Prospect Profile: Radek Faksa

With under a week to go before the 2012 NHL Entry Draft, Caps Across The Pond will be profiling yet more potentail Caps selections - today, it's Radek Faksa of the OHL's Kitchener Rangers.

Prospect Facts

Position - Center

Date of Birth - Jan 9th 1994 (Age 18)

Height - 6'3

Weight - 203lbs

Birthplace - Opava, Czech Republic

Shoots - Left

Radek Faksa is a well-rounded Czech center playing with the Kitchener Rangers of the Ontario Hockey League. A two-way forward, Faksa brings all the skills needed of a modern NHL player, including good skating, very sound technical skills, and a high hockey IQ.

With Marcus Johansson seemingly more effective on the wing and Brooks Laich having more value to the team when anchoring the third-line, the Caps perennially have a need at second-line center. A dynamic center with the ability to man both ends of the ice, score, and win faceoffs, Faksa could fill that need, while also acting as a good complement for the Caps' smaller players, like Johansson, Mathieu Perreault, and, if he comes, Evgeny Kuznetsov on his wings.

In 62 games with the OHL's Kitchener Rangers this season, Faksa scored 29 goals and recorded 38 assists for 67 points, to go along with 47 penalty minutes and a plus-19. 

An advantage that Faksa brings is that, unlike most of the prospects in the draft class, there are very few downsides to his game. Already having the size and strength to play in the NHL, Faksa, while not overly physical, uses his body well on the ice, effectively nullifying a criticism often made of European players. Despite that size, Faksa is still a very sound skater, allowing him to be a force in the neutral zone and a more dynamic forward. 

Where will he go? Faksa is ranked as the number seven North American skater by Central Scouting, meaning there is a good chance he is still around by the time the Caps pick at number 11. Considering the upside he brings and the low-risk nature of his game, the Caps could well pick him up with their first pick in the draft.

Caps Across The Pond, On The Same Side As The Pond

Caps fans, I'd like to introduce myself. My name is Jake Ware, and I will be writing for Caps Across The Pond. I am half-English and half-Swedish, and have been a huge Caps fans since moving to Washington from Europe six years ago.
As well as Caps Across The Pond, I have experience writing for DC Pro Sports Report and Bleacher Report, covering the Capitals. You can follow me on Twitter at @JacobWare95. I look forward to joining the CATP team and bringing my fellow Caps supporters the very best team coverage available.

Prospect Profile: Matt Finn

With under a week to go before the 2012 NHL Entry Draft, Caps Across The Pond will be profiling yet more potentail Caps selections - today, it's Matt Finn of the Guelph Storm in the OHL.

Prospect Facts

Position - Defenseman

Date of Birth - Feb 24th 1994 (Age 18)

Height - 6'

Weight - 197lbs

Birthplace - Toronto, Ontario

Shoots - Left

Matt Finn is a mobile two -way defenseman whose draft stock rose significantly in 2011-12, more than doubling his points total from 21 to 47 in 60 and 61 games respectively. This suggests that he has high growth potential, meaning he may turn into a draft steal eventually.

As a defensman, he can continue the gradual rebuild of the Caps' defense. As players such as Hamrlik and Schultz begin to disappear, Finn could join the young guns of Carlson, Arlzner and Orlov, giving the Caps great blueline potential. 

A major strength of Finn's game is his elite hockey IQ, which is very important to succeed in the NHL today. This allows him to create great plays and maintain his positioning almost all of the time - a skill the Caps could really use. 

However, as with most players, there are downsides to his game. Despite being a fairly large player for the OHL, he does not play very physical at all. Even if he grows he will always be around average size in the NHL and this could only detriment his physical game. Of course, this problem could be helped by lining him up with a tough defensman such as Alzner - or even Griffin Reinhart if the Caps choose to take him!

Where will he go? Most likely at no.16. His lack of physical play makes him a more risky option, causing him to slip off the no.11 selection, but he will make a great draft combination with a more safe selection such as Gaunce.

                

Prospect Profile: Brendan Gaunce

Prospect Profile:

                                                Position:   Center/Left Wing

                                                Date of Birth: 3-25-1994 (Age 18)

                                                Height: 6'2

                                                Weight: 201 lbs

                                                Birthplace: Markham, Ontario

                                                Shoots: Left

Brendan Gaunce is currently a center/left winger, playing for the Belleville Bulls. This year he played 68 games, scoring 28 goals, putting up 40 assists - combining for 68 points, one point a game. He also had 68 penalty minutes - one a game. 68 clearly is the number for Gaunce! 

He was fairly highly touted from the start, drafted into the OHL second overall behind top-5 prospect Alex Galchenyuk). He's a big player, whose not afraid to mix it up at all, even though he puts up the points as well , an ideal second line center for the Capitals in the future. At his size and playing style, he is fairly NHL-ready, giving him a year in the minors first. 

However, his skating and creativity is reportedly cause for concern and if he does not work on this he will likely remain second line for his career, if not third line. However, he would be a very safe pick for the Caps at no.16, and if he is still available, the Caps should grab him as a long term solution. He's not a flashy player, but he's a solid player, which is what the Caps need - think Brooks Laich style. 

Capitals Preseason Schedule

The only thing that kept me going after the Capitals were eliminated from this years playoffs was that there were still the last two rounds of the playoffs to be played.  Now that they're over (congrats to the LA Kings) I have this. The preseason schedule.

If you havent seen it yet, here is the preseason schedule for the Washington Capitals:

Sept. 25, vs. Boston, Verizon Center, 7 p.m.
Sept. 26, vs Columbus, 1st Mariner Arena, 7 p.m.
Sept. 30, at Detroit, Joe Louis Arena, 5 p.m.
Oct. 1, at Columbus, Nationwide Arena, 7 p.m.
Oct. 3, at Boston, TD Garden, 7 p.m.
Oct. 5, vs Nashville, Verizon Center, 7 p.m.
Oct. 7, vs Detroit, Verizon Center, 5 p.m.

I have gone as far as to post this in my room, my desk at work, and other various places because it reminds me that Capitals hockey will return. Just seeing this schedule and knowing of its existence gets me excited for hockey to come back into my life. And lets be honest. We have been without Caps hockey for 32 days. That's 32 days too many.

And I could not dream of a better way to start off the preseason than with the Tim Thomas-less teddy bears at home.

Photo Credit: Google Images

Unfortunately the league's collective bargaining agreement with the NHLPA that ends on September 15.  Fingers crossed that this doesn't postpone any part of the upcoming season...

So that's it. The countdown is currently at 111 days. I suggest finding a very addictive hobby (I chose golf) because we have a long offeseason ahead of us folks.

Good luck with all of your offseason endeavours and be sure to check back here for more Caps news and anything hockey related!

As always, Lets Go Caps!!

Tim Thomas Will Take a Year Off

Tim Thomas will not return to hockey next season. Whether its because of a year long lockout or because he announced on facebook that he was going to take a year off to reconnect with the, "three f's" that he has neglected over his long journey in the NHL. What is certain, is he won't be playing for the Bruins or for any team in the NHL. The three f's that Thomas was referring to when he posted the message on his official Facebook page are Faith, Family, and Friends. He went on to mention how he will workout very hard on his time off and make a return to the NHL at the age of 39. Thomas has 1 year left on his contract with the Bruins and his cap hit is around $5 million. Since this announcement, the Bruins will either have to "suspend" him so they don't have to pay his contract and don't have to suffer his cap space hit too. The Bruins are left with Tukka Rask and Anton Khudobin as their goalies. Thomas has been fairly controversial as of late after he posted a message on his facebook page to fans about his decision to skip the Bruins visit to see President Obama at the whitehouse to celebrate their 2010-2011 Stanley Cup victory. Thomas has been exposed as a pretty odd guy with his stunts this year. He is also dreaming if he thinks he can take a full season off and return to the NHL. He may try to return for the 2013-2014 season but I don't believe he will physically be able to make a return and being that the 2012-2013 season was the last on his contract, the Bruins will not want to resign him and neither will any other NHL teams. A classic example of a 40 year old goalie bust was Tampa Bay's Dwayne Roloson. He will be too risky to sign because of his age and the fact that he will not have played an NHL game in over a year. Expect Tim Thomas' last NHL game to be a devastng loss in overtime of game 7 in the 1st round of the 2012 Stanley Cup Playoffs. Follow me on twitter at @capsfanatic_wvu. Till next time, Will

Adam Henrique Looks Like Freddie Mercury

Like most Caps fans, I have been suffering through hockey withdrawal.  I've turned to the only remaining source to get my fix, the Stanley Cup Finals.  In my time watching the finals I've noticed three things, "Quick" is a very hard name to mock, Marty loves to flop around, and Adam Henrique looks like Freddie Mercury.

Above we see Henrique during the Cup Final as well as his high school yearbook picture.

The Devils' rookie who scored the series winning goal in game six against the Rangers (thanks for that) and the game winning goal in game five against the Kings has decided to grow out the facial hair above his upper lip exclusively.  In an interview with the New York Times he explained that he did it before in juniors and it seemed to work for him then.  Whatever works for you Adam; just go out there and win another game six, because I need more hockey, and when the season is over I'd love to see you tour with Queen.

#TheShowMustGoOn