When Washington Capitals prospect Stan Galiev was demoted to the Reading Royals earlier this season, the 20-year-old Russian took it in stride. Case in point: during Reading’s 4-2 win over the Florida Everblades, Stas scored such a boss breakaway goal that he ended up on SportsCenter’s Top Ten list on Thursday. Kind of an amazing feat considering ESPN spent more time on Thursday discussing a cut on Carmello Anthony’s non-shooting hand than the NHL lockout.

After an Everglades defensemen blew a wheel at the blue line, the young Russian winger strode in alone and flipped forehand/backhand, forehand/backhand, forehand/backhand before pushing the puck past Florida’s hapless goaltender. It was his second goal of the year.

Nice to know Stas still has the soft hands.

Photos expertly taken by Perry Keating. (Copyright Perry Keating 2012)

Soon after representing the NHLPA in Toronto, Alex Ovechkin was back at home in Virginia playing soccer with his shirt off. Along with girlfriend (and Olympic bronze medalist!) Maria Kirilenko and Capitals teammates Stan Galiev and Dmitry Orlov, Ovi kicked the ball around on Wednesday night, letting us all know he’s fit and active during this hopefully not overlong offseason.

This is just the latest in the continuing saga of A.O.’s love affair with unamerican football. Recall if you will last year’s world champs, when Team Russia ditched morning workouts to kick the ball around sans shirts. And also that time Ovechkin wore that thing at that place that made us giggle.

Ovechkin’s fitness comes as a huge relief to the Caps community, who last summer suffered terribly under the extinction-level crisis we now know as Fat-Gate. Ovechkin appears lithe and healthy here, which is exactly what any rational person would expect of an elite professional athlete.

But hey, are those love handles over there? Internet: to your battle-stations! What possible reason would the player who ranked 21st in hits last season be doing with a non-zero amount of body fat? Scandal! Outrage! Nutrition!

Yeah, we’re just not feeling it this year.

Photos

Dmitry Orlov (in black) was one of the goalies.

best)))))

Ovi looks to pass to Maria.

Ovechkin walks off the field with Stan Galiev.

Huge props to Perry Keating for sharing the photos with us. Also, we’d like to extend a thank you to Victoria for first telling us about them.

The teams shake hands following the game. (Photo credit: Chris Gordon)

As has become tradition, Kettler Capitals Iceplex was packed to capacity Saturday for the final scrimmage of the team’s Development Camp and annual Fanfest. On a mid-July morning, hundreds were jammed into the team’s practice facility to watch prospects and college and free-agent invitees duke it out for the last time. Fans also took advantage of autograph sessions with Caps prospects and new Capitals center/rapper Mike Ribeiro, who met the media for the first time yesterday.

As for the game itself, Team Red won in thrilling fashion, pulling out a 4-3 victory in overtime. After red pulled their goaltender, T.J. Syner scored in the final minute of the third period. In overtime, Max Iafrate set-up free-agent invitee Greg Miller for a slam-dunk one-timer in the slot. Stan Galiev and Riley Barber also scored for the red team. Daniel O’Donoghue, Taylor Stefishen, and David Vallorani tallied white’s three goals.

Below, check out my shots from the final day of camp.

Photos from Fanfest

Adam Oates addresses the crowd.

P.A. man Wes Johnson unleashes the fury.

Garrett Haar walks out of the locker room.

Sergei Kostenko warms up.

Ribeiro signs for a fan.

Caps great Ron Langway signs autographs.

Puck drop.

Galiev fires off a shot.

Filip Forsberg (right) fights for the puck.

Patrick Wey delivers a crushing check.

Red celebrates Galiev’s goal.

Red celebrates another goal, this time from Riley Barber.

O’Donoghue scores White’s first goal.

Caps GM George McPhee speaks to reporters during the first intermission.

Ribeiro talks to the media.

A t-shirt toss from the Red Rockers at Kettler.

Radio play-by-play man John Walton calls the game for a live video stream on the team’s website.

Red celebrates Syner’s late goal.

Miller wins it.

Tom Wilson and Galiev embrace.

Max Iafrate (right) after the win.

Haar smiles after the victory.

Coach Adam Oates laughs after calling Ribeiro a “rapper.”

2012 first-round pick Tom Wilson absorbs a big hit. (Photo credit: Chris Gordon)

Day two of Caps Development Camp took place today, with timed tests for the prospects in the morning and a scrimmage in the afternoon, but it was what was said off the ice that was most interesting. Olaf Kolzig talked about a possible lockout, Stan Galiev talked about gaining nearly twenty pounds, and Max Iafrate brought us the distressing news that his father now listens to rap music.

Connor Carrick had the quote of camp however, explaining what Adam Oates’ first day as coach was like. “He’s nervous, we’re nervous, everybody’s nervous so nobody’s nervous.” Somebody put that to music, we’ve got a new hit for Carly Rae Jepsen.

In regards to the scrimmage, Team Red avenged Team White after their 3-1 loss yesterday, and won today, 2-1. Australian Nathan Walker scored the white team’s lone goal, while the red team’s two tallies were scored by Aaron Gens and David Vallorani.

RMNB’s Chris Gordon was there to capture all the action. Check out his photos below the jump.

Photos of Day Two’s Scrimmage

Tom Wilson disses out a hit.

Stan Galiev waits for a faceoff.

New top pick Filip Forsberg battles for the puck.

Forsberg goes for a ride.

Bears coach Mark French delivers some instruction.

Wilson with the puck.

Larry Courville, the head coach of new the Caps’s new ECHL affiliate, the Reading Royals.

Goalie prospect Steffen Soberg.

Garrett Haar speaks to the media.

Forsberg watches from the bench.

2012 draft pick Chandler Stephenson (white) fights for the puck.

Wilson carries the puck out of the defensive zone.

And plays some defense.

Caps GM George McPhee watches the action.

Wilson leaves the locker room.

Oates barking some orders.

Galiev watches the action from the bench.

Wilson has a laugh on the bench.

Thomas Di Pauli waits for a faceoff.

Chandler Stephenson looks on.

Olie Kolzig talks after the sessions.

Will Nail Yakupov don a Russian jersey again after these comments? (Photo credit: Ted Rhodes, Calgary Herald)

On Saturday, the Russian media outlets Sports.ru, Kulichki Hockey, and SportLook posted some blockbuster quotes from the NHL’s top draft-prospect Nail Yakupov at the NHL Combine in Toronto. Yakupov downplayed his Russian image and refused to be compared to Nikolai Zherdev (a notorious NHL bust who was drafted 4th in 2003). There hasn’t been a lot of talk about this in North America yet, but I would still like to clarify some points now.

Here’s what Nail said, per James Mirtle of The Globe and Mail:

You know, every player has his [own] way. I’m Muslim, I’m not Russian. If you [ask] what happens with the Russian factor, it’s [Zherdev’s] life and I have my life. I’ve got to work. It doesn’t matter what team is going to [take me] in the draft… My new team is my first favourite team in the NHL. I’m going to play and do everything for this.

(Emphasis ours.)

Some Russian hockey fans think this quote is treasonous, leaving bombastic comments on stories: “Don’t take him to the National Team!”; “He betrayed his homeland!”; “This person does not exist for me anymore!”, etc. You get the idea.

But this probably wasn’t what Nail actually wanted to say. Let me explain. There are two words in Russian language that can be translated as Russian: one is ethnic, and the other is nationalistic. Because the concept of Russian identity is a pretty controversial topic over here, I’ll lay out the details for you.

One word for Russian is Russky (Русский), which means a person who is ethnically Russian (i.e. the East Slavic ethnic group native to Russia, speaking the Russian language and primarily living in Russia and its neighboring countries). Another is Rossiyanin (Россиянин), which means “a citizen of Russia” and is sort of a modern replacement for the term “Soviet people”. That word is often criticized by nationalists for not being “patriotic” enough.

Here is the nationalist newspaper Russian Observer:

Our people will not accept any other name [except Russkie]. And the consequence of imposing the “Rossiyanin-ship” will be only the full rejection of the great Russian word Rossiaynin [a long-time synonym for Russky] and its full disappearance from Russian language.

Basically, you can be Russian or Ukranian or Belarusian, and so on, but if you have a Russian passport, you’re Rossiyanin.

Russia, just like the US, is a multi-national country. Nail Yakupov isn’t Russian ethnically; he is a Tatar, born and raised in Tatarstan, the region of Russia where the majority of the population are Turkic and of the Muslim faith. He has a Tatar name. Nationalists will say that Tatars are Russians. Most Tatars might disagree on that point.

Off the top of my head I can remember two other hockey players in North America with Tatar names: Nikolai Khabibulin and Stan Galiev, but neither was born in Tatarstan. National team coach Zinetula Bilyaletdinov — who just recently led Russia to a World Championship — is Tatar.

So what exactly does Yakupov mean about being Muslim and not Russian? He might simply mean that he doesn’t smoke, drink, or participate in the loud parties that some Russian players are known for. Maybe he means that he doesn’t accept the national identity of Russians used by some nationalists.

Either way, it would be wise to consider the vagaries of language and complexities of Russian culture before jumping to conclusions.

Photo credit: sports.ru

The last time we caught up with Caps prospect Stan Galiev, he was rehabbing a wrist injury and showing RMNB some exclusive photos of his new championship ring. Hopefully that wrist has fully healed, because it must now bear the burden of another gaudy ring: the Saint John Sea Dogs have won the QMJHL championship for the second year in a row.

Thursday, Saint John emphatically clinched the title, blowing out Rimouski Oceanic (Sidney Crosby’s former Junior team) 8-0 in Game Four. They now will advance to the Memorial Cup for the second straight season. Galiev had a five-point night, tallying a natural hat trick, adding two assists, and rifling a game-high nine shots on net. Galiev and his line-mates Zach Phillips and Tomas Jurco also combined for twelve points.

“My legs felt good and I wanted to be dangerous with the puck every time,” Galiev told The Canadian Press after the game. “I’m just having fun and this will be a great memory. I’ve had three great seasons here and we’re looking forward to the Memorial Cup.”

Those who follow the Sea Dogs closely may not have been surprised — the team, sporting four NHL first-round draft picks, has been remarkable all season long, winning 50 games for the third straight season. They also lost just one game through four rounds of the playoffs, sweeping three teams.

Galiev, who continues to grow into his wiry frame, was dominant in the playoffs tying Charlie Coyle (QMJHL MVP) for the team’s points lead (34). He also scored more goals than any other Sea Dog (16) and finished the playoffs with an astonishing plus-30 rating. Galiev’s postseason scoring nearly doubled his regular season output (19 points and 13 goals in 20 games), which was cut short due to wrist surgery.

The 2012 Memorial Cup will begin May 18th in Shawinigan, Quebec. The Sea Dogs will look to be the first repeat team since the OHL’s Windsor Spitfires (Taylor Hall, Philipp Grubauer) did so in 2009 and 2010.

GIFs

Galiev’s sick assist to Tomas Jurco for a first period goal.

The Sea Dogs bench goes wild.

Team picture! (All GIFs from Station Nation)

Photos

Stan raises the cup on the ice.

Galiev and Tomas Jurco: two-time champions.

Stan holds the cup on team bus.

Galiev poses with teammates Ian Saab and Charles Roussel.

Stan holds the cup with his roommates Jason Cameron and Dylan McGuigan. (All photos from Stan Galiev’s Twitter account)

Additional reporting by Ana Hansen.

Lady Gaga and NYC Mayor Alex “the gr8″ Bloomberg orchestrate the dropping of the ball.

Caps’ players certainly seemed happy this past weekend. How can you tell? With a Twitter account and a pair of binoculars. The guys were ragging on each other, answering fan questions, posting pictures, the whole shabangabang. I guess that’s what happens when you win four of six games and get Sunday off. Now that our hangovers have finally subsided, here’s a sobering recollection of those tweets.

Join me if you will, RMNB readers, and let’s take a journey into the complex social (network) lives of our favorite players.

Karl Alzner — a dude who thinks getting a +1 is cooler than scoring goals, has Justin Bieber on his iPod, and owns the box set of Xena Warrior Princess — calls our taste into question. (I got your back, Peter.)

Alex Ovechkin, violating proper punctuation and first-grade capitalization rules, wishes Caps fans a gr8 2012. best!!))))))

Four minutes later, Ovechkin’s butler Alfred gets ahold of Ovi’s Blackberry and tweets something of his own.

Caps prospect Stan Galiev puts on his serious face.

Cody Eakin and John Carlson explain what Mathieu Perreault and a jellyfish have in common.

Karl Alzner has a new dog named Duncan and it’s almost as hairy as he is.

Mike Knuble, who is nearly the perfect person in every way, unsurprisingly has good taste in baseball teams too. Go O’s!

John Carlson reveals what Karl Alzner got him for Christmas and what he got for him in return

And then there were the tweets I failed to embed. Like one certain player’s love for a country song that would be NSFW. Or John Carlson’s explanation of how he got the #74.

Anyways, you should follow all of these guys if you’ve got a Twitter account — us too — and say hello. And if you don’t have a twitter account, you should get one today. Let’s hope the winning continues!