Attended a Caps Practice Today!

Yours truly was able to attend a practice held by the Washington Capitals held at their brand new practice facility in Arlington, Virginia. For those of you not familiar with it, the Kettler Capitals Iceplex opened in September and boasts two big skating rinks; one for the Caps’ practice and the other for public ice skating. For those of you who live in the DC area, it’s on the roof of the Ballston Common Shopping Center. It was really nice and I love the fact that they moved from the Piney Orchard Ice Skating Rink in Odenton, Maryland (about an hour away from me), to a location that’s just 15 minutes away.

Anyway, below are pics from the practice. In fact, after the practice, the players stopped for autographs and pictures. Enjoy!

Myself and Donald Brashear

Myself and Tarik El-Bashir, Washington Post Caps Beat Writer

Alex Ovechkin

Olie "The Goalie" Kolzig

Alexander Semin

Dainus Zubrus

Chris Clark

Head Coach Glen Hanlon and Jamie Heward

Brent Johnson

Sweet pics stwasm, how did you get to watch the practice?

Sweet pics stwasm, how did you get to watch the practice?

All practices the Caps have there are open and free to the public. Check the schedule here:

http://www.washingtoncaps.com/schedule/PracticeSchedule.asp

awesome - thanks for the pictures.

Those are nice pictures of the up-and-coming Capitals, stwasm.

When I started following the NHL in the mid-1980s, I was a Los Angeles Kings fan first and a Washington Capitals fan second. Players like Rod Langway, Dale Hunter, Dave Christian, Bengt Gustafsson and Larry Murphy bring back good memories.

Since the Kings were usually playoff spectators during the pre-Gretzky years, I rooted for the Capitals in the playoffs. Had Gustafsson not broken his leg in the 1985-86 season, I believe the Caps would have won a Stanley Cup that year.

It's good to see the Caps doing well again. Hopefully, the Kings can also turn things around as well.

i have always wondered what that rink was like up there, looks nice, great picks

i have always wondered what that rink was like up there, looks nice, great picks

The facility has two big rinks, one for the players and the other for public ice skating. It is really nice. I'm definitely going back to do some skating.

Cool, i grew up in arlington, went to W&L HS right down stafford street from the mall. Knew they were building the rink(s) up there, but have not been back to the mall since moving to MD almost 3 years ago now. Will check it out sometime.

When I used to play Ice Hockey, we had an oppurtunity to play after the Flyers played the Caps in the spectrum. We were waiting to get on the ice where the Caps got off the ice, sure enough here comes Dale Hunter. The guy amazed me, for being one of the toughest guys in the league, he was really short. I'm mean I'm 6'5", I was about 7 inches taller. I couldn't believe it. Awesome pics Stwasm. Ovechkin is really fun to watch. He's freaking amazing. Donald Bashear is a beast and I wish the Flyers never got rid of Zubris. Ed Snider sucks!

When I used to play Ice Hockey, we had an oppurtunity to play after the Flyers played the Caps in the spectrum. We were waiting to get on the ice where the Caps got off the ice, sure enough here comes Dale Hunter. The guy amazed me, for being one of the toughest guys in the league, he was really short. I'm mean I'm 6'5", I was about 7 inches taller. I couldn't believe it. Awesome pics Stwasm. Ovechkin is really fun to watch. He's freaking amazing. Donald Bashear is a beast and I wish the Flyers never got rid of Zubris. Ed Snider sucks!

It's funny you mentioned those players. Dale Hunter was one of the meanest dudes on the ice. Yet, I remember when I was working for NewsChannel 8 and doing an interview with Don Beaupre, Hunter was watching his son play video games and kept encouraging him and patting him on the back. All I could think was, "And that's the league's dirtiest player?" Ovechkin really LOVES the game. He was on the ice yesterday, whooping it up, smiling and celebrating after one particular goal he scored past Olie. I hated Donald Brashear when he was a Flyer, but I'm glad he plays here. It was GREAT meeting him. Zuby is having a really good year!

Those are some nice pictures Stwasm, I am hoping to hit up a few practices at some point

Head Coach Glen Hanlon and Jamie Heward

This one needs a caption :laugh:

Great pics though, I miss the old Caps uniforms from back in the day.

This one needs a caption :laugh:

Great pics though, I miss the old Caps uniforms from back in the day.

Ah, yes! The old red, white and blue. Those were sweet!

Cool. Didn't realize that Hockey players were that big.

Cool. Didn't realize that Hockey players were that big.

Big for hockey players is 6'2+ and weighing 225+ anyone bigger is considered a monster . Could you imagine if they were the size of football linemen? THAT would be scary :laugh:

Cool Pics, thanks for posting. It's sweet that the practices are open to the public, looks like fun

This one needs a caption :laugh:

Great pics though, I miss the old Caps uniforms from back in the day.

They are supposedly coming back in the near future. Nothing announced and I don't know if it's definite, but I think we'll see them again.

Great pics of the practice. The Caps are the best team in DC right now and get by on hard work and grit. They are fun to watch every night.

They are supposedly coming back in the near future. Nothing announced and I don't know if it's definite, but I think we'll see them again.

Great pics of the practice. The Caps are the best team in DC right now and get by on hard work and grit. They are fun to watch every night.

I heard a rumor about them returning their jerseys to red, white, and blue, but not actually going back to the old retros.

I live 5 minutes from that mall, and I have yet to go. I need to get my lazy butt in gear. :doh:

I heard a rumor about them returning their jerseys to red, white, and blue, but not actually going back to the old retros.

I live 5 minutes from that mall, and I have yet to go. I need to get my lazy butt in gear. :doh:

Yeah, I heard that same thing, too. We'll see. I kind of like what they wear now. Yes, you have to get up there. Don't forget to check the Caps site for the practice schedule. You'll have a blast!

Nice pics stwasm!

I was kinda pissed when they said they were moving from Piney Orchard (I live like 10 minutes from there), but it sounds like the new facility is bigger and nicer...

Nice pics stwasm!

I was kinda pissed when they said they were moving from Piney Orchard (I live like 10 minutes from there)' date=' but it sounds like the new facility is bigger and nicer...[/quote']

It's definitely more modern. Check it out some time. Plus, they almost always stop for autographs from what I understand.

I was there two or three weeks ago to do an interview with Olie the Goalie for HoboTrashcan and loved the new facility. After practice, the players walk right past where fans are standing and gladly pose for photos and sign autographs. All of the players, including Alex Ovechkin and Kolzig, are very down to Earth guys. If you have the chance to get out there you should definitely do it.

And for guys who play hockey, they have a first-rate pro shop there too. I'm going to buy a couple sticks there before my next season starts.

Thanks for the post. I will definetly go out for a practice. I still remember being at the old cap centre as a kid when they wore the red white and blue. Wish they never got rid of those uniforms! Bengt Gustafson and Geoff Courtnall were my two favorites back then. Ovie is something special, thats for sure!

Thanks for the post. I will definetly go out for a practice. I still remember being at the old cap centre as a kid when they wore the red white and blue. Wish they never got rid of those uniforms! Bengt Gustafson and Geoff Courtnall were my two favorites back then. Ovie is something special, thats for sure!

Ovie LOVES the game! I can't say it enough. He was just having fun out there during the practice and it rubs off on the other guys. I'm glad we have them. As for the red, white and blue, do you remember when the Caps started out with those horrible white pants? Yikes! Glad that didn't last long!