Rookie Scrimmage with Philly

Ok, I was in class for the first 2 1/2 periods of the game. But from what I read (and watched briefly) we kicked the living crap out of the young Flyers. I also noticed quite a bit of red in the stands of KCI through the streaming feed on my computer (thank God it worked this time). Here are a few things I noticed in the last ten minutes I got to see:

Oskar Osala made a great play on the penalty kill. Clearing the puck to center from his knees without a stick. He's 6'4" 220 and is skilled with the puck for a player his size. Remind you of anyone whose name starts with a V(iktor)? Kozie's contract is up after this year and I don't see the Cap's hanging onto him. Not implying anything directly, but if Osala has a good season, most likely in Hershey, you never know where he could end up.

Mathieu Perreault models his game after his favorite player, Daniel Briere. From the camera angel at the other end of the ice he did a pretty good Briere impression, weaving his way through the Flyers defense and neatly finishing off the Caps final tally of the game. Apparently the Bouchard-Perreault-Pinizzotto line was great together and has been all camp.

The last thing I noticed was a little easier to see. John Carlson sticking up for his goalie, Michal Neuvirth after taking a late push after the whistle. I've read that Carlson has a lot of natural leadership. Good to see from the guy. I've heard nothing but positive stuff from him and Alzner all camp long.

Regardless of who makes the final roster out of training camp, Hershey will be stacked this season. Wouldn't it be cool to see deep playoff runs from both the Caps and Bears? It doesn't often work out that way. This win was a great way to end rookie camp. I hope all the participants learned a lot and will do what they need to do make it to the big club.

Lastly, it's very refreshing to have your NHL roster pretty much set and also have the luxury of an AHL team stocked with players who can come in and compete on any given night. The future certainly looks bright in Washington. Now for real training camp.