Reason #15 - Canadian National Anthem

Because the majority of NHL teams now make their homes in the US, it always seems a little more special when one of our friendly neighbors to the north pays a visit to the District. You get the larger viewing audience, the rabid Canadian fans, the strange Pizza Pizza ads that seem to pop up when these six teams roll into town…and you get the Canadian anthem.

It may not be the best anthem ever written - although are there really any good anthems floating around? - but there’s something stirring and interesting about it nonetheless. And if you’re an American hockey fan, it’s probably the only anthem for another country you know by heart. Some of us who have spent time in Quebec (or watched one too many Habs games) may even know the first half in French.

It is iconic all on its own, evoking memories of young Canadian hockey players with arms draped around each other singing it at the top of their lungs at World Juniors. It’s a song that tends to dominate certain parts of the Winter Olympics and one that will take on even greater meaning when the games shift to Vancouver in two years.

And the best part? Canadian fans sing along at the top of their lungs…and not just the word “OH!”:

Reason #14 - The Youth Movement

One of the reasons that the Caps and the NHL in general are so intriguing right now is that we seem to be right smack in the middle of a changing of the guard. Gone are the days of Steve Yzerman and Patrick Roy, of Scott Stevens, Jaromir Jagr, and possibly Mats Sundin. In their place we find a fresh new crop of exciting, talented beyond belief youngsters just waiting to make their mark.

Obviously there are rookies every year. There are new names and faces joining teams each season hoping to stick, to make a name for themselves. But after a few years of above-average drafts and incredibly deep early rounds, youthful talent is at an all time high.

And it’s not just guys like Alex Ovechkin and Sidney Crosby, although each has brought their fair share of excitement to the NHL since bursting onto the scene a few years ago. They are now joined by an ever-expanding group of guys whose names will someday be on the Cup, whose faces will line the bedroom walls of the next generation of young players, whose legends will be enshrined in the Hockey Hall of Fame.

Just in DC alone we’ve got a stunning embarrassment of riches. Mike Green, Alexander Semin, Brooks Laich and Eric Fehr lead today; tomorrow they could be joined by Andrew Gordon, Karl Alzner and Simeon Varlamov.

Outside the beltway the names are scattered across the country and around the league, each dynamic and filled with potential. Out west you can point to guys like Anze Kopitar, Erik Johnson, Dion Phaneuf and Jonathan Toews. In the east, it’s Milan Lucic, Tobias Enstrom, Kyle Okposo, and eventually Steve Stamkos,

Only time will tell which of these players - just a small sampling of the huge pool of talent - will go on to perch among the greats. One or two years of success and you’re a phenom; a few more years and you can carry the title of superstar. Over the course of a career? Those are the legends.

The way things have gone these last few years it’s going to be a fun ride to watch for sure.

Thanks to everyone who passed along congratulations for this lovely honor:

As flattering as it is, I have to point out two things…well, three.

1) A list of the best hockey blogs manages to ignore the huge and prolific blogging presence right here in DC, leaving off such household names as Japers’ Rink, On Frozen Blog and Peerless Prognosticator to name but a few. I love my little horse and cart operation here and am thrilled to have my work recognized in any way, but it feels wrong to be on a list when some of my favorites are missing.

2) Hockeybuzz.com, home of the infamous Eklund, is number three. So right away when looking at this list it’s best to do what you do when actually reading hockeybuzz.com (does anyone around here read it??) and…take it with a big ol’ grain of salt.

3) The fabulous Kukla’s Korner spread the news of this list on a day when Ovie’s rear end was the headlining topic of discussion. Nothing like serious news to dominate the Cheap Seats on a day like today, right?

And I would be remiss if I didn’t point out that this blog is only as good as it’s readers - so thank you to those of you loyal people who have stuck around to offer your opinions and insight while (almost) always raising the discussion to a higher level.

…and on that note it’s time for another edition of everyone’s favorite time-filler, “Ask CapsChick”! We’ve talked tush, so this time around we’ll go a little more hockey-centric and answer this question from Bailey:

Dear CapsChick,

Who would you make your second line pivot, Nylander or Fedorov? Also, what would your 1st and 2nd PP Unit be?

After so many years of what seemed to be a gaping void down the middle of the lineup (remember the failed experiments of Jiri Novotny and Andrew Cassels?) the Caps are in the enviable position of having a tremendous amount of depth at center. What’s even better about this is that most of their centers can play with just about anyone and a lot of them have experience on wing.

Having Nylander and Fedorov on our team this year is going to spoil us rotten, I can almost guarantee it…and because of that, trying to predict who should play center on the first, second or third line is nearly impossible.

If I had my way, though, I’m not even sure I would label the lines as such. Of course we know that any line Ovechkin is on will automatically become the first line, but with the guys we have now I can see three legitimate scoring lines being iced every night.

Fedorov played well on the second line for the tail end of the regular season last year; he also played well on the top line with Ovechkin and proved a firestarter for the all-Caps line at the World Championships when flanked by Ovie and Semin. Nylander is equally flexible and has played with just about everyone on the team at some point or another.

So just for fun, here’s my opening night forward lineup:

Ovechkin - Backstrom - Kozlov
Semin - Fedorov - Laich
Fleischmann - Nylander - Clark
Brashear - Gordon - Bradley

Healthy scratches: Steckel, Fehr

On to the power play units - and here’s where the embarrassment of riches really could show if everyone at least starts the season healthy:

First unit - keep it the same, Ovechkin, Backstrom, Fedorov, Semin, Green (just please, Bruce…please don’t put Semin on the point…there are only so many times I can see the puck hop over his stick). The way those five guys move the puck around is just sick, and once they picked up Fedorov they even occasionally scored 5-on-3.

Second unit - Clark/Fehr, Kozlov, Nylander, Poti, Laich. Kozzy’s a great guy to have working the boards (as is Clark) and Poti’s shot from the point, while rarely piercing the twine, was great at setting up plays and keeping the action in the opponent’s zone. And then between Clark, Fehr and Laich alone I can see a lot of garbage goals going in…creating deflections and traffic, causing havoc in front of the goalie and generally being pains in the rear. There’s more space out there with the extra man but we don’t want to the goaltender to know it.

As Laich famously said last year: “If you want money, go to the bank. If you want bread, go to the bakery. If you want goals, go to the front of the net.” Hear, hear (and therefore the reason I don’t put Flash on either unit).

Got a question for CapsChick? Drop it in a comment or send an email to capschick@dccheapseats.com.

Reaching into the virtual mailbag, today’s “Ask CapsChick” comes from fellow Caps fangirl and esteemed blogger DC Sports Chick. And as one would expect from the queen of Caps blogging, it’s a high-class question indeed…

Dear CapsChick,

Which Cap (past or present) has the best butt?
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Reason #12 - Caps’ PA Announcer Wes Johnson

One of the things that makes hockey so special is the fact that the live experience is like no other. It’s a feast for the senses. It’s the smell of the traditional arena foods meeting the taste of a frosty beer mingling with the chill of the ice. It’s the bright white ice and the skaters’ dizzying speed combined with the scrape of blades on ice and the thump of bodies against glass.

And here in DC, it’s all enhanced by the deep, booming bass of our lovable PA announcer, Wes Johnson.

No matter where your mind may be upon arriving at the Phone Booth, once you hear that distinctive voice filling the air you’re in full-on hockey mode. There’s nothing like hearing Wes welcome us to the “marqueeeeeeeeeeeeeee matchup”. No one says “your Washington Capitals” quite like him. Alex Ovechkin’s name sounds almost holy when uttered by Mr. Johnson.

His voice is expressive, rising with excitement when announcing power plays or Capitals goals while echoing our sentiments when things take a turn for the worse. Wes adds the final note, the exclamation point, the cherry on the sundae to what is already an exciting live experience. In my mind, at least, he is the cream of the crop - the best in the business, hands down.

Come on…what other PA announcer would do this for his team?

Reason #13 - Joe B. and Locker

When you can’t get to the rink to see the boys live, look no further than Joe B. and Locker - otherwise known as Joe Beninati and former Cap Craig Laughlin, the dazzling duo in charge of the TV side of things here in DC. They’re sometimes silly and often prone to off-topic discussion, but they’re also extremely entertaining and more importantly, they know their stuff.

To some outside the area they may be an acquired taste. To locals and former locals, however, they’re merely the sound of home. They transform the game from the two-dimensional image on the screen to make us feel part of the action, no matter how far away we may be.

Half broadcast team, half comedy duo, Joe B. and Locker have become a staple of Caps games both home and away. Whether it’s hearing Joe B. describe a player “scampering” into the zone or listening to Locker’s dulcet tones as he talks about the whip in a player’s “twig”, it’s all part of the Caps viewing experience - and lucky for us, these guys are among the best.

Apologies for the prolonged absence - apparently the official Cheap Seats laptop has decided to take a vacation as well. Never fear, though, for we’re nicknaming it Ovechkin; and we all know that Russian machine never break. He just…has a little too much e-vodka.

In the meantime, here’s a little klutzy two-for-one special to ease the Thursday blues:

Reason #10 - The funny bounce

Combine a sheet of solid ice, a hunk of frozen rubber, an arena filled with 20,000 screaming fans and 60 minutes of hard-hitting action, and what do you get? A recipe for disaster. Or hilarity.

It really depends on what jersey you wear.

Any sport can have those fluky bounces that make the highlight reels on any given night - the ball that bounces off the outfielders head for a home run, that kind of thing. But no sport is quite as fun-filled as hockey, where even when you know where the puck is going you don’t really know. If you’ve ever seen someone like Dominik Hasek play goal you know that at the very least, he doesn’t know.

Deflections off the boards, shots bouncing in off of shin pads, funny caroms and dangerous corners and glass that doesn’t quite have that oomph you were expecting…it all makes for a wildly chaotic and unpredictable game. The fast end-boards of the Bell Centre in Montreal. The divots in the craptastic ice at Verizon Center. Tomas Holmstrom’s entire career. It may not be the prettiest reason to love hockey and the Caps have certainly been on the losing end of this phenomenon a few too many times. But you can’t deny that it adds to the entertainment value.

There are some great sharpshooters and snipers in this league and they don’t make a living based on the fluky bounce. But even the most skilled and precise shooters will tell you that a lot of times you’re better off just flinging it at the net than trying to pick your spot.

Why? Because you never know what can - and will - happen. Funny bounces are just a part of hockey and a great reason to love the game.

Reason #11 - Players falling down by themselves

…or as we like to call it, the Reason Alexander Semin is Beloved in the Cheap Seats.

Look, I know hockey is a game of skill. Of finesse. Of fine skating ability. It’s why we love it so much. But it’s also a game of the spectacular faceplant and the more spectacular rump landing and really anything that makes you want to cry out “toe pick!”. Because people falling down? Funny. People falling down without reason? Funnier. Throw in some ice and thousands of jeering hometown fans? You’ve got yourself the making of the smash comedy hit of the season.

It’s not the fault of the players, really. They’re not klutzes. They can’t be blamed if sometimes that ice is a little choppy or if the adrenalin just gets the best of them.

And hey, sometimes that blue line is really bumpy. Right, Sasha?