Photo credit: Chris Gordon

In his two seasons as goaltender coach with the Washington Capitals, Arturs Irbe was more than successful. The 44-year-old mentored the organization’s trio of young goalies last season — Michal Neuvirth, Semyon Varlamov, and Braden Holtby — and under his watch the Capitals became the first team in league history with three goaltenders 22 or younger to have 10 or more wins in a season. His pupils were also recognized a number of times for stellar play by National Hockey League last year. Neuvirth was named NHL Rookie of the Month for October, Varlamov was named the NHL’s First Star of the Week for the week ending January 3, 2011, and Holtby — a virtual wildcard heading into last season — was named the NHL’s First Star of the Week for the week ending March 13, 2011.

Holtby, who may have evolved the most of the three during Irbe’s time in the organization, performed phenomenally as an injury replacement last year, going 10-2-2 with a .934 save percentage and a 1.79 goals against average.

So when word came out in early June that Archie was leaving the organization, many wondered why. Family and personal reasons were cited by the Capitals, which Olaf Kolzig backed up in an interview with Elliot in the Morning.

Today, Irbe gave his side of his story in a video interview with Kristaps Drikis of the Latvian Web site Sportacentrs.com. Thanks to a Russian translation by Sports.ru, RMNB’s Fedor Fedin offers it to you in English.

Arturs Irbe: It’s very interesting and entertaining to be a goaltending coach, but it’s a thing of the past for me. Two years of that was enough for me, and I don’t see myself in that role anymore — though I have offers, including long-term ones. I want to grow proffessionally, I want to move on, I want to earn more — after all, Washington is a pretty expensive city. I weighed the pros and cons of working in the Capitals organization and decided that it will be easier for me in Latvia, especially knowing that I have a son. Of course, there were a lot of positive things working for the Capitals, but if I would have stayed there as a goaltening coach, it would have become a routine sooner rather than later for me. Also, I had no career opportunities there. That is why I decided to leave the Caps.

Kristaps Drikis: What kind of promotion did you expect? Did you want to become a head coach?

Arturs Irbe: Absolutely not. I asked George McPhee if I can get some kind of promotion in the future, maybe one day become an assistant coach to increase my responsibilities, and he replied that the goalie coach is the most stable job. Assistants and managers come and go, goalie coaches stay for years or even decades. They thought that I would work with the Caps’ goalies for many years to come and I would be satisfied with that. But I didn’t think so. I want to set some new goals for myself.

The Capitals offered me a new deal but I decided not to extend my contract after much thought. I have got to know a lot working with the Caps, I have learned a lot, learned everything about an NHL club’s back room, and now I want to use that knowledge.

Additional reporting by Ian Oland.

Kolzig smiles during his first press conference in D.C. as a coach (Photo credit: Chris Gordon)

Last Thursday, the Capitals’ new associate goaltending coach Olie Kolzig joined Elliot Segal on DC101′s Elliot In The Morning. The former fan-favorite goalie spoke favorably about his new gig and dished out plenty of interesting information in the interview, including Phillipp Grubauer’s potential landing spot next season, Braden Holtby’s tough situation, his thoughts on free-agent signee Tomas Vokoun, and much, much more. Check it out below the jump!

Elliot – Welcome back! It’s good to have you back in town!

Olie Kolzig - It’s great to be back, bud.

Elliot – In terms of the whole thing coming together, what happened with Arturs Irbe? I spent some time with him last year, he seemed like a really nice guy, and then came that story that he just kind of wanted to get away from things and spend time with his family. Is that true or is that just a nice story?

Olie Kolzig - No, that’s about the gist of it. I know Archie just a little bit from playing. I obviously have a lot of respect for him. He’s a really good guy. The situation was that his son was over here with him. Apparently, it was getting to be a little bit too tough — with the son being away from his mother. So he wanted to get closer. You know, back to Latvia. For some people it works. For some people, the family issues are a pretty big deal.

Elliot – So Dave Prior gets the job. As he was putting his staff together, when did you get involved with the whole process?

Olie Kolzig - It was shortly after. Dave came up with the idea of maybe having two people on staff. He’d overlook the Caps, and the scouting part of things. He’d deal with the junior kids that the team has. He just thought it’d be a great way to introduce me back to the league and see if it would be something that I’d like to do. I was approached a couple years ago about possibly being a goalie coach here. At the time, I didn’t feel I was ready. I had just retired. I wanted to spend a little time with the family. So at that point, I just wasn’t willing to commit myself to doing it. So I had two years off. I started to get the itch again. Obviously, I have a great relationship with Dave. We kept in touch. He introduced the scenario and offered me the position. Or felt i’td be a great idea to pitch to the organization. So, George called me and offered the position. And I was ready to take it. Just being here the last four or five days, I’m really starting to enjoy the teaching and coaching part of it.

Elliot – Hey Olie, you mentioned that they had brought it up to you once before. Was that immediately after you announced your retirement did they reach out to you and say that they liked you to come back and work with the goaltenders?

Olie Kolzig - So I retired in what was it? 09? September of 09. Then I was approached in the Summer of 2010. Or was it 09? I don’t know. The time just seems like it’s flying by. It was two or three years ago when I was approached. So it wasn’t too long after I announced retirement.

Kolzig speaks to the media on Monday (Photo credit: Chris Gordon)

Elliot – Were those two years awesome though — where you were just sitting around doing nothing?

Olie Kolzig - Yeah. You know what, it wasn’t bad. I talked to a lot of friends and a lot of people that were pretty envious of me of what I was doing. At the same time, you feel sorta unfulfilled. To be retired at 40, it just doesn’t seem right. I mean, I was busy. I was actually busier than when I played. It’s just, I was away from the game that I had been playing my whole life. I got some gratification working with my Junior team last year. And I think that’s what got the wheels turning and me thinking and me coming back to the pro game. I really enjoyed coaching the kids and seeing how they take what you teach them and apply it to a game. And then seeing them have success from it. It’s pretty gratifying. I think that’s what drives coaches and makes them want to do it. Just seeing the people they work with get better. So yeah, it was time for me to get out of retirement. Most guys come back and play. But my body wasn’t going to allow me to do that. So this was the second best thing I could do.

Elliot – Did that thought ever cross your mind?

Olie Kolzig - No, no, no. You know what, the last couple years of my career my body was starting break down. I had a couple of major injuries my last two years. So for me, that was the way of saying it’s time to shut it down. I didn’t want to be Dominik Hasek or Brett Favre and be wishy-washy. Once I made my mind up, that was it.

Elliot – Hey Olie, let me ask you this. You keep saying working with the kids. Does that mean you’ll be splitting time between DC and Hershey?

Olie Kolzig - For the most part this year, I’ll be working with the guys in Hershey and in Charleston, South Carolina. There’s gonna be times when I’ll be up in Washington when Dave’s out scouting or when he can’t make it into town. For me it’s kind of a slow progression and slowly getting me into the routine of being a coach, what to look for, how to work with the goalies. So it’s something that’s perfect for me. I don’t come in here blind and all of a sudden there’s this overwhelming pressure to work with the NHL team. You know, it’s like some golfers. They are great golfers but they don’t know how to teach the golf swing. And then there’s guys that didn’t make it in golf, but they know how to teach someone how to swing flawlessly. I’m trying to make that transition from player to teacher. This is just a great way to slowly get into it.

Elliot – Down in Hershey, the big goaltending star there is obviously Braden Holtby. Have you spent much time talking with him? The reason I ask is because in a 24 hour period — once Varly was dealt to Colorado – I read somewhere where George McPhee had come out and said, “You know what, we’re fine with that. The job is going to be Neuvirth and Holtby. And they’ll compete. We’re very comfortable with two young goalies.” Then 24, 48 hours later, whatever it was, he signs Vokoun. It was a great signing, I have no problem with that. But then Holtby goes from having a shot of splitting of time or winning the starting job outright, to probably spending the bulk of the season in Hershey. Is he all right with that mentally?

Olie Kolzig - I haven’t talked to him. The only time I’ve ever talked to Braden was at the AHL All-Star game. You know what, as a young guy that’s just the world of the NHL. I don’t think the plan was to have a guy like Tomas Vokoun here. But you know, on the second day of free agency when no body had signed him and there really wasn’t any teams out there that needed a goaltender – it was just too good of an opportunity and for the amount of money they paid for him, to pass up. Here you got a veteran guy, who I think is one of the top goalies in the NHL.

Elliot – He’s really, really good. He’s just been stuck playing for a crap team.

Olie Kolzig - Exactly. And when the pressure’s on, at the international stage for the Czech Republic, he’s always shined. This guy can play under pressure. And like I said, he’s a veteran. To me, I think it’s just a great tandem to have a veteran and a young guy. And Michal Neuvirth – obviously, with what he did last year – is an up-and-coming star. Then you have a guy like Braden Holtby who is going to be a star in his own right. But at the same time, Michal Neuvirth went through the rigors of the East Coast league and the American league and he had a lot of success at the American league. And was able to translate at the NHL. Now Braden Holtby only had one year last year. Yeah, it stinks. Because you see one of the three studs traded to Colorado and this guy has the ability to step in and play in the NHL this year. In his eyes, it might look like a setback. At that age, you need to play and there’s still development. It’s a process. It’s not a given that you should be given a position. You need to continually get better as a goaltender. So I look at this as a positive for him. You play a lot of hockey and he’s gonna get an opportunity this year. With the rigor of the NHL, there’s always injury. He”ll get a shot again. If he stays patient, he’s good enough. Eventually he’ll play. He’s just gotta bide his time.

Elliot – There are some people who were saying that Holtby’s the best of the three.

Olie Kolzig - It’s hard to say. Yeah, he has that skill where he handles the puck and he has a great, competitive demeanor. Last year, he got called up early and struggled a little bit. Then, he came up later and had success. He’s gotta have that consistency when he’s up there.

I know, coming back to the American league after having a successful stint in the NHL is a little bit of a downer. Again though, it’s a process. You’ve gotta develop consistency – and I’m not saying that he doesn’t have that – but It’s just something to continue to work on. You’re going to have highs and lows. It’s how you deal with it. The bottom line is to just play hockey. Sometimes you can’t control what management or the coaches do. You just control what you can do and let them make a decision.

Elliot – It must be weird to hear yourself talk like that. As a player, at times, you were emotional and a hot head.

Olie Kolzig - It was probably what kept me from playing so long! As a player, you’re totally different. You’re in the heat of the moment.. In all honesty, having that emotion that I had, yeah it might have hurt me early on in my career, but I think it’s what kept me going for so long. I’ve always had passion when I played the game. I wore my emotions on my sleeve. Like I said – sometimes that got me in trouble. I learned throughout my career to channel it a different way. By playing so long and by having Dave as a goalie coach so long, you’re able to understand what they’re saying. Now I’m on the other side of the fence, I can relate those issues to the younger guys. Tell them about the experiences I went through and how I was able to channel my emotions in the right way to have more success on the ice. But it does sound weird. Now all of the sudden I’m a philosopher instead of a goalie.

Grubauer stops Mattias Sjogren in a shootout (Photo credit: Chris Gordon)

Elliot – I was reading about prospect camp which is going on right now. Isn’t there a German kid that’s in the system that’s supposed to be doing well right now?

Olie Kolzig - Phillipp Grubauer. Most likely he’ll end up in South Carolina and that’s strictly because of the numbers. I think the kid can play in the American League level. It’s only been three or four days — the kid hasn’t played for about five months because of mononucleosis so he was out for a while —  but this kid looks to be really good.

Elliot – Would you say he’s the second best goalie of German descent?

Olie Kolzig - I’d be comfortable with saying that.

Elliot - Is the family moving back [to DC]?

Olie Kolzig - No, we’re actually going to move to Tampa. We’re going to be based out of Tampa. With me going to South Carolina and having lived there for two years, the kids were at a great school there and had a ton of friends, it just makes for an easy commute.

Elliot – The kids are doing well, I assume.

Olie Kolzig - Yeah. The kids are doing really well. They’re all excited about the move and maybe having daddy not around quite as much.

Elliot – You’re going to have a place at DC and in Hershey? Dude, the parties at Kolzig’s are going to be awesome!

Olie Kolzig - Well, the place in Hershey might be the Hershey Lodge Hotel.

Elliot – Oh, awesome. That’ll be be great.

Olie Kolzig - Yeah. I’ll bring the chocolates!

Elliot – I hear you were back a couple of weeks ago. We talked to Halpern once he re-signed and I guess you were at his wedding. How awesome is it that he’s back?

Olie Kolzig - It’s fantastic. I actually texted him because I think he was on his honeymoon when he actually signed the contract. I texted him, “Congratulations. They’re putting the band back together.” I think it’s a great fit. I think the guy can still play. Great centerman. Just a great guy in the lockeroom. Such a smart hockey guy. Obviously, it makes sense with the DC-born kid coming back. I think it’s fantastic for the team.

Elliot – I loved our moves during the off-season…

Olie Kolzig - I think they addressed some things and I think they improved the leadership in the dressing room. You know, the Caps go as Ovie, Semin, Backstrom and Green go. So if they can bounce back and play to their true form, this team should be the favorite going into the regular season again.

Elliot – Are you going to the convention again or as a coach are you staying away?

Olie Kolzig - Nope. I’ll be there!!

Elliot – You’ll be up there in one of the forums called “Coaches Clinic.” That’ll be what you’re doing now. The players get to be mad at you now. Aw man, I love everything about this transition.

Olie Kolzig - I wasn’t told about that. I may have to reconsider then!

Elliot – It’s great to have you back, my friend.

Olie Kolzig - I’m happy to be back.

Audio of Interview:

“Time heals all wounds.” – Olie Kolzig (Photo credit: Joe Lavelle)

Olie Kolzig is back! Three years after the fan favorite goalie lost his starting role to Cristobal Huet and left on bad terms the club with which he had spent his entire NHL career, Kolzig has rejoined the Capitals as associate goaltender coach. In his new role, Kolzig will assist Dave Prior, who regains the title of goaltender coach he gave up in 2009 to spend more time with his family. Arturs Irbe took over for Prior but decided not to return for the 2011-12 season, citing reasons similar to Prior’s when he left his coaching job.

“I’m ecstatic to finally come back basically to the place I call home — playing there for so long,” Kolzig told reporters on a conference call. “Being away for two years, I started to get the itch again to get involved again with hockey. … When Dave Prior called me a few weeks back and pitched the idea of coming back and being an associate goaltending coach and working with him, I thought there’s probably not a better person that I want to work with and an organization that I want to be back together with.”

And Kolzig wasn’t the only one who found it a perfect match.

Photo credit: Bruce Bennett

“Finding someone else to bring in to work with Dave, our first choice was Olie, the first one who came to mind,” said Caps General Manager George McPhee. “We actually talked to him about it a few years ago and he wasn’t ready at that time, but he seems to be ready now and excited about it and probably a little bit nervous too.”

As for Prior, he will handle the main duties of coaching Washington’s NHL goalie corps, which currently consist of two players he recommended drafting in 2006 — Semyon Varlamov (24th overall) and Michal Neuvirth (34th overall). Kolzig will fill a part-time support role as well as being a mentor to the club’s minor league netminders, similar to what he has done the past few years with the WHL’s Tri-City Americans, a team he co-owns. Kolzig said that the arrangement enable will allows him to test the waters of coaching, but still be able to make a difference.

“I really didn’t know what I was going to do once hockey was over,” he said. “But spending the last year and a bit with my junior team and working with the kids and then seeing results and seeing them actually apply what you’re teaching them in a game and being successful really was fulfilling. I started to think about it a little more and was wondering, ‘Maybe I should give it a shot at the NHL level?’”

There will, Kolzig said, be ample talent to mold with Varlamov, Neuvirth and Braden Holtby, who are all under the age of 23. “I don’t think there is an organization in the league that has such depth at such a young age, which wasn’t always the case with the Caps,” he said. “It’s going to be a lot of fun working with all three of them.”

In additional to Washington’s netminders, Olie the Goalie had nothing but praise for Prior — his old coach — and his methods, even though Prior was key to the Capitals’ acquisition of Huet in 2008, which played a major part in Kolzig’s departure.

“Dave is probably the biggest reason why I enjoyed the success I had in the NHL,” the 41 year-old said. “Before he came onboard in ’97, I was kind of floundering between call-ups and playing in the minors and not really having any sort of consistent game. Dave came in and it wasn’t so much of a technical adjustment as it was a mental one. And Dave just has the demeanor that just seemed to work.”

But following in the footsteps of his mentor and becoming a coach will require a bit of a transition. ”Once I get in there I got to remind myself I’m a coach now, not a player, and maybe back off of some of the things I would have said as a player,” Kolzig said.

Kolzig was a steady bright spot for Washington from the mid-90s to the late-2000s. He led the team to the Stanley Cup Final in 1998, won the Vezina Trophy as the league’s best goalie in 2000 and spent countless hours over the years interacting with and signing autographs for supporters, creating a new generation of fans by doing things as simple as remembering someone’s name. Kolzig also did significant charity work, founding two organizations to raise money for Autism research after his son, Carson, was diagnosed with the disorder. Those good deeds earned him the NHL’s King Clancy Memorial Trophy for humanitarian work in 2006 and a soft spot in the hearts of the Caps faithful.

Photo credit: Ryan Remiorz

After his fallout with Capitals following the 2007-08 season, Kolzig signed a one-year deal with the Tampa Bay Lightning. Serving as the backup, he saw just eight games with the team before suffering a season-ending arm injury. At the 2009 trade deadline, Kolzig was dealt to the Maple Leafs, but never played a game for Toronto before calling it a career.

“Time heals all wounds,” said Kolzig. “The more I was removed from a few years ago and being retired and getting a better prospective on things and being the owner of a hockey team myself… you realize it’s a business. Things were handled in a business fashion, and since then I came to Caps Convention last year, spent some time with George [McPhee] and with Ted [Leonsis]. No ill will towards each other, certainly not on my part and not on their part, not that there ever was. So we just moved on.”

Now that he has moved on, Kolzig can begin contemplating how to address Caps’ biggest problem of all: the lack of playoff success. “They just have to find whatever it is, bring in a few news players, I don’t know,” he said. “They’ve got too much talent not to go further than they have.”

According to the always reliable “sk84fun_dc” of HFBoards, two undrafted KHL players are participating in Capitals Development Camp this week.  Kristaps Sotnieks and Nauris Enkuzens are both Latvians, and both play for Dynamo Riga, one of the most hardworking teams in the KHL.  Dynamo Riga is known for their business savvy, seldom overpaying for players like other KHL teams do. Our very own goaltending coach Arturs Irbe spent several seasons with Dynamo as goalie,  which seems to imply that he’s the matchmaker here.

Sotnieks (left) lays out Evander Kane (Photo by Alex Grimm/Bongarts/Getty Images)

Kristaps Sotnieks (photo) is one of Dynamo’s top D-men. He’s a 3rd-pair defender, but he’s also been on the Latvian national team.  Looking at his stats, the 23-year-old is a stay-at-homer for sure. He has a pretty solid D, but he also sports the team’s worst +/- .  He might be a good addition to the Bears’ roster. Latvians seem to be more hungry to play in the North America than Russians are, so this might be a good match. It’s all up to GMGM.

Kristaps gave an interview which was partially posted on Latvian Sportacentr portal. We were able to translate it:

SC: What the Capitals expect from you on this camp?

KS: I don’t know. Arturs [Irbe] doesn’t know either. I asked Skrastins and Ozolins; they didn’t participate in this type of camp.  As far as I understood it, they will check on- and off-ice skills. I think the key test will be on-ice skill, so I’m training intensely now.

SC: Are you nervous?

KS: Yes, I feel some. I’ve never been in a camp abroad– only in Latvia or abroad with the team.  I’ll be alone in a new environment, and my English isn’t perfect as well. But I know there are no supermen. There are no monsters. There are players there like there are here at Dynamo. I played at the Olympics against NHLers; they aren’t supermen. Sure that wasn’t easy, but you can play against them. And now it’s camp with the prospects, not with the NHL players.

SC: How did you make the camp roster?

KS: I’m grateful to Arturs Irbe. He said a good word for me. If you’re not drafted and no one recomends you, you will never make the camp. They’re not crazy about watching undrafted players. Also I played on Olympics and World Champs, it helped me.

SC: What’s your mood?

KS: I’m ready to fight. If I’ll succeed, I’ll be happy.  If not, I’ll come back to Dynamo. This is life.

Nauris Enkuzens is a goalie.  A Latvian goalie.  Just like Arturs.   Hmm. Enkuzens is only 21-years-old, and he didn’t participate in the 2009/10 KHL season. He’s pretty unknown, but Irbe doesn’t do anything just to do it; so Nauris must have caught the goalie coach’s eye somehow.  We’ll research Enkuzens deeper, but it might not matter…

We’ll have another development camp report from Addison later.  Ian, Peter & Neil will be at KCI tomorrow as well, so come say hi if you see us.