Caps Start 2021 Training Camp

Typically, the first day of school doesn't involve tests. But when the Caps took to the ice on Thursday for the first day of their 2021 training camp, the dreaded and grueling "skate test" was the final element of the on-ice portion of the day.

Two groups of Capitals players - a total of 53 of them - took the ice on Thursday morning at MedStar Capitals Iceplex for the start of Washington's training camp. The first group went on at 9:30 a.m., fans were in attendance for the first time at a Caps practice since March of 2020, and a horde of media was also on hand to document the team's collective return to the ice.
There are 54 players on Washington's training camp roster, and the lone man missing on Thursday was star center Nicklas Backstrom. Just before his teammates took the ice, the Caps released the news that Backstrom will not participate in the early days of training camp; he is still in the process of rehabbing a hip ailment that plagued him in the latter stages of last season and into the playoffs.
For now, Backstrom is listed as "week to week."
"He is rehabbing an injury that he had for a while," says Caps general manager Brian MacLellan of Backstrom. "He struggled with it in the playoffs, he is rehabbing it now and we're going to see where it goes here."
The absence of Washington's top pivot opens up opportunity for one or more of Washington's younger players to get some preseason playing time.

Neither MacLellan nor Caps coach Peter Laviolette would name names when asked who might benefit from Backstrom's absence, but 2019 first-rounder Connor McMichael comes immediately to mind. McMichael led AHL Hershey in scoring in his first taste of pro hockey last season, but he isn't the team's only option for the temporary opening. Centers Garrett Pilon, Brian Pinho and Aliaksei Protas - all Washington draft choices of relatively recent vintage - also have some pro experience, and 29-year-old Michael Sgarbossa has a few dozen games of NHL games under his belt, dating back to the 2012-13 season.
And as Laviolette notes, one of Washington's wingers could conceivably slide into the middle while Backstrom is out, moving the opening to one of the wings where the opportunity could open up to a whole different group of players.
"There was training camp last year, but it was limited in time and limited in numbers," says Laviolette. "It gives an opportunity to a lot of people. I don't want to just say one name or two names. There are going to be a lot of young kids that get opportunities to come in and show what they can do, and so it's really wide open.
"We have some players that play dual positions, and you'll see them at center some night and you'll see them at wing on the other night. I think it opens up to everybody. Instead of saying, 'It's this guy's job,' I think just having open eyes in training camp and keeping an open mind on what you see through the exhibition games."
Thursday's opening sessions were kept somewhat short so as not to tax the players too severely before the skate test, a Caps camp staple that spans several coaching regimes and is designed to test players' fitness levels at the outset of camp.
"A couple of the older guys got that out of the way here this morning, so I've been joking that from here to June it's all downhill from here and there are 365 days until next year's skate test," says Caps forward T.J. Oshie. "But it's great to be back and to see everyone's faces, just chatting and catching up. A lot of big things happened over the summer for some guys; some guys got engaged. Everyone kind of separated, and now that we're all back and not wearing masks, it's pretty exciting."
"It's kind of a day ruiner, leading up to it," says Caps blueliner John Carlson of the skate test. "It's crazy when you focus on something, how little energy you have when you're thinking about it so much. But we've done it so many times, and you know you can do it. It's just about getting over it, and now we can get back to the real stuff."
They'll get back to the real stuff on Friday and Saturday, ahead of Sunday's 5 p.m. exhibition opener against the Boston Bruins at Capital One Arena.

"The first 15 minutes was just a warmup for the guys," says Laviolette. "The skate test has been in place here, and it's just a really good evaluation of where the players are at with their skating, it just takes a little bit of time to get it done. I thought everything went the way we wanted it to go; the guys seemed really good in the skate test, so it was a good first day in regard to that. Tomorrow and the next day - the 24th and the 25th - we really get into systems and then hard charging and pounding and getting ready for the first exhibition game of the year."