Dima participates in a drill during the first day of Development Camp.

Photos by Chris Gordon

When Metallurg Novokuznetsk’s season ended in early February without a playoff berth, Dmitry Orlov had two options. He could finish the year in Russia again with Metallurg’s MHL affiliate, the Novokuznetsk Bears, or begin his professional career in North America. After dominating the KHL’s junior circuit and winning the Davydov trophy as the MHL Playoff MVP in 2009-10, Dima needed a new challenge. So he negotiated an agreement with his KHL club and flew over to America to sign a contract with the Washington Capitals.

On February 27th, Orlov impressed fans and media alike in his AHL debut against the Albany Devils. Not only did he register a point in his first game as a Hershey Bear, he inspired The Patriot-News’s Tim Leone to exclaim,”That’s the best first 20 minutes from a 19-year-old D I’ve ever seen in this league.” Orlov went on to score his first AHL goal — ten days later — on March 9th against the Worchester Sharks and finished the year with nine points in 19 games.

After taking a brief vacation in Turkey, the defensive prospect is back in America, and participating in his third Development Camp. So far, the reports are positive.

“He’s in a lot better shape and he’s lighter and in better condition than he was in the other camps,” Bruce Boudreau told reporters Monday. “I think he wants to make a real good impression. He was always going back to Russia, but now he knows he’s here. He wants to make the team.”

One problem remains, however. Orlov still has a limited grasp of English, which can make instruction difficult, at times, for the coaches. While in Hershey, Orlov lived with fellow Russian-born winger Dmitry Kugryshev, who offered help with translating. In Development Camp, Stanislav Galiev has filled a similar role.

“You know, the thing [we're looking for] is a better understanding of the game because of the language barrier,” Boudreau explained. “And to see if he understands [English] a little bit better than last year or the year before. If he understands it, we know he can play and he can shoot and he can stand up and hit. And he’s got great hockey sense. It’s just the communication part that I’m a little worried about sometimes.”

RMNB’s own Igor Kleyner caught up with Orlov after his first day of Development Camp to discuss his training regiment, thoughts on the AHL and what words in English he does understand. Below, we offer the translation of his conversation.

Igor Kleyner: You cut your summer vacation a bit short this year, didn’t you? Why?
Dmitry Orlov: I wanted to start training a bit earlier this time. I have been here since the 28th of June, training with the strength coach Mark Nemish. We have been getting ready for the [developmnent] camp, both skating and in the gym. Today was the first day, it was a bit easier… It is going to be a difficult season for me, I want to make the main team in Washington, that’s why I started so early, I hope it is going to help me.

Dmitry Orlov skates backwards during a drill on Day 1 of Caps Development camp.

IK: Coach Boudreau was talking to the press about you, and he pointed out that this time around your conditioning improved significantly.
DO: I agree, this year, after the season ended, within a week I started working out again. I always worked on my conditioning during the summer, but this year I changed a few things, and I feel better. In any case, I am 20-years old now, a bit older, so my physical conditioning should have improved.

IK: If it is not a secret, what were those changes in your conditioning program this summer?
DO: Well, I used to not skate during summer time, I tried to rest more, and did some swimming. This summer, I skated four times a week, so now it’s easier for me to return to the ice. I feel very good during practice, because I am in good physical condition.

IK: Lets go back to the last season for a second… the last time we talked to you was after your first game for Hershey. Having now played for a couple of months in North America, and even getting to try yourself in playoffs, how do you compare the game here with hockey in Russia, how different is it?
DO: Well, the KHL is definitely stronger than AHL, but the AHL is also quite a special league, a lot of guys are doing everything they possibly can to make it to the NHL, and work very hard in a gym, so they are very strong physically. There is a lot of physical play everywhere on the ice, in the corners, every meter of the ice surface is contested, so it is very hard… And in the playoffs it was particularly hard for me, you can say it was the first ever real playoff series for me. I realized that the regular season and the playoffs are two completely different games. In the playoffs, it’s all about the team. And there is even more physical play than during the regular season, and the defense is even more important. The whole game is built from defense. Very few risky plays where you can get caught out of position, everybody works very hard. It is a very interesting game. You have to work hard and give it all, but if you win – the emotions… you feel good.

Bruce Boudreau teaches; Group B listens.

IK: Everybody wants to know how well you understand the coach. Did you watch the Winter Classic last year?
DO: Yes, we were at WJC when it took place on January 1st, so we all watched it. It was very interesting.

IK: Did you get a chance to see the HBO documentary 24/7 Penguins/Capitals: The Road to the Winter Classic?
DO: Yes, I did see some of it, not everything, but it was interesting, too.

IK: So, as the fans found out from the show, the coach Boudreau really likes to use quite “colorful” language when explaining the task to his players – you know, the words that get replaced with bleeps during the daytime broadcast… How well do you think you can understand that kind of English?
DO: Just fine. Those are even easier to understand than regular words! [laughing]

IK: Last question. Your 20th birthday is coming up in a couple of weeks. What would be your birthday wish for yourself?
DO: Well, to stay healthy, avoid injuries, and to make the main team.

IK: Thank you very much, and good luck to you.
DO: Thanks.

Additional reporting by Ian Oland.

Some think Mathieu Perreault is a no-brainer to start the year at #2 center whose points-per-game (PPG) would increase in the NHL as much as it did in the AHL – despite there being significant proof to the contrary. Others think he could score 45 points, which I think is high based on what we have seen from him so far in his career.

In fact, if we look at Matty P’s AHL stats they translate to 4G/9A/13P in 21 NHL games. His actual 2009-10 stats in Washington were: 4/5/9 in 21GP. Weird, huh?

For the record: I think Mathieu Perreault’s a decent player. His campaign for the Calder Cup winning Hershey Bears at age 22 shows he has some upside – unlike top chocolate and white pivot Keith Aucoin who is a decade older than most AHL players.

To make sure I don’t get disappointed I try and keep my expectations low:

On one hand, we have an AHL scorer with some upside who makes a legitimate NHL threat like Eric Fehr better when they are paired. On the other we have an undersized 6th round pick (a 2nd rounder has less than a 30% chance to develop into a player who will play at least 150 games) who’s scoring droughts will be blamed for being physically unable to compete at the NHL level.

Despite this, the “Matty P” parade lives on, so I set out in search for some hidden value that might give justification to the Perreault fans of the word. And I think I’ve found it: He could be considered clutch.

By clutch I mean he scores more 5v5 goals in “close” games (the score being within one goal in the first or second period, or a tied score in the third period or overtime) at a better rate than in non-close games. A MUCH better rate.

If we look at all the CORSI events (Goals + Shots Saved+ Missed Shots + Blocked Shots) we see Perreault was on the ice for 403 total events at even strength. As long as we have over 100 CORSI events we can get workable results but for comparison: Mike Green, “who is on the ice the whole time,” saw 2709.

Of Matty P’s 403 events, 230 came in non-close games and 173 were in close games. He scored 3 goals at even strength last year with 2 of those coming in “close” games. That gives him 1.16 Goals Scored per 100 events, just slightly behind Ovechkin and Semin (1.21). Not bad company.

Pythagoras - Perreault fan?

Looking at it another way, if we know Goals For and Goals Against we can use the Pythagorean Theorem to figure out win percentage:

Expected W% = GF²/(GF² + GA²)

We know Perreault was on the ice for 9 GF and 7 GA for all 5v5 action, and 7 GF with only 3 GA during close games at even strength. The Caps expected chances of winning a non-close game with Perreault on the ice is a paltry .215, BUT, in close games it balloons to .830 – an increase of 286%(!). Pretty staggering.

Stats like this show why Perry was so valuable to the Bears: He knows how to step up when the game’s on the line. What remains to be seen is if he can provide the Caps enough value during the regular season that he remains with the big club all year and can instill enough confidence in Bruce Boudreau to use him in tough situations.

The 2009-10 Hershey Bears celebrate back-to-back championships and their 11th championship in franchise history. (Photo by Kyle M.)

It was only one week ago that the Hershey Bears won the Calder Cup in a 4-0 rout.  It was their second championship in as many years, their third in five years, and the eleventh in franchise history.  Andrew Gordon writes to share his thoughts on the championship, the celebration, and  what happens now.

Life has a million ways to make you feel good, and a million ways to make you feel miserable.  In my 24 years, I have found only one way to feel like a champion (make that two ways now).  It’s a feeling that all players at all levels try to put into words but can’t ever find the exact way to express it.

It’s a combination of happiness, excitement, relief, satisfaction, fulfillment and complete bliss all mixed together and topped with a touch of “thank God it’s over.”

A championship win is so much different than a regular-season win because there is nothing left to accomplish after it’s over. There is no refocusing for your next opponent. No pasta meal waiting for you before tomorrow’s game. No more playing through injury or sickness. It’s all over, and you have nothing else to think about. It’s as if half of your brain suddenly has nothing to do, so it just shuts down and lets the 8-year-old in you run wild.

In the championship moment, nothing matters except the guys around you. I know there was some intense crowd noise as the buzzer sounded in Hershey, especially compared winning on the road in Manitoba, but I don’t remember hearing a sound. It is like I blocked out everything else in the building except the pile of players huddled around the crease. As you fly over the bench, all you want is to be there with the boys, celebrating what you have just accomplished.

When my career is over, I might not remember the score of the game, but I’ll always remember the feeling of jumping that bench (and falling on my face, if you watch the tape) and sprinting towards the rest of the guys.

In my three years of pro hockey, I’m not sure if I have ever seen a team play with more fire and determination than we did in game six. It was as if we just decided that enough was enough. We couldn’t let them think they were back in the series, so we had to make a statement in the first period.

I think it was our best period of the year. We won every puck battle, finished every check, shot every puck, and defended with our lives. I don’t know if a single guy made a mistake in that period. After that, it was too late for the Stars.

I truly believe that– the way we played that game– we could have beaten the Leafs, the Oilers, and (for most of the season) the Hurricanes. It was a combination of work and skill that is rarely seen at this level. I think we were virtually unbeatable that night, and it couldn’t have come at a better time.

How sweet it is. Andrew Gordon hoists the Calder Cup for the second straight year.

It’s both ironic and fitting that we capped off our last game of the season with another record-breaking performance. In a previous entry, I mentioned my “Fun Fact” of the day– that no team had ever lost games one and two at home in the finals then gone on to win the series. Guess they can erase that one from the AHL color-commentary handbook. But that brings me to another point altogether: HISTORY DOESN’T MATTER!!! Nobody in our dressing room was discouraged by the fact that no team had ever come back from two games down. Who cares if it’s never been done? We aren’t those teams who failed before. We are in control of our own destiny, and we will make it happen our own way.

There is no manual that explains how to win a series. You just win four times before they do.

I remember being interviewed before the playoffs about setting all the team records this year and how I felt knowing that the teams who previously held those wins and points records were upset early in the playoffs. My response: we’re not them.  Nothing in the past affects you in the present unless you are too mentally weak to separate the two. Just because something happened the year before doesn’t mean it will happen again. Every season brings a different team with a different outlook and a different identity. No playoffs are ever the same.

That’s why I believe the Caps won’t have a repeat of what happened this year. They had a great team, but couldn’t get a break. It’s a freak occurrence that happens once in a blue moon. It’s sad that it happened to them, but maybe it’s a stepping stone to greater things. I firmly believe that things happen for a reason. It may be hard to understand at the time, but I bet the Caps getting upset in this year’s playoffs lights a fire in them for years to come.

The Hershey Bears mob Michal Neuvirth after the final horn sounds! (Photo by Kyle M.)

I think the best part of winning a championship is the two hours right after the buzzer sounds. All the players’ families are there on the ice, there are news crews and photographers everywhere.  It’s complete mayhem. You can’t stand still for more than five seconds because you are always seeing someone new who you have to go celebrate with. I was fortunate enough to share this win with both my parents who came in from Porters Lake, Nova Scotia. My father was there last year in Winnipeg, but my mother hasn’t seen me play live too often in the past few years, so it was great to have her there on the ice moments after we won. As I always mention, these opportunities don’t come around every year, so having her there to experience the emotion in person meant a lot to me. It’s a memory I’ll never forget, and I’m sure she won’t either.

After the trophy is handed out and the pictures have been taken, the real fun starts. In the dressing room there is nobody but the team and its officials, so we really get to be ourselves and cut loose. This is where the 8-year-old brain I mentioned earlier comes into play. There are bottles of champagne being popped and sprayed all around the room. We had beer, water, Red Bull, Gatorade, and pretty much anything else you can find in an arena fridge being flung around in the air at all times. Guys were strapping on swimming goggles at one point to save themselves from going blind. Where they got them, however, I have no idea. That’s some serious planning ahead if they brought them from home!

After that, things die down a bit. The team is out of booze since we wasted it all in the first ten minutes. We are soaked in our own sweat and stupidity. And we have to get our gear off and showered up before we get to start sharing more moments with our families again. For me, that’s when it really starts to sink in. I realize that I’m taking my skates off for the last time. There is no more knee pain or cut up swollen ankles to deal with. It’s a wonderful relief. I think your body starts to wilt a bit as it knows it has nothing left to give. As you look around the room, there is nothing but smiles and high fives being thrown around. There is music blaring out of the speakers, but you can barely hear it. Again: in this moment, nothing else matters. From that moment till you leave for home its nothing but happiness. Even when you are packed up and saying goodbye to the guys, there is always that little smirk saying, “hell of a season pal,” without the words needing to be said.

I’ve heard that– once you win a championship– you’ll always have a special bond with the guys on that team.  I’ve now experienced that twice, and it’s true.  Everybody on those two teams can now look back and share those great memories together. Once you become a champion, you gain a little immortality. That win can never be taken away from you. You are in the history books. Once you are a champion, you are always a champion.

Gordo waves to the crowd at the Calder Cup Championship Rally at Giant Center. (Photo by Tim Stough)

In closing, I would like to thank the guys at Russian Machine Never Breaks for giving me the opportunity to join their team. It’s been an incredible ride through the playoffs this year and for me to be able to share my thoughts and feelings with so many people has been an amazing experience. I loved sharing stories about our wins and the courage it took for us to climb back into this series, but I think what I’ll remember most is how writing these entries helped me cope with the times when the series didn’t look so good. It was good for me to get my emotions out, and having thousands of people to vent on was really great.

To those of you who read these entries, I especially thank you! I have had nothing but wonderful feedback from all of you, and it was really encouraging for me to hear. I was a tad nervous at the beginning due to by lack of writing experience, but thanks to all those good reviews, I might have a new outlook on my career after hockey! Without readers, blog sites would never be as prominent of a media source as it is today, so I thank you for your ongoing support. Over the past few weeks it’s been a pleasure to help so many see a little deeper into what’s going on behind the scenes and in my head as a player. You as fans make playing hockey the joy that it is, so to be able to give back a few words every couple days is really the least I could do. Again, I thank you.

As my last quote, I only have to go back a couple months to the Olympics in Vancouver. After Canada won the gold medal game in overtime, one of the NBC announcers had this to say, and after going through this season in Hershey, I completely agree with him.

“In sports, one of the hardest things to do is win when you are supposed to.”

Thank you for your time. See you in September!

Yours in hockey,
Andrew Gordon

Francois Bouchard and Mathieu Perreault do the Bears only celebrating of the night after Bouchard's second period tally. (Photo by Kyle M.)

The hockey gods must be playing a cruel trick on us. Why? Because for the first time in the postseason and the second time in 39 games this year, the Hershey Bears lost in front of their home fans at Giant Center. (And no, we weren’t there to curse them!)

Yet before you hit the panic button and start considering doomsday scenarios, we must acknowledge that this was the first time the Bears had played a game in 11 days. During that period, celebrities Gary Coleman and Dennis Hopper died, May turned to June, BP ruined the entire Gulf of Mexico three times over, Team Russia was humbled in another International Tournament and Bret Michaels nearly died from a brain hemorrhage, recovered and then won Celebrity Apprentice. So rust obviously could have been a factor tonight. It’s hard to have your mojo going after that long of a layoff.

The first 30 minutes of tonight’s Calder Cup Finals exhibition played out much to that effect as both teams treated the first half of the game like a chess match. Both clubs tried desperately not make the game’s first, crucial mistake. However despite being outshot 12-2 after one period of play, the Bears were the ones to score the game’s first goal in the second period. The ever-darty and creative Mathieu Perreault found Francois Bouchard wide open in front of the Stars’ net and the Sherbrooke, Quebec native buried it past Texas Goaltender Matt Climie. Yet, Texas was unfazed. Tonight was the 11th straight game they had given up the game’s first goal and during that span they are 7-4.

5 minutes after Bouchard dented the twine, Stars’ center Greg Rallo responded by beating Michal Neuvirth glove side with a sick wrist shot from the top of the circles. Then in the third, Scott McCulloch backhanded home what turned out to be the eventual game winning goal on a semi-breakaway. As Bears’ Radio Announcer John Walton so eloquently put it, the Bears turned it on too little, too late tonight. Hershey falls 2-1. To the bullets!!

• After tonight’s loss, this is the first time that the Chocolate and White have actually trailed in a series during the postseason. Hmmm. Sleeping Giant = Awoken?
• 

  Doc in the house!

  The best The second best The third best play by play man in the NHL, Mike Emrick was in the house and dropped the ceremonial first puck. Kyle caught the scene in this awesome photo to the right.
• Just a simple request: Can someone turn off the disney channel next time they have a serious hockey interview during intermission? Poor Bob Woods.
• Not only was Elvis in the house wearing a sweet Hershey sweater, he was also frenching all ladies in sight.
• First line right winger and fan of the blog Andrew Gordon returned to the Bears lineup for the first time in four games after suffering a knee injury, and was one of the best players on the ice. He had numerous scoring opportunities in the first and second periods, and in the third, he leveled Andrew Hutchinson, the Stars’ most steady defenseman, along the dasher boards. The hit, which was deemed legal, caught Hutchinson awkwardly from the side and started a brawl that woke up the Bears during the final minutes of play.
• Despite getting the L, Michal Neuvirth was especially solid in goal making 24 saves. At times, I would even say he was spectacular. It’s like he’d be a great back-up goaltender in DC next year, no?
• One thing that seriously bugs me about the AHL is how goalies intentionally knock the net off its moorings when danger approaches. There’s never a delay of game penalty. Ever! Tonight, Matt Climie flung himself into the cage several times to get a whistle. If the AHL had more than one referee, as Corey Massisak so intelligently pointed out, maybe they could make this call consistently. But all I can say for now is: It. Drives. Me. Insane.
• Comcast Sportsnet’s Allen Pope reports that Games 3 through 5 from Texas will be shown live by Comcast. Make sure you join us Monday, Wednesday and Friday of next week to watch almost Caps hockey on TV again!!

Hershey will look to rebound and tie the series Saturday night in front of a sold out Giant Center at 7pm. We’ll talk to you then. Keep your heads up!

This past weekend was awesome. Why? Because it was chock full of Hockey at every hour of the day. Sure there was “Super Sunday” with the Russians destroying the Czechs, USA humbling the Green Snubbers from the North, and the Swedes shutting out the Fins in Olympic action. But there also was a double dip of AHL Hockey with the Hershey Bears playing both on Saturday and Sunday. Well since we here at RMNB can’t be everywhere – though Fedor certainly tried as he watched illegal Russian Video Streams of the Bears Games during breaks in the Olympics – we asked our Hershey Correspondent Kyle M to summarize the events of this weekend via pictures, words & yes, his own video. Video which includes reaction from players and Coach Mark French after Hershey set the AHL Record for Consecutive Home Victories. Awesome. If you hate reading like me, here’s all you need to know: HERSHEY RULZ!

Game 1 – Saturday, February 20th – Lake Erie Monsters vs Hershey Bears @ Giant Center

In Saturday’s tilt, the Hershey Bears rose to the challenge – in what I’d say was one of their toughest tests in their now 19 game home winning streak. The Bears defeated the Colorado Avalanche’s affiliate Lake Erie Monsters 4-1 despite a tremendous amount of physical play. Bears goaltender Jason Bacashihua (above) beat his former team (while being in his old Avs mask) with 24 superb saves on 25 shots. With his strong effort in net, Bacashihua was also named the First Star of the Game.

Cash has now won 12 of his 15 starts this season. Four different Bears managed to light the lamp including Oskar Osala, Jay Beagle, Andrew Joudrey & Andrew Gordon via an Empty Net Goal. One final note: Who broke Bacashihua’s Shutout? None other than former Capital Brian Willsie.

Photos From The Game:

Oskar Osala Scores!

Jason Bacashihua and Karl Alzner Gaurd The Net

We weren’t kidding about the rough stuff!

Game 2 – Saturday, February 20th – Albany River Rats vs Hershey Bears @ Giant Center

With the consecutive home victories record on the line, the Bears came out hard against the NJD Affiliated Albany River Rats. After getting back to back goals by Andrew Gordon and Chris Bourque, Braden Holtby surrendered 3 goals in succession in a little under 10 minutes. By the end of second period, the game was all tied up 3-3. It would take 11 minutes of play in the third frame until lil’ scrappy Francois Bouchard would break the tie. More importantly, Bryan Helmer’s assist on the goal gave him the All-Time AHL Assists Record for Defensemen. Bouchard would then add another goal 8 minutes later as the Hershey Bears won their 20th Straight Home Game.

Post Game Reaction:

Photos:

Captain America John Carlson Focuses On Being Awesome During Warm Ups

Steve Pinizzotto Ready To Drop The Gloves