I-O staff was disappointed to note that co-captain Brendan Witt, defenseman Ken Klee, and right wing Jaromir "B-52" Jagr were not on the ice for practice.
Goaltender Craig Billington, however, was on the ice for practice, and he impressed I-O staffers Em, Dubs, and Jazz with some fancy footwork as he do-si-do'ed a puck from in front of his net. I-O staff believes he should stick to goal-tending.
Left wing Dainius Zubrus remained for a few minutes after practice to practice his penalty killing rink-wide shots. Zubie, center Andre Nikolishin, and Craig Billington hung out after practice with Ron Wilson, Tim Army, and Tim Hunter before exiting to the showers.
Craig Billington continued to amaze the I-O staff with cold-hard stonings and graceful saves on several Capitals.
Ulf Dahlen showed I-O staffers why he is known as the "Ulfinator" by scoring on both goaltenders Olaf Kolzig and Craig Billington.
Before any players exited the building, I-O staffers were surprised but excited to see assistant coach Tim Hunter waving at them, his arm protruding through the door. It was at that time that I-O staffer Dubs noticed he was waving a videotape, and after a few seconds of stupidity, staffer Em jogged over to retrieve the tap from Coach Hunter. In a brief lapse of consciousness, staffer Em forgot to ask him who was featured in the video presentation. :)
Winger Ulf Dahlen was the great surprise of the afternoon, as he was cordial and mostly smiles when he greeted I-O staff on the grassy knoll. I-O staff member dubs made an attempt to detain him for a picture with her so that Dee could also get his autograph. However, when staff member Em stood up to take the picture for Dubs, Ulf joined Em instead of Dubs for the picture. So now staff member Dubs has a nice picture of Em and Ulf for her mantle. Ulf was very modest when complimented on his season thus far, commenting that it didn't matter since the team was still losing.
I-O staffer Em said to hell with sitting on the grass and got a beach chair out of her car.
Winger Dainius Zubrus seemd more at ease in the parking lot today, as he stopped and chatted with I-O staff members and took a pciture with them. (Note: He was lookin' spiffy in his backward baseball cap and smooth shades.)
I-O staff member Em had a side order of crack with her Frosted Flakes this morning and suffered from dual personality disorder this afternoon. Upon gaining control of the Chris Simon bobblehead doll brought in by guest reporter Dee, she assumed the personality of the bobblehead and the voice of the Bubble Boys featured in the Bubble Boy hockey commercials (french accent and all). She said many things as the bobblehead, including, "You want me!" "I am the hottest bobblehead in the world!" "Look! He is carrying many of me home because he wants to be me!" "I am the Chris Simon bobblehead doll! I am not Chris Chelios!" Staffer Em scared many of the players by speaking to them as the bobblehead.
One such player scared by the experience was Trent Whitfield. When staff member Dubs approached Trent for a picture, Em/the bobblehead said, "Hello Trent!" When Trent looked at Em and said, "Hi!", Em immediately corrected him and said, "I didn't say 'hi' to you, it was the Chris Simon bobblehead." Trent laughed and noded. When the Chris Simon bobblehead said goodbye to him, he did not question it, he only called out a nice goodbye.
Another player visibly confused and scarred by the Chris Simon "talking" bobblehead was Joe Sacco. When he was spoken to by the bobblehead, he smiled and continued to sign autographs. however, when teh bobbledhead spoke to him as he was leaving, he turned and stared in confusion at the bobblehead as he crossed the parking lot. I-O staff members laughed at him. A lot.
Centers Trevor Linden and Jeff Halpern arrived and departed separately from practice today, Linden driving a car that had already been spotted by I-O staffers. Halpern left driving yet ANOTHER DIFFERENT VEHICLE, however, pimping down the road in his sporty sunglasses and a green GMC Yukon.
The number of Capitals swayed by Adam Oates' *awesome* Capital Cadillac commercial has swelled to two, as goaltender Olaf Kolzig left driving a new 2002 Escalade.
Joe Reekie, known for his on-ice pranks, definitely played most of the Capitals by selling them ungodly amounts of Girl Scout cookies. Many players left with more than three boxes. Olaf Kolzig left with at least six boxes (I-O staff commented on them and laughed with him about them). Another, Chris Simon, left with two boxes of Samoas, and commented that he would've had more, except he missed the initial order period.
Defenseman Brendan Witt, never the conversationalist, was in an awful mood today, and snapped at I-O staff members. :-(
I-O staff member Dubs took a picture with center Trent Whitfield. I mean, is anyone surprised by this?
HONORABLE MENTION: Chris Simon, he likes Samoas and was extremely polite and chatty with I-O staff members, even when his own bobblehead doll spoke to him.
HONORABLE MENTION: Jeff Halpern, just because.