Without too much extrapolation, the following are my general notes and observations from the scrimmage.  Just one man’s observations from spending the week at camp and watching the prospects scrimmage.  For what it’s worth, the lines for the scrimmage were essentially as follows:

Surprises

Miles Koules, Right Wing – The 5′-11″ from Los Angeles, California showed good vision of the ice, quick stick handling and moved the puck up the ice with urgency.  I wouldn’t be surprised if Miles gets a contract offer from the Caps this week or early next.

Turner Ottenbreit, Defensemen – The youngest player at this years camp showed a lot of physical play, and a bit of a nastiness to him. At 6′-4, the free-agent teenage showed grittyness in the corners, and could grow into a potential top-tier player in three years.

Kevin Lohan, Defenseman – The tallest player at camp, standing 6′-5″ actually looked quite agile for his height.  Also showed his shot making skills and scored a goal in the scrimmage.

Top Prospects

Jakub Vrana, Right Wing – Looked good in the scrimmage. You could tell he was a move ahead of some of the others out on the ice.  Nice goal.  Looks like he could be ready soon.  I see Vrana, Stephenson and Barber going straight to Hershey.

Madison Bowey, Defenseman – Madison had a average game, but really nothing notable regarding him taking the next step.

Chandler Stephenson, Left Wing – Stephenson was all over the ice, and had a good game. He was impressive all week.  He will be solid for Hershey this year.

Zach Sanford, Center/Left Wing – Had a good scrimmage. Sanford is due to head back to Boston College for his sophomore year, however, Zach could be confronted with a decision before his tenure at BC is complete.

Jonas Siegenthaler, Defenseman – The 2nd round pick in this years draft was impressive all week, and showed he belonged in the scrimmage. The 6′-2″ 22o-pound defenseman already plays a physical game, but is quick on the ice. Jonas seemed to have above average vision of the ice as well.

Injuries

It was great to see that Riley Barber has recovered from his knee injury in March. He was skating well, and for me, that was enough.  Nathan Walker and Tyler Lewington were unable to participate this week.

Other Notes

Connor Carrick was at Kettler this week, mostly to work out with his conditioning coach.  The Caps instituted a lot of 3 on 3 sessions this week, including a 3 on 3 tournament and extra 3 on 3 sessions in the scrimmage as well. Something all but missing from recent camps. It was obvious the coaching staff and management wanted to get a better look at the top liners.  Former Cap and local Jeff Halpern was also assisting with some coaching this week.  11 campers were under contract by the Caps: Barber, Bowey, Boyd, Djoos, Herbert, O’Brien, Stephenson, Vanacek and Vrana.  Lewington and Walker did not participate in on-ice activities.