Most people are aware of the “10 Year Challenge” going on in the social media forums, where users post a picture of themselves from 10 years ago and a picture of themselves from today for comparison.  So NoVa Caps thought it might be a good time to compare the Caps’ appearance today with how they looked approximately 10 years ago. [Stick-tap to NoVa Caps Director of Graphics Aaron Davis for assisting with this post].

Jakub Vrana — In 2009, he had begun playing for the HC Letnany U16 in the Czech Under 16 League for the 2009-10 season.

Alex Ovechkin — In 2009, he was playing for the Washington Capitals and had not yet been given the role of Captain.

T.J. Oshie — in 2008, he was playing for the St Louis Blues in the NHL.

Andre Burakovsky — In 2009, he had begun playing for the Malmo Redhawks U16 in the Swedish Under 16 Junior League for the 2009-10 season.

Evgeny Kuznetsov — In 2009, he had begun playing for Traktor Chelyabinsk in the KHL for the 2009-10 season. He had represented Russia in the 2009 IIHF Under 18 World Junior Championships.

Dmitry Orlov — In 2009, he was playing for Metallurg Novokuznetsk.  He had represented Russia in the 2009 IIHF Under 18 World Junior Championships.

Nicklas Backstrom — in 2009, he was playing with the Washington Capitals and was their top line center.

John Carlson — In 2009, he played with the London Knights for the 2008-09 season and started the 2009-10 season with the Hershey Bears.

Brooks Orpik — In 2009, Orpik was playing with the Pittsburgh Penguins.

Pheonix Copley — He spent the first half of 2009 playing with the 2008-09 Arctic Lions in Midget Level hockey.  He spent the second half of 2009 playing with the California Titans in the North American Prospects Hockey League (NAPHL) 18-Under League.

Braden Holtby — Braden Holtby spend the first part of 2009 playing with his junior team, the Saskatoon Blades for the 2008-09 season in the Western Hockey League (WHL).  For the latter half of 2009, he spent time with both the South Carolina Stingrays in the ECHL and the Hershey Bears in the AHL.

Matt Niskanen – In 2009, Niskanan played with the Dallas Stars in the NHL

Tom Wilson — He spent the first half of 2009 with the 2008-09 Toronto Jr. Canadiens Bantam AAA team.  He spent the last half of 2009 with the 2009-10 Toronto Jr. Canadiens Minor Midget AAA team.

Chandler Stephenson — He played the 2009-10 season with the Saskatoon Contacts in the Saskatchewan Midget AAA Hockey League.

Brett Connolly — In 2009, he played for the Prince George Cougars in the WHL.  He had playoff experience for that team and also represented Canada in the IIHF Under 18 World Junior Championships.

Jonas Siegenthaler — In 2009, he played for the ZSC U15 Top Mini League and Urdorf U15 Switzerland Other Mini League

Dmitrij Jaskin — In 2009, he primarily played for the HC Slavia Praha U18 team.  He played with them before getting promoted to the HC Slavia Praha U20 team during the 2009-10 season

Madison Bowey — He played for the Winnipeg Monarchs Bantam AAA during the 2009-10 season in the Winnipeg Bantam AAA Division 1 League.

Nic Dowd — He played for the Wenatchee Wild in the NAHL during most of the 2008-09 season. He played for the Indiana Ice of the USHL for the 2009-10 season.

Christian Djoos — For most of 2009, played for Brynäs IF U16. This was for the 2008-09 season and part of the 2009-10 season before getting promoted to Brynäs IF U18.

Lars Eller — He was lent to the Frölunda HC in the SHL for the 2008-09 season and played with the Saint Louis Blues’ AHL affiliate, the Peoria Rivermen for 2009-10 season.  He made his NHL debut in November 2009.

Devante Smith-Pelly — In 2009, he played with the Mississauga St. Michael’s Majors of the OHL.

Travis Boyd — He played for the Hopkins High School team in Minnesota for the 2008-09 season.  He played with the USNTDP Juniors and the U.S. National U17 Team during the 2009-10 season.

Michal Kempny — In 2009, he played with HK Skalica in the Czech Republic, for their Under 20 team and their team in the Czech 2 League.