ARLINGTON, V.A. — Jonny Brodzinski knows all too well about having to fight for his spot on an NHL roster.
He's done it time and time again, acknowledging outright that it's been the same story every season of his career.
And though the circumstances are the same as he starts a new chapter with the Washington Capitals, he came into camp with a new mindset about it.
"New coaching staff, new kind of everything for me. I'm just going into it with absolutely nothing to lose," Brodzinski said. "I know what I can do. Over my career, I've never truly hit my potential. Just every single year, it seems like I'll play five or six games, start to kind of get in the rhythm of games and get pulled out of the lineup. So I never really felt like I hit my full stride, and I feel like I have so much more to give."
The 33-year-old landed a one-year contract with Washington this summer after years with the New York Rangers organization, where his hard work earned him a full-time promotion to the NHL for the last two seasons.
While he felt he still had more to show in the Big Apple, the veteran felt he needed a change and a chance to win going into his 12th year of professional hockey.
"I think they were going more of a youth movement, kind of more of a retool, rebuild. So I just think it was I think it was time," Brodzinski said.
Of course, change isn't easy, nor is the competition for opportunity in D.C. The Capitals revamped their roster this offseason and bolstered their depth two-fold, leaving little vacancy up front.
That didn't deter Brodzinski, though; it only motivated him to hit the ground running. He arrived in the area earlier than expected to start preparing for the season, and in training camp so far, has been one of the standouts while centering Ivan Miroshnichenko and Ethen Frank, who are both competing against him for one of those extra spots.
"It's being able to come into every single practice and just just not care what anybody thinks, and just play my game the best that I possibly can," Brodzinski said. "I think there's a there's a huge benefit of doing stuff like that. I think it just brings out the best in people."
Under the new CBA, Brodzinski, who's appeared in 264 NHL games, could only play in two exhibition games, something he admitted makes training camp and showing his skill to the coaching staff a bit harder.
He got both games in the first half of Washington's preseason and made the most of those minutes, scoring three goals on four shots and posting a plus/minus of plus-4 while complementing his linemates, especially Miroshnichenko, well and getting time on special teams.
"He's a pro... I'm not surprised that he's had a real strong camp," coach Spencer Carbery said.
"It's definitely nothing new for me," Brodzinski added of battling for his spot, also noting, "I want everybody that I play with to be the best version of themselves. It just makes everybody around them that much better, too, so going into (camp) with that mindset, you can't lose."
It's not just that mentality, though, that's made Brodzinski a player to watch for a roster spot. It's his versatility, play and can-do attitude, as well as his skating, grit, physicality knack for the net front and quick shot.
Brodzinski recalled that back during his days with the San Jose Sharks organization, the team needed a center, and though he'd never played down the middle before, he took on the role willingly just to show the team he was willing to do anything.
It led to 50 games down the middle and Brodzinski being able to play not just center, but either wing, while also being able to log time on the power play and penalty kill.
"As a guy that can now play left, right, center, penalty kill, power play, kind of bounce around wherever you want, top line, bottom line," Brodzinski said. "I just think being able to do everything... Being able to find those spots and shoot the puck (and) being able to bang bodies and just get pucks behind the defense and kind of wear them down (is) a skill."
That style may not just earn Brodzinski a spot on the roster, but a regular role in the lineup should the opportunity arise.
With just over a week to go until the start of the regular season, Brodzinski believes he's left everything on the table.
That said, he thinks it's only the beginning of what he can show the organization.
"I just want to be a guy that can get in every single night and make a difference. Being able to create turnovers in the offensive zone, be reliable in the D zone. (I just want to be) the M.O. of how I've been as a player the last couple of years and just be reliable and the guy that the coach can put me in at any point in the game and know what he's going to get."
