Category: Capitals

I’m not an autograph hound. When I was younger, I went through a short period when I was collecting some hockey autographs, and I once went to a card show when Dino Ciccarelli was signing stuff, but I was definitely not one of those people in a crowd reaching over others with a piece of crap for someone to sign. If anything, I’d prefer a photo with someone, as I did with Gheorghe MureÅŸan and Manute Bol (may he rest in peace). Didn’t even bother to get them to sign something for me.

It’s not uncommon to see former Capitals all-star Peter Bondra around town. I’ve seen him several times in the press box, we’ve interviewed him for Capitals Outsider a couple of times, and he’s frequently at the Gardens Ice House. He’s been retired for a while now but he’s actually been in the news a bit in the last month because he played in the Caps-Pens alumni game and yesterday, the Bruins’ Zdeno Chara celebrated a hat-trick with Bondra’s signature celebration.

So I knew Bondra was going to be in Laurel tonight, so I grabbed one of my cards and made sure I was there when he got off the ice while coaching his son’s team. I suppose I could’ve asked for a photo but I’ll get another chance. For some reason, I wanted his autograph. And I can honestly say that he’s one of the few players on the Caps – former or current – who I would even bother asking.

I wrote a silly article called The Ballad of George McPhee a while ago, and recently published it on Capitals Outsider. Luck would have it, only a half hour or so after publishing it, my friend Mike at The Gardens Ice House pulled it up to read just as McPhee walked into the rink (presumably because his kid plays there sometimes). Mike printed it out for him and told me McPhee liked it.

I see McPhee in the press box a lot but don’t generally speak to him because he’s got more important things to deal with than me. Plus, I don’t really have anything to ask him. (I did get him to wink at me once, which he does quite a bit with people). Anyway, I didn’t have any plans to show him the ballad and didn’t think much of it. But I’m glad he saw and liked it.

I finally made it out to Kettler Iceplex in Arlington, Va. for a Washington Capitals practice. I’ve gotta say, it’s a much better experience than going to a game for a reporter. We’re much closer to the ice for photos, the players come out and hang around longer in the locker room, the coaches all hang out. Not sure why I didn’t do this before, other than logistical reasons. It’s far easier to go to a game than driving out to Arlington in awful Beltway traffic during the day.

Unfortunately, I didn’t get one of the interviews I wanted because the player had gotten sick. In fact, six of them were sick, so I went to the Capitals shop to look for a Capitals surgical mask.

I also got to watch the beat reporters work, which was far more amusing than educational. These reporters spend so much time talking about hockey that they get sick of it and move onto other things.

I got a few photos and some offbeat information, but more is to come.

Back when I was in college at University of Maryland, I loved working at the campus radio station. I even majored in broadcast journalism, though I wound up in online journalism. But really, it wasn’t radio or television news reporting that I was into, it was yapping on the airwaves. I’ve already participated in the Gunaxin podcast, and though that is fun, it’s not live and is edited down a bit.

Today, a Capitals media colleague, Michael Hoffman, invited me to call in to his radio show an an AM station in the Shenandoah Valley. I discussed my recent Gunaxin article, Ten Reasons Why Beer League Hockey Is Harder Than the NHL. Having done similar segments on the Gunaxin podcast, it came fairly natural to me, though I had to work with the time limits. Not a problem. Looking forward to doing it more.

Anyway, here is the audio. Sorry for the quality, it’s the best we could get.

• Segment 1
• Segment 2

As if I don’t have enough websites to write for, I recently added another. For Fansided’s main NHL blog, Too Many Men on the Site, I’ll be writing a column called ‘Hitting the Post’ on Mondays.

Why would I do this? It’ll give me an outlet to write about hockey that isn’t Caps-specific meant for Capitals Outsider, and isn’t goofy like for Gunaxin.

The name, “Hitting the Post,” actually has several meanings. Most obvious is when the puck hits the side of the goal. But it’s also the DJ term for talking through the intro of a song and stopping less than a second before the lyrics start (an homage to my DJ days in college). Lastly, it means I’m hitting the Washington Post for continuing to not pay much attention to hockey in terms of columnists. Sure, they send a writer to a game every now and then, but it’s hardly enough.

Anyway, this week, I’m politely asking everyone to stop calling it the Gordie Howe Hat Trick and to rename it the Brendan Shanahan Hat Trick. Why? Just read.