Q&A with GMGM

This afternoon, thanks to the Caps and Director of Media Relations Nate Ewell, I attended a Q&A with George McPhee and got a tour of the locker room and training facility. (And of course On Frozen Blog had some details up quickly.) GMGM had a few things to say about the upcoming draft and the prospects. He discussed how there's five strong prospects at the top, and the rest will make for a decent draft through a couple of rounds. He stressed the desire for players with more experience. As he put it, "We've had enough kids in the past few years."

The general sense I got from those comments and others throughout the Q&A is that the Caps are looking for a veteran presence on the ice and in the locker room, and could trade away some of the picks for that presence. McPhee did say that there are no trades in progress at this point, but he is always talking to other clubs and will continue to do so over the next few months.

pucksandbooks from OFB asked a question about hockey sense, which McPhee enjoyed answering. He talked about how a player can't be great without good hockey sense; "you either have it or you don't." McPhee gave Nicklas Backstrom as an example of an elite player with hockey sense; as McPhee put it, "he knows what he's going to do before he gets the puck." A player can develop other skills, such as speed and strength, but "you can't make them smarter."

The answer to a question about what type of player the Caps could target was not a surprise, but reassuring, in a way: McPhee agreed that the team needs to upgrade their special teams and defense, and he thought they could do so with veterans. His later comment about how it's never a problem to have lots of picks because it gives flexibility and ammunition for trades that make sense seemed prophetic.

In case you were wondering, the Capitals do indeed plan out their picks and don't improvise if their desired pick is already chosen. McPhee and his team have a carefully planned strategy.

McPhee talked about the "NHL body" quite a bit. As he put it, it's not so much about being a tall, built guy: "If you're good enough, you're big enough. If you're strong enough, competitive enough, smart enough, you can play."

The facility tour was great. The workout room (weights, treadmills, etc.) has a great view- on a clear day, the Washington Monument is clearly visible. (Even today we could see the top.) Nate Ewell mentioned that Brian Pothier and Brent Johnson have been working out there recently, and Glen Hanlon's been in and out of his office. I wasn't surprised that Johnson is around; after all, his fiancee is from Virginia and he's got a wedding to attend in August. But Pothier? I figured he'd be home in New England or something. Well, it's nice that some of the team members don't run out of town when the season ends (for example, Johnson was able to attend the recent Kids Day event).

It was good to see J.P. of Japers' Rink, EmptyMaybe and pucksandbooks from On Frozen Blog, Greg Wyshinski from The Fourth Period, and finally meet Rob from Random Reality Thoughts. Not to mention seeing Mike Vogel (who cut his hair!) It's always nice to see familiar faces.

eta: I just found the best Caps website if you want to read about history. Lots of great stuff here: Growing Up With The Capitals