Caps Rink Report with Tarik El-Bashir

The Hershey Bears new video coach Emily Engel-Natzke joins the podcast this week to discuss her new role with the Chocolate and White and what it means to her to be the first female coach in the Capitals organization. She talks to Alexa Shaw about her journey in hockey and leaves future generations of hockey coaches with excellent advice to get where they want to go in their careers.

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Nick Ashooh and JJ Regan are joined by two former Capitals goalies in Olie Kolzig and Byron Dafoe to go back in the memory bank to their scrap, tussle, dance, whatever you want to call it, which just turned 22 years old on November 22nd. We couldn't let them go without asking some current questions too as they hit on the Reverse Retro jerseys, how they would feel as players negotiating for a season right now and what to expect from the dynamic duo of Ilya Samsonov and Henrik Lundqvist between the pipes this season.

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Nick Ashooh and JJ Regan dive into the latest rumblings around the start to the next NHL season and what it means for Caps fans. JJ is very upset with the early looks at potential divisions that could see the Caps and Pens playing in different divisions but is much happier about the return of the Screaming Eagle with the Reverse Retro jerseys unveiled throughout the league. The Holtbys' move from D.C. to Vancouver hit a bit of a snag and although it went slower than hoped (tortoise pun?!?), all the Holtbys are safe and sound North of the Border and you get a bonus story from Tim McDonough about traveling across the border in the trunk of a car in his youth.

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Nick Ashooh and JJ Regan break down what Alex Ovechkin telling a Russian television station that he wants to end his career playing for Dynamo Moscow means for his future in Washington and the future of the Capitals franchise (1:00). Discussions then go to what Ovi might get for his next contract (15:30) and how the rest of the league views the Caps captain (22:00). Finally, JJ weighs in on why Daniel Sprong should be the answer at 3rd line RW (28:30) and the potential for Washington to move a defenseman before next season starts (33:00).

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JJ Regan is joined this week by the Voice of the Hershey Bears Zack Fisch to discuss which prospects might be coming up the pipeline to Washington. Could Daniel Sprong be the answer at 3rd line right wing for the Capitals? Fisch certainly thinks so. He also lays out the rest of the forwards who could see action for the big club and what all the offseason additions on the blue line mean for Martin Fehervary and Alex Alexeyev. Plus, Fisch takes a peek between the pipes at what could be one of the best 4-deep goalie groups in hockey with Ilya Samsonov and Henrik Lundqvist in Washington and Vitek Vanecek and Pheonix Copley in Hershey.

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Nick Ashooh and JJ Regan are joined by NHL.com Senior Writer Dan Rosen to discuss Henrik Lundqvist's role in Washington, where the Capitals stack up in next season's Metropolitan Division and the latest on the NHL's plans to start the coming season (7:00). The boys then take a look at the latest Eastern Conference odds thanks to our partners at PointsBet Sportsbook (19:00).

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Nick Ashooh and JJ Regan got together to discuss the Caps free agency period so far and give their thoughts on the worst kept secret coming to fruition with Henrik Lundqvist signing with the team. After the discussion you will hear from Henrik as he talks about what made him pick Washington as his next team. The guys finish up the podcast discussing how else the Caps can increase their title chances for next year as well as take a look around the league to see what other teams have been up to during this busy free agency period.

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On a special edition of the Caps Talk Podcast Alexa Shaw, Nick Ashooh and JJ Regan first got to sit down with Washington Captials 1st round draft pick Hendrix LaPierre to talk about being selected by the Caps, his Twitter exchange with Alex Ovechkin and how he sees himself fitting into this group of guys.

The crew also sat down with Samantha Pell from The Washington Post and Ben Raby from Caps Radio to discuss some of the teams key needs in free agency and to see if their is any truth to the worst kept secret in the NHL #LundqvistToDC.

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Nick Ashooh and JJ Regan are back again for another podcast, this time the NHL season is officially over and we have crowned a champion, the Tampa Bay Lightning defeating the Dallas Stars 4-2 in the series to take home the Stanley Cup. The guys discuss what they saw from this Lightning team that lead them to a cup, how similar it was to what the Caps went through before finally breaking through in 2018 and what next season might look like now that we have gotten through the bubble experiment.

After that discussion Nick was lucky enough to be able to sit down with Capitals Assistant GM Ross Mahoney and discuss some of the plans he has for the Caps headed into a shortened yet busy offseason. The two talk about what the team saw in Peter Laviolette to bring him in as head coach, what the draft process has looked like in this socially distant world we are in and if he had any updates on an extension for Ovechkin or any signing of a net minder to sit behind Samsonov.

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Nick Ashooh and JJ Regan got together to discuss John Carlson getting edged out by Nashville's Roman Josi for the James Norris Memorial Trophy, which is given to the years top Defenseman. John Carlson, who led all defensemen in scoring with 75 points and was on pace to be one of only 10 Defenseman in NHL history to reach 89 points, was a deserving candidate but Josi was considered to be the better all-around defenseman.

The guys will get into if they thought Carlson was snubbed in favor of Josi, what the Caps need to do to sure up their defensive lineup, who will back-up Ilya Samsonov next year if it isn't Holtby, what each of them has seen in the Stanley Cup Finals so far and what the season might look like next year once the bubble experiment is all over.

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