The Capitals liked what they saw from their newest signing.
WASHINGTON — Ethan Bear didn't know what to expect in his Washington Capitals debut, which also marked his first game in nearly seven months. And, in a way, it was reminiscent of his first-ever NHL outing,
As he navigated a wave of emotions, Bear also focused on getting his feet back under him. And by his third and fourth shifts of the game, he was able to officially say the words he'd been waiting to hear amid months-long recovery from shoulder surgery: "Yeah, I guess I'm back."
"It was great. Definitely had a lot of fun. The emotion, the adrenaline, the nerves — I felt all of it getting ready. And to put that jersey on and play with guys like (Alex Ovechkin), John Carlson, (Evgeny Kuznetsov), it was a lot of fun," Bear said of his debut. "I looked up to those guys growing up and watched them a lot... I didn't feel really tired today, and just kind of shows how much I've taken care of myself by coming here. Overall, it was a good game and I'm happy with the way I played."
Bear, who signed his new two-year contract on Thursday, didn't get an easy first assignment. He was tasked with skating top-4 minutes against the Nashville Predators. He spent the majority of the night as Rasmus Sandin's right-hand man in an eventual 3-2 shootout loss.
Still, Bear, who finished last season skating heavy minutes on the Vancouver Canucks blue line, was solid and picked up right where he left off by logging 20:05 minutes.
"Honestly, kind of surprised myself a little bit, because I didn't know how I was gonna feel," Bear said. "I've skated a lot with myself, my trainer, my skills coach back home and you know, lots of baggers and hard drills all by myself just so I could feel good when I got here, and it paid off. I'm happy with the way I felt, and now I can just keep getting better and better every game."
The 26-year-old finished the night with three blocks and two shots, as well as a plus/minus of plus-1. He also had a shot that rang off the crossbar.
Overall, Bear felt like it was the start of something special, especially with regard to his connection with Sandin.
"I thought we communicated with each other very well, moved the puck together, made reads off each other very good. I thought we played fairly smooth; couple of hiccups in the defensive zone, but obviously, with my first game, I'm still trying to figure everything out. It's gonna happen," Bear said. "But you know what, overall, I thought we played pretty well together."
In the end, Bear's performance also impressed head coach Spencer Carbery and his staff, and the Capitals are looking forward to seeing what he continues to bring to the table.
"I liked his game a lot. Mitch Love felt good about his game to the point where he's playing 20 minutes," Carbery noted. "He made good decisions, skated well, has the one that rings off the bar, got a shot through good offensive zone blue-line decisions. I liked his game a lot."
"He jumped right in... he stepped right in there and did a great job," goaltender Hunter Shepard said.