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Mike Knuble, Tom Poti, and Alexander Ovechkin make the rounds on the first day of Caps training camp. Photo by photopete.
Boudreau said Fleischmann will continue to skate by himself -- which he told Boudreau he actually prefers while conditioning -- and hopefully return to practice the first week of October.
"We're actually pleasantly surprised that he's going to be able to compete with us the first week of the season," Boudreau said. "We thought it might be a lot longer."
Boudreau said that the Czech's absence did open up opportunities for other individuals to fill the gap -- when ex-Hershey Bears players Chris Bourque and Alexandre Giroux's names were mentioned, the boss said they were good candidates. He also tossed out a reminder that newly-acquired forward Brendan Morrison played left wing last year.
"As much as we miss Fleish, I think we have options," Boudreau said.
Giroux looked sharp during practice, especially when he and 18-year old Garret Mitchell beat Semyon Varlamov during an early drill. Morrison was unsuccessful when paired with Alexander Semin early on, but worked suprisingly well with 6'7" Joe Finley out of the University of North Dakota.
Boudreau wasn't ready to commit to any line combinations yet, however -- including the hot question of who is going to be on the first line in place of the departed Viktor Kozlov.
"In about 10 days, we'll be getting more of a feel for what the lines are gonna be," Boudreau said.
Boudreau also said he was pleased with the way all of the returning vets looked on the conditioning front. Notably, team captain Chris Clark was back on the ice after missing out most of the past two seasons with injuries. Boudreau said Clark was once again showing a sharp, quick release out on the ice. Sunday marked Clark's 11th training camp, but he still has a good time.
"It's like the first day of school," Clark said.
He also thinks the Caps' edge to make the playoffs this year is their consistency in personnel and the fact that they have fielded a strong team, two years running.
"It's not like we overhauled the whole team," Clark said. "We can take game one and go."
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Frankly, I'm shocked Theodore is still with the team. I'd have figured the Caps would've traded him or he would refused to play after being yanked as he was. Maybe that's still to come. At any rate, it's good that he's still around, I hope Varly and Neuvirth push him hard in camp and that the team comes out better for it. Go Caps!
He's still under contract through the remainder of the year at far more than what he's worth. No one would have traded for him at his salary, given his performance last year. I think they're doing the right thing by naming him #1. It will let them say "you had your chance" when Varlamov outperforms him and he plays backup all year.