| 20 July 2009
By now, most of you have already seen some of the development camp wrapups in the blogosphere (Peerless, OFB, Puckhead) and while I'm a fan of three-star ratings, to me development camp doesn't seem like the right avenue to place those thoughts.
Kids are coming to this camp for one reason, the titular reason, development.
While it's perfectly fine to give out star ratings, reducing the field to three standouts seems a bit unfair. So that's why I'm more or less a fan of the winners format, a list of players who made the most of their time at camp.
Without further delay, Capitals Kremlin's 2009 Development Camp winners.
Winners
John Carlson - As if there was any doubt. He's a great all-around player who at 19 is already making heads turn. Carlson lived up to his hype, but not without showing us some areas where he could improve. Nonetheless, he'll be the rookie story to follow at training camp in September.
Dmitri Orlov - He spent much of camp as Carlson's defensive partner, but at the final scrimmage he was on his own d-line. He hits hard, he shoots hard and he has a good defensive head on his shoulders. The question now is, KHL or AHL (if he can)?
Trevor Bruess - We highlighted him in an interview this week, but not just because his sister gave us a great scoop. He's been an absolute hound in the corners, digging at pucks, battling and making it hard for offensives to find their groove. He also had a few assists in the scrimmages and displayed his never-give-up attitude frequently. He still has aways to go before he could be an NHL talent, but if he makes the Bears, fans in Hershey will not be disappointed.
Matthieu Perrault - Coming off his first AHL season, Perrault had a strong camp that displayed just about everything there is to like about him: stick-handling, a nose for the net and smart playmaking.
Stefan Della Rovere and Joe Finley - Running back tandems in the NFL have nicknames, so perhaps this physical duo deserves one too. Della Rovere up-ended Finley with a great check in the first scrimmage and all week long Finley was testing the strength of Kettler's glass with strong checks on anything that moved. Both players exceeded expectations as physical players, but they also showed that their games are versatile and worth watching. Oh, how about Smash and Crash...- because Finley smashes players and Rovere can crash the net...okay it's terrible.
Michael Dubuc - An invitee who spent last season in South Carolina, Dubuc turned a few heads with his seven goals scored in three games. In scrimmages, it seemed Dubuc could do no wrong as he was the cornerstone of Group A's offensive assault. Look for him to contend for a spot in Hershey next season.
Braden Holtby and Garrett Zemlak - Holtby was strong all week long in practice, scrimmages and drills while Zemlak shined for Group B as he tried everything he could to keep his team in each game. Holtby may be second fiddle to Neuvirth, but at some point Neuvy will either be a Cap or traded and Holtby is more than capable of filling his shoes.
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