agree that with the cap going up to ~56 million next year, the Caps need to get Green under contract as soon as they can (and I have faith they will).