It was a busy weekend for the Washington Capitals and rest of the NHL with training camp around the corner.
Sunday marked a busy day for the Washington Capitals and rest of the NHL.
As Alex Ovechkin celebrated his 38th birthday on Sunday, the Washington Capitals took things outside as the team's prospects took part in the U.S. Naval Academy's challenge course on the second day of rookie camp.
Hendrix Lapierre and Vincent Iorio led the way as Andrew Cristall, Ivan Miroshnichenko and the team's rising stars navigated rope ladders, tight ropes and a zipline following some on-ice work at McMullen Hockey Arena in Annapolis.
Beyond D.C., the NHL saw the Mike Babcock situation escalate, as he resigned from the Columbus Blue Jackets amid allegations of going through players' phones. The Jackets will deal with the media fallout on Monday and named Pascal Vincent as the new bench boss.
Here's the full weekend wrap.
Capitals Headlines
- Alex Ovechkin is now 38 years old. He is in the third year of the five-year extension that he signed in July 2021, and he needs 73 more goals to break Wayne Gretzky's all-time goals record. He must average at least 24 goals in each of the last three seasons to pass No. 99 before his contract expires.
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- Lapierre and Iorio are among the standouts at rookie camp so far, as both have been taking on the role of leaders and leading the way following a Calder Cup run a few months ago. They also had some fun on the ropes course.
- Speaking of Lapierre, the 21-year-old has high hopes going into this season and feels "fantastic" going into main camp. He discusses changes to his training, the importance of mental health and his Calder Cup run.
- Alexander Suzdalev has also been standing out. The Capitals share more on the plan they have in place for him following a productive summer of training where he added muscle and made major strides.
- And some more takeaways from Day 2 of Washington's rookie camp.
- The Hockey News: Washington is also launching a brand new podcast, where Sammi Silber and Ryan Rudy are going to share their beer league experience on and off the ice, break down fundamentals of the game and share Capitals headlines on "Probably Not Pro Hockey."
NHL Headlines
- Mike Babcock is already out in Columbus following the NHL and NHLPA's investigation; here's more on his resignation and what's next for the Jackets.
- Going back to NHL rookies: Connor Bedard had quite the first game in a Chicago Blackhawks jersey.
- More on Ilya Sorokin and his expectations for this season after getting his contract extension out of the way earlier this offseason with the New York Islanders.
- Keep your eyes open for The Hockey News Goalie Issue, as Spencer Knight opened up about his long battle with OCD and time in the NHL/NHLPA Player Assistance Program in an exclusive 1-on-1 with Ken Campbell.