Development Camp: Day 2

Day two of Washington Capitals Development Camp was much less busy today,  as there were no new faces among the prospects as they began to get put through their paces by Bruce Boudreau and his coaching staff. Today's drills featured a lot of skating and conditioning as Caps brass continues to evaluate the progress of both their most prized prospects and undrafted, rookie free agents.  Hey, it's a long process.
Dmitry Orlov impressed again on Tuesday, skating well and controlling the puck along the boards and in open ice.  The young Russian defenseman has really made some noise in the first two days of camp, both for his entertaining steel/chocolate factory quote and (as expected) with his play.  I would say at this point he has been the most complete player, along with Cody Eakin, among the players under contract.
Also today, new Caps winger Joel Ward spoke with the media, making his first in-person appearance at Kettler Capitals Iceplex since signing a four-year, $12-million deal on July 1.  Ward talked about how this summer was new to him, being pursued by literally half the league, but the Capitals stood out due to "a lot of winning."  The new right winger also mentioned that he notices, along with Troy Brouwer, a seemed desire by George McPhee to bring in grit and toughness, and is eager to incorporate that part of his game into the Capitals.
Bruce Boudreau also spoke with the media, and thought that Tuesday's performance of the prospects was much better than Monday's.  Boudreau also spoke of the growth of Stan Galiev, who has "matured" a lot since his last development camp.  In the last year, Galiev has won the Memorial Cup, been a leading scorer on the best Major Junior team in the world, and gotten smarter with the puck as he gains experience in North America.  The head coach noted that he was impressed both the the Russian's speed and his ability with the puck, as well as his hockey sense.  In other news: Stan Galiev is good.
Finally, new Swedish signing Mattias Sjogren missed skating with his scheduled group this morning because of a visit to the dentist.  Sjogren lost one tooth and damaged another on Monday after being hit in the mouth with a loose stick, but had it fixed in the morning and was back on the ice with the second group in the afternoon.  Welcome to the Caps, Mattias!

Group A will be on the ice Wednesday for a session, followed by Group B at 10:20.  The first scrimmage of camp will be held at 3 PM.