Come on down...

Karl Alzner.


And is it just me, or was McPhee working the phone pretty hard before the pick? At any rate, this is a solid pick for the Caps, who already have a wealth of young defensemen. As the Capitals teams from the 80s proved, you can never have too many quality defensemen in the organization. Whether Alzner plays with the big club this year or (more likely) spends a year down in Hershey, he's officially the first draftee of the second wave of Caps prospects.

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I'm liking this pick more and more as the moments go by... especially after this tidbit from OFB - "[Alzner] lists making a good first pass out of the zone as an asset." Anyone who watched the Caps trying to break out of their own zone last year should be doing backflips right now.

June 22

For those not already aware, the Caps return to the red, white, and blue will come on June 22. Details here.

It's about time. Lets hope we have a new player or two to help model the new threads.

Stupid ping pong balls

Per Tarik, the Caps were knocked back one spot when the Blackhawks won this year's weighted draft lottery. Given the lack of a consensus top pick and the lack of players considered NHL ready in their first year of eligibility, it's not the worst thing in the world. Still stings a bit, though.

Let the speculation begin! Will the Caps take a center, a right wing, or a defenseman (I think we may have our netminder of the future in Varlamov)? Will they package the pick in a draft day trade? Will they pick a blue chip Alex (Ovechkin) or a cow chip Alex (Volchkov)? Only time will tell.

And before anyone (but me) starts complaining about the bouncing balls, remember the Caps won the first weighted lottery. Now if I could only remember who they picked first overall...

Rough night in Toronto

Unfortunately, the Capitals weren't able to overcome their continuing roster issues, losing to the Maple Leafs 3-0. Yet again they failed to produce on the power play, going 0-5 with the man advantage. I understand that we're using smoke and mirrors to just field a team at this point, but something has got to be done to address the Caps problems with special teams before the start of the year.

Hire a consultant, hire an assistant that specializes in teaching the power play, but do something. The team has looked terrible all year when they go a man up. Most of the power play goals they score are a result of individual plays by the Alexes. If you can't knock in a couple cheapies, you won't win many games (especially not in the "new" NHL where you're guaranteed 4-5 opportunities a game).

On the bright side, it was good to see Fred Cassivi look solid in an uber-rare start. He didn't get the win, but did impress with his shot stopping ability and his collected demeanor in net. Not to knock Johnson, but I'd like to see Freddie get a couple more starts before the close of the season. The guy has worked his butt off to get to the NHL level, and it's nice to see him get some playing time. Maybe we can spring to get him some properly colored pads, too.

From a drafting perspective, tonight's loss brought the Caps within 1 point of the 4th overall pick, and within 3 of the third pick. Despite the relatively low depth of talent in the draft, a 3 or 4 pick overall should be good trade fodder after the season for a team looking to pick up some young talent.

How did it come to this?

Did you ever think, EVER, that the Caps would be at a point where we'd really miss losing Kris Beech to injury?

Me neither.

With the Caps selling at the deadline and with the playoffs now well out of hand, it's time to start looking at the Caps draft position. Assuming the ping pong balls don't alter the draft order to give Pittsburgh the number one pick even though they're going to make the playoffs, the Caps currently hold the 6th position in the draft. That said, they're only 3 points out of the 3rd position.

It's unlikely they'll "catch" LA and Philly for the number one pick overall, but a top 3 pick is certainly not out of the question given the rash of injuries to an already depleted lineup. And while it's certainly not a given that the Caps will hold the pick instead of packaging it in a trade, it's time to start checking out prospects.