The Washington Capitals are one of 26 looking to win the Stanley Cup as the NHL returns to action. One man pivotal to their success is Alexander Ovechkin, who buried a team-high 48 goals in the regular season and placed the team atop the Metropolitan Division.

However, what is Washington going to do when Ovi is gone, as retirement creeps closer for the 34-year-old. They may have just found their answer in his son, Sergei. Check out the toddler’s incredible backhand skills that look fit for the NHL.

With one of the greatest NHL players in history as his father, it is no surprise the toddler has some stick skills. But at just three-years-old? Impressive.

This isn’t the first time he’s had a puck dropped in front of him, either. The recent clip showed some quick-paced strikes with a small stick, but Ovechkin showed off his son’s artistry with a larger one as well.

Perhaps quarantine has given Ovechkin some time to sharpen his son’s shooting skills. Now, all he needs to do is get him on some skates.

At 34-years-old, Ovechkin has been playing professional hockey for almost 20 years, spending the entirety of his NHL career with the Capitals. Retirement may be in the near future too, as his contract expires in 2021 and a long-term deal seems unlikely then.

When Ovi’s clock runs out, it will only be a matter of time until Sergei takes over. Maybe his other son, Ilya, born earlier this year, will be next in line after that. Either way, Washington is in good hands for the future with the Ovechkin family.

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The Washington Capitals have renewed their affiliation agreement with the South Carolina Stingrays thanks to a three year contract extension, the team announced yesterday. The Stingrays play in the ECHL.

“We are excited to extend our agreement with the South Carolina Stingrays organization. We look forward to continuing our affiliation with a first class and successful organization in which our prospects can develop,” said Capitals General Manager Brian MacLellan in the press release from the Caps.

The upcoming 2020-21 season will mark the seventh straight year the Caps and Stingrays have been affiliated. The teams were also affiliated with each other from 2004 through 2012. South Carolina won the Kelly Cup in 2009, the same year that the Hershey Bears won the Calder Cup of the AHL, and they’ve won two conference championships since 2015.

This season, South Carolina finished in first place in the South Division and Eastern Conference with a 44-14-4 record before the season was cut short on March 12.

“The Washington Capitals are a first class organization. They have been a great partner with us for a long time. We look forward to continuing to help some of their young prospects develop,” said Rob Concannon, the President of the South Carolina Stingrays.

Five players that are under contract with the Caps have suited up for the Stingrays earlier in their career. Those players are Braden Holtby, Tyler Lewington, Pheonix Copley, Vitek Vanecek and Kristofers Bindulis. Holtby began the 2009-10 season with the Stingrays and represented the team in the ECHL All Star Game that year. In 12 career games with South Carolina, Holtby was 7-2-3 with a 2.95 goals-against average and a .911 save percentage.

On Wednesday South Carolina named Ryan Blair the team’s 10th head coach and director of hockey operations. With their partnership extended through the next three years it ensures future success of the Caps organization from top to bottom.

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The newest Washington Capitals defensemen was brought on board at the trade deadline and has already bought himself an Xbox to game with his new teammates. Brenden Dillon loves it here and feels “right at home” which is a good sign and a good case to re-sign him.

“I’m happy with being a Washington Capital. From Day 1 when I came here in the trade, they’ve made me feel right at home,” Dillon told the media on a Zoom conference call on Tuesday.

“The system, the way we play, I feel like a big part of things here. I feel even better now. And I think for myself to have a couple weeks of training camp to get even more acclimated and a (better) understanding of things, I think it’s going to pay huge dividends,” Dillon added.

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The Washington Capitals will transition to Phase 3 of the Return to Play Plan on Monday morning when the team takes the ice at MedStar Capitals Iceplex for training camp. The roster includes 20 forwards, 10 defensemen and four goalies. The roster is going to be broken up into two squads Teams Blue and Red, and their schedules will vary. All Caps practices will be closed to the public.

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Washington Capitals fans can breathe a slight sigh of relief as all the Caps from the regular season will join the team for the postseason. I say a slight sigh of relief because players still have until July 13th at 5pm EST to opt-out of joining the bubble at Hotel X in Toronto, Ontario. So it is still possible for one or some of the Caps to decide that, for whatever personal reasons, the will not be joining the team.

With that being said, let’s take a look at who will be joining the Capitals in their quest for a second Stanley Cup.

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What this means is that hockey is finally returning and it’s coming soon. The Washington Capitals will continue to train at MedStar Capitals Iceplex in Arlington with the whole team partaking in training camp. The rink will be closed to the general public.

Phase three will begin on Monday and will run from July 13 through the 25th. The Caps will depart for Toronto on July 26th. The phase three roster will include 20 forwards, 10 defensemen and four goalies and will be broken up into two squads (Teams Blue and Red) and their schedules will vary.

Here is what the schedule will look like for the first four days:

Monday, July 13

10:50-11:50 a.m. Group Blue

1:20-2:20 p.m. Group Red

Tuesday, July 14

10:40 a.m.-11:40 a.m. Group Blue

1:10-2:10 p.m. Group Red

Wednesday, July 15

10:40-11:40 a.m. Group Red

1:10-2:10 p.m. Group Blue

Thursday, July 16

Scheduled day off

We are excited for the return of hockey and will have plenty of content for you in the coming weeks as the Caps gear up for a playoff journey like no other.

Their first game of the Round Robin will take place on August 3rd against the Tampa Bay Lightning, a team that the Caps swept but haven’t played since the end of 2019. The Caps won the first meeting 4-3 in overtime behind a game winning goal from Dmitry Orlov. They took the next game in convincing fashion 5-2 and won the third game 3-1.

The Caps will then see the Philadelphia Flyers on August 6th, a team that gave them some trouble with Washington only winning the first game of the regular season series before dropping the next three. This is an opponent that will be tricky for the Caps to beat.

Washington won the first meeting 2-1 in a shootout. They dropped the next game 3-2. They recently met twice at Capital One Arena at the turn of the new year with the Flyers winning 7-2 and 5-2, respectively. The Flyers were red hot on a nine game winning streak just before the season was paused.

Finally the Caps will take on the Boston Bruins on August 8th, a team the Caps won two out of three meetings against with their last contest taking place in December of 2019. The Caps won the first game 3-2 in a shootout and then won a 3-2 thriller at Capital One a month later. 12 days after that the Bruins got revenge, winning 7-3.

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