Photo credit: Ian iPad

Over the offseason the Hershey Bears saw several key veterans sign elsewhere, such as future AHL Hall of Famer Keith Aucoin, 2011-12 AHL leading scorer Chris Bourque, and fan-favorite enforcer Joel Rechlicz. The team also had to deal with a peculiar problem due to the lockout: two head coaches, Mark French and new Caps bench boss Adam Oates. Capitals general manager George McPhee mandated that Hershey learn Oates’ new system, so that the organization’s minor league players could be used to it by the time NHL games started being played. All this change has seen the team scuffle to a .500 record through 34 games this season (16-16-1-1).

But now things are starting to look up. Before it was announced that the lockout had been lifted, Hershey had been getting its best goaltending of the year from Braden Holtby, who was recently named AHL player of the month for December. Stan Galiev, who had been struggling with his transition from junior hockey, is starting to look more comfortable on the ice and more worthy of his #29 prospect ranking from Hockey Prospectus. The organization also has a surplus of quality goaltenders in the ECHL knocking at the door of the AHL: Philipp Grubauer and 2012 seventh-round pick Sergey Kostenko.

On Saturday, after the Bears’ 3-1 loss to the Binghamton Senators, I asked French if this is the best he’s seen Braden Holtby play, if the sky is the limit for Riley Barber, and if Caps fans should be worried about Galiev’s early season struggles.

My full Q&A with French is below the jump.

With the lockout ending, do you think there’ll be a lot of turnover on Hershey’s roster. Are you looking forward to getting a guy like Philipp Grubauer back on the team? 

It’ll be interesting. It’ll obviously create some roster instability. I think Phillip has displayed that he can play at the American League level. At the same time we’ll be losing a darn good goalie as well.

Is this the best you’ve seen Braden Holtby play?

Probably consistently. I can think of back-to-back games in Norfolk last year where he was unbelievable. But it’s probably the most consistent I’ve seen him play over a long period of time.

Stan Galiev has been shuttled up and down this year between Reading and Hershey. Even at the beginning of the year, he told RMNB he was still getting used to playing in a new system. Have you seen a big improvement from him lately? Tonight he had a pretty strong game.

I think his game, right before we went to break, was the best game we’ve seen him play. And tonight, I really liked the intensity he played with. He’s a skilled player, but when we sent him down our message to him was “you need to play more consistently with a higher compete level.” And we wanted him to go down and try to generate a little offensive confidence. I think his two most recent games we’re seeing some results.

Should Caps fans read into the fact that the 29th rated prospect in the NHL started off so slow? Is it going to take him a few years to develop? Did playing in the QMJHL hurt him?

I think it’s a pretty big jump [from the QMJHL]. It’s a change of the system. Certainly a big change in the game. The Q is a good league, but it’s very offensive, so now we’re asking him to pay a lot of attention to different details of the game. I think the problem you have with young guys is they start thinking too much, instead of reacting instinctively. Stan, you like that he’s trying to do these things, but it probably takes away from his game. I think his game is beginning to be a little bit more defined of what he’s going to be as a pro.

How has implementing Adam Oates’ system been going? And if the NHL season starts in a few weeks, what should Caps fans expect?

Some of our success as of late… I think it takes time to implement a new system. Like I talked about with Stan, guys are trying to understand this new system, but they’re not reacting to it. We’re getting to the point where guys know it now, they know what they need to do. So I think it takes some time. I think the NHL player can maybe make the jump a little bit quicker. You know, it’s a proven system. New Jersey used it last year and went a long ways. I think there’s some really good parts. I think it’ll play really well into some of the Capitals more skilled players for sure.

What kind of upside do you see with Cameron Schilling and Mattias Sjogren? Over the next year or two, are they going to be knocking on the door at the NHL level?

Let’s start with Sjogren. We’ve seen an improvement in his game. I think he’s a checking forward. He’s a big body guy. With our team he’s been put in a checking role, and that’s where I think he transitions to at the NHL level. I think he’s more comfortable playing the North American game. With Schilling, he can skate at the NHL level right now. He’s got a real good work ethic and compete level about him. I think he’s just got to mature a little bit. He’s benefiting from his time down here and I can certainly see him as a guy that transitions to the NHL at some point.

Team USA won the World Junior Championships on Saturday. I’m not sure if you can get a guy like Riley Barber on the team this year. But what type of player do you think he is?

I’m like everybody. He kinda jumped out at me during the World Juniors. I think he’s probably going to stay in college a few more years to develop but he’s certainly a guy who can play with pace and got some real good skill to him.

Do you think Barber could grow up to be a Top 6 guy?

I’d have to see him play a little bit more but I was certainly encouraged by what I saw at the World Juniors.

Last question. When I went to Development Camp I got a lot of good reports about goaltending prospect Sergey Kostenko… about how well he played even with a bum shoulder. He told RMNB that he could barely hold his goalie stick before he got surgery. I don’t know how much tape you’ve seen of him– he recently got his first win, but are you guys excited about him as a player?

I think it was good to get him over to North America. I think with Reading especially, if there’s an NHL season, with Philipp getting moved up to the AHL, he jumps into a situation where he’s playing more. Like you, I was pleasantly surprised by what I saw at Development Camp and I certainly — from what Dave Prior and Olie believe — I think he might be a good diamond in the rough.

Photo credit: Jordan Tenenbaum

On December 6th, the Verizon Center hosted the AHL Showcase between the Hershey Bears and Norfolk Admirals. Due to the lockout, it was the first hockey game played in Washington since May 9th, when two current Bears were playing with the Capitals: Braden Holtby and Dmitry Orlov.

While Holtby dominated in the Bears 2-1 victory during the Showcase, Orlov made it through just the first period before leaving the game due to injury. Since then, Orlov has missed ten games– a month’s worth of action. Bears radio announcer and PR man Scott Stuccio told RMNB on Thursday night that the Novokuznetsk-native is not close to returning yet.

With the departure of veteran defenseman Dennis Wideman over the offseason, Orlov was expected to play big minutes on the Capitals third defensive pairing this season. Instead, he’s nursing what seems to be a long-term injury with a possible NHL season nearing. Few details have emerged on what Orlov’s injury is.

To try to figure out what’s going on, I reviewed tape of the AHL Showcase to see if I could pinpoint when and where the injury occurred. After re-watching the first period, I came to a few conclusions.

• Orlov did not leave  a shift early.
• Orlov had no apparent limp and did not favor a leg.
• On Orlov’s second to last shift, he absorbed a body check from two players.

With 4:47 left in the first period, Orlov led the Bears into Norfolk’s offensive zone. As the 21-year-old defenseman cut to the middle of the ice, he passed to a teammate. Then, six-foot four-inch, 250-lbs. Emerson Etem saw the play developing and prepare to hit Orlov. As the two players’ bodies met near the slot, Etem put his shoulder under Orlov’s chin, sending him airborne. Chris Wagner, trailing on the play, then collided with the airborne Orlov, cross-checking him in the head. Orlov fell to the ice, but quickly got up as the referees blew the play dead.

Photo Sequence of the Hit

Zoomed-In Shots

Orlov returned for one final shift, a penalty kill at the end of the first period. On that shift, he tried to block a Patrick Maroon shot from the perimeter. Maroon’s stick appears to get close to striking Orlov’s helmet, but after reviewing replays, I don’t think it hit him.

Orlov then skated off for a shift change, no worse for wear. After going into the Bears locker room, he did not emerge for the second period and has been scratched since.

Photo credit: marlies.ca

The Hershey Bears have long been considered one of the elite teams of the American Hockey League. The Bears have won eleven Calder Cups and had eleven of its coaches and players inducted into the NHL or AHL halls of fame. With its rich history and fantastic arena, the Bears have routinely churned out top prospects and cultivated a huge following, leading the AHL in attendance for the past six seasons. But how do they compare to the rest of the world?

On Monday, Sports.ru blogger Viktor Mayorov tabulated the current average attendance numbers for every hockey team in Europe, which included leagues in Russia (KHL), Germany (DEL), Switzerland (NLA), Austria (EBEL), Sweden (Elitserien), and Finland (SM-Liiga).

The results are below the jump.

European Hockey Home Attendance, 2012-13

1. SC Bern – NLA – 16,296
2. Dinamo Minsk – KHL – 14,214
3. Eisbaren Berlin – DEL – 14,016
4. Kolner Haie – DEL – 12,321
5. SKA St. Petersburg – KHL – 11,785
6. Adler Mannheim – DEL – 10,301
7. Slovan Bratislava – KHL – 9,925
8. Jokerit Helsinki – SM-Liiga – 9,658
9. Hershey Bears – AHL – 9,085
10. Lokomotiv Yaroslavl – KHL – 8,728

Not only does the Hershey Bears’ attendance nearly double Alex Ovechkin and Nicklas Backstrom’s Dynamo Moscow (5,890 – 37th in Europe), they would be ranked ninth overall among all European teams. Backstrom’s former team Brynas has an average attendance of 6,324, good for third in the SEL (28th in Europe), while Evgeny Kuznetsov’s Traktor Cheylabinsk averaged 7,229 (19th in Europe) and Fillp Forsberg’s Leksands IF averaged 4,860 (4th among all European Minor League teams).

The second most popular AHL team, the Lake Erie Monsters, would’ve fallen outside of the top 20 with an average attendance of 7,184.

Those Pennsylvanians sure love their Bears.

During the third period of the AHL Showcase between the Hershey Bears and Norfolk Admirals, Caps fans broke into several “Fire Bettman” chants. It’s especially clear at the 4 second mark above.

Full disclosure: that noise at the 2 second mark is my ferret sneezing.

Photo credit: Rachel B.

We shoulda made some PUNCH THIS FACE signs with Gary Bettman’s face on ‘em.

Photo credit: @frankgiblin

Photo credit: @lottapub

Photo credit: @capsoutsider

If you encountered any other protesting fans, send your photos to thecrew@russianmachineneverbreaks.com.

Wheeee!!!!

While Dmitry Orlov is a defenseman who is known more for his offensive instincts, the 21-year-old Russian sure loves to hit too. Last season he crushed Blake Wheeler, Steve Downie, and Lars Eller all with devastating hip checks. And during Hershey’s second game of the season this year, he flipped a dude head over heels. Last night, during Teddy Bear Toss night at Giant Center, Orlov — apparently jealous of the fans — attempted to toss something over the boards too: Norfolk’s Jay Rosehill.

Video

As Hershey’s Ryan Potulny turned the puck over in the third period (on what may be the worst drop pass of all-time), Rosehill ambled up the ice staring at the puck in-between his skates. Um, big mistake. Orlov slowly lined-up the 216-pound enforcer (who’s fought Milan Lucic, Shawn Thornton, and Krys Barch) and stuck his left shoulder into Rosehill’s chest. The collision sent Rosehill’s torso and head flying into his own team’s bench. As Rosehill’s legs met Orlov’s elbows when his ballistic body was at a 180-degree angle, he was sadly stopped from a complete bench-player deposit.

Now excuse me while I go hit the replay button on this YouYube for the next three hours.

The lockout is miserable, but at least we get NHL stars participating in silly AHL promotions. Check out Braden Holtby (front row, second to the left) and Dmitry Orlov (back row, dude wearing the hardhat) doing their best to raise money for the American Cancer Society by showing off new pink t-shirts and sticks. The “Pink The Rink” shirts will be available for purchase at the Bears game on Sunday behind section 117, and the pink sticks they use during warm-ups will be up for silent auction behind section 119.

That’s great and all, but where can I buy that hard-hat Dima’s wearing?

Photo credit: Hershey Bears Facebook page.

Whatever you think of Bruce Boudreau, he will forever be a part of DC hockey lore. He transformed the Washington Capitals into contenders, won the Jack Adams his first year behind the bench, and he invigorated a languid fan base. He had stories; amazing hockey stories. After talking with Caps radio man John Walton, I’m ready to share one of Bruce’s most legendary moments.

On December 26, 2006, Bruce Boudreau — a few months after his first AHL championship and exactly a full year before he was permanently hired as head coach of the Washington Capitals — jumped onto a bus with the Hershey Bears for a 220-mile jaunt up I-95 to Bridgeport, Connecticut. The Bears had Christmas off and were forced to travel the day of the game. The drive usually takes about three and a half hours.

The team ran into post-holiday traffic, pushing their arrival time back a few hours. When the Bears finally arrived at the Arena at Harbor Yard, they had just 20 minutes before warm-ups. As each player grabbed his gear off the bus, they ran to the locker room. Boudreau, who always preferred the comfort of his track-suit on the bus, grabbed his only companion, a suit bag, and headed inside to the visiting team’s coaches’ office along with assistant Bob Woods and general manager Doug Yingst.

John Walton, then the radio announcer for the Hershey Bears, also traveled with the team and sprinted up the stairs to the press area. As he scrambled to get ready for the live broadcast, he was met with an odd sight:

“My boss at the time, Doug Yingst, came running out the zamboni gate, right next to the locker room, and he’s screaming at me and motioning to me to come down to the locker room,” Walton revealed in a phone interview. “It was incredibly odd. It’s certainly the last place I would be needed 20-minutes before warm-ups, while I’m trying to get us on the air. So I said to myself, whatever it is, it must be very important.

Walton, not wanting to disappoint the man who controls his job security, ran down those same steps he just ran up  to meet Yingst at ice level.

“Doug then puts his arm around my shoulders as we walked down the tunnel and into the Bears locker room,” Walton explained. “He says to me,’We have a problem. We think you can help, and you’re not going to like it.’”

It was at that point the two walked into the dressing room. The players are doubled over in laughter. “I feel like I’m walking into the Twilight Zone,” Walton continued  “I don’t know what’s going on. We’ve gone from super urgent — let’s get this show on the road — to everybody’s laughing hysterically. I had no idea why.”

As Walton and Yingst entered the coaches’ office, they first found assistant Bob Woods in the fetal position, laughing on the floor. Next, they saw Boudreau, the Bears’ usually jolly head coach, staring back at them helplessly in his boxer shorts. Mad.

In a rush to catch the bus, Boudreau had forgotten to pack his size 40-plus slacks.

Walton, still confused as to why he was asked downstairs, blurted out,”‘Well what do you need me for? Why am I here?’ And as I’m asking the question,” Walton explains. “I realize. ‘Oh, God.’”

Boudreau and Yingst, not wanting to sully the organization’s reputation or violate hockey decorum, rejected a suggestion for the entire coaching staff to wear their track suits during the game.

“So there was an exchange,” Walton, carefully choosing his words, said. “He took my [size 32] suit pants that didn’t fit and I took his — shall we say — slightly bigger track pants. I went trudging up to the press box holding up each side [of the pants] or I was going to have a problem. I’m sure people up in the press box thought I lost a bet.”

Boudreau then shuffled out to the Bears bench. “[The pants] were tight,” Boudreau explained in an interview with the Ducks’ website. “They were so tight, I never moved one inch behind the bench. If the puck would have been shot at me, I was done because I couldn’t move. I could hardly breathe. Bob was doing line changes and I was just holding my breath the whole game.”

Walton’s pants proved to be both lucky and durable. Riding two goals from Kyle Wilson and individual tallies from Alexandre Giroux, Dave Steckel, Louis Robitaille, and Quintin Lang, the Bears defeated Bridgeport 6-3. It would be the only time they beat the Sound Tigers on the road all season.

The pants made it through without a rip.

A week later, The Hockey News published a story about the Bears and their super start to the season. The night they defeated Bridgeport, their record stood at 21-4-3-4. Yingst and Boudreau told their versions of the pants story. The lede for the article was that the Bears were getting contributions from all across the roster– including the press box.

Nearly six years later, a lot has changed. Boudreau had been hired and fired by the Capitals and is now head coach of the Anaheim Ducks. He coached Alex Ovechkin during his MVP seasons and won a Jack Adams trophy as coach of the year. Walton, got his own call-up, getting his dream job as the voice of the Caps.

But Walton still keeps those slacks in his closet, the pair Boudreau wore on December 26, 2006.

“At some point when I got the job in Washington, I thought about it and said ‘I can’t get rid of these. It’s too good of a story.’ I’m not sure if I’m going to put them in a frame or not, but it’s a significant testament to friendship and hockey family. I choose to hold onto them. I certainly remember it fondly.”

And now you can too.

Boudreau gives his version of the story in the video above.

Thanks to Elliotte Friedman, who linked to a Boudreau interview about the story in his latest 30 Thoughts.

Photo credit: Kyle Mace of Sweetest Hockey On Earth

November 1st marks the first day of Movember, an event where men across the globe grow mustaches to raise money to fight prostate cancer. Hockey players have been among the most avid supporters of the charity, raising thousands for research and awareness.

Almost the entire Hershey Bears team is participating this year, and some players are trying to one up each other. After Boyd Kane’s wife offered a signed team photo for any person donating $25 or more, Caps prospect Tomas Kundratek responded with his own overture.

No signed jersey or stick. Too rote. Instead, Kundratek is offering to take the fan who donates the most money out to dinner at the finest establishment in Hershey: Houlihan’s! If you’re nice, he might let you order an appetizer.

Check this us.movember.com/team/756193The biggest donation on my mustache wins an end of the November supper with me athoulihan’s #myTreat

— Tomas Kundratek (@Kundrc84) November 1, 2012

How cool is that?

This is why hockey players are the best. They’re down-to-earth people and have tastes like the rest of us. I can’t imagine LeBron or Ben Roethlisberger doing something like this. Kudos to Tomas for willing to hang out with a fan for a good cause.

Now go donate! He deserves your money.

Photo credit: Kyle Mace of Sweetest Hockey On Earth

In a move both surprising and logical, the Capitals announced Sunday that Adam Oates would serve as co-coach of the AHL’s Hershey Bears with head coach Mark French for the duration of the lockout. Caps assistant coaches Calle Johansson, Tim Hunter, and Blaine Forsythe and goaltending coaches Dave Prior and Olie Kolzig will — in George McPhee’s words — “be involved at different times” and also help out with the Capitals’ ECHL affiliate, Reading Royals.

To adequately take on lockout-loaded teams like Oklahoma City Barons whose roster now features Ryan Nugent-Hopkins, Jordan Eberle, and Justin Schultz, the Capitals have given their farm team the deepest coaching staff in AHL history.

McPhee elaborated even more on the announcement to senior Capitals’ writer Mike Vogel:

“We think it’s a great opportunity for all of our coaches in the organization to work together to learn the nuances of our system of play,” says McPhee. “We also think it’s a great opportunity for our NHL coaches to get to work with our young players and frankly to give them something to do. There’s no sense in them sitting in Washington when they could be active in Hershey.”

The decision has no downside. Oates will have a chance to ply his trade for the first time in the organization, get more familiar with the players, and install his new system from the ground up. He’ll also get to work with potential Capitals starting goaltender Braden Holtby and continue to help develop Russian talents Dmitry Orlov and Stanislav Galiev. In the bigger picture, the added star power should also bring more media attention to the deserving Bears and help them fill seats.

A few months ago, Adam Oates was on top of the world, coaching the New Jersey Devils in the Stanley Cup Finals. A few weeks later, he was named head coach of his own team and inducted into the Hall of Fame on the same day. Now Oates gets to experience the less glamorous side of hockey again: 12-hour bus rides, three-in-threes, and living in and out of hotels. That he’d even consider this position after all his success in hockey speaks volumes of the man’s character and humility.