Just can't wait to see the guy in the lineup tomorow against Montreal...

:yo:

really? Carlson was called up? No ****!?

per NHL network

:yo::yo::yo:

whats the situation like for the call up? is he jsut replacing an injured player or did they call him up to see if he can outplay someone else and stick around?

whats the situation like for the call up? is he jsut replacing an injured player or did they call him up to see if he can outplay someone else and stick around?

Morrisonn and Jurcina are out, Sloan will have to play as a forward (replace Laing), so he's sliding into Jurcina's spot.

per NHL network

I was being sarcastic. This was announced at 10 or so this morning and has been discussed in numerous threads.

I was being sarcastic. This was announced at 10 or so this morning and has been discussed in numerous threads.

Way to put him in his place!!

Heaven forbid someone starts a new thread. Next time he'll make sure to spend the better part of his evening sifting through the 500 pages in the three acceptable threads before having the audacity to start a new discussion on a Caps message board about a move in the Caps organization.

Not everyone has the time to devote to the internet that you do. Try cutting people some slack.

I know the plus minus is kind of a weird stat. But his +14 i think it is in the AHL really stood out to me. Him and Alzner are both +14 I think. Anyways, I look forward to seeing him play.

Finally. I'm quite excited as well.

Nothing personal to the habs...but I would really like to see Carlson plant someone into the glass on his first shift. The canadiens have a surplus of small forwards and Im looking for big John to make his mark.

I heard an interesting comparason on NHL Live regarding Carlson, comparing him to Stevens saying that he'll be that kind of player for the Caps when he makes it up full time. Does anyone know much about Carlson as to whether that is spot on or not?

I am glad the kid got a thread, its his first callup. I hope he makes a huge splash and stays up a lot longer than 9 games. You never know, we do have injuries in our D and someone in our pool of UFA D should get moved eventually right? The stock of guys like Pothier and Juice havent been this high in a long time.

nothing wrong with this thread; the need for the new one that started this morning...yeah, not so much.

Anyway, sounds like he is playing tonight. Looking forward to seeing his debut.

Congrats in advance to 19yo John Carlson (http://www.hockeydb.com/ihdb/stats/pdisplay.php?pid=99508) on his debut, he turns 20yo in January.

Leone's Bears article about Carlson's call-up link (http://www.pennlive.com/hersheybears/patriotnews/index.ssf?/base/sports/125869471932880.xml&coll=1)

Vogel's piece about Carlson's likely debut link (http://media.fans.capitals.nhl.com/_Carlson-Latest-In-Caps-Kids-Corps/BLOG/1503539/122873.html)


And since this is a stand-alone thread, just for fun, a sampling of some articles from the past about Carlson; nothing like a little build up, lol:

lengthy predraft article about Carlson in NJ paper - plenty about his hockey path up until that point (http://www.mycentraljersey.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080614/SPORTS0401/806140375/1172)

nhl.com article - Carlson makes seamless transition to AHL from '09 playoffs (http://www.nhl.com/ice/news.htm?id=423099&cmpid=rss-kramer)

Carlson signs ELC announced by his NJ team, NJ Rockets (http://www.njrockets.goalline.ca/news2.php?news_id=128378) and announced by his USHL team, Indiana Ice (http://www.ushl.com/news/story.cfm?id=1823)

article as his OHL debut approached (http://slam.canoe.ca/Slam/Hockey/Junior/2008/10/01/6940311-sun.html) and early in the season link (http://slam.canoe.ca/Slam/Columnists/Pyette/2008/10/14/7076606-sun.html)

Corey M article on Carlson from before this season (http://msn.foxsports.com/nhl/story/10038364/Carlson-looks-to-continue-ascension-with-Capitals-)

NEHJ article from June 2009 (http://www.hockeyjournal.com/Article.php?ArtID=1000040) and another from September 2009 (http://www.hockeyjournal.com/Article.php?ArtID=997986)

Tim Leone article from last season - only portion available rest is archived (http://www.pennlive.com/columns/patriotnews/leone/index.ssf?/base/columnists/1240974615301850.xml&coll=1)

they called him up to showcase him to MTL who needs a Dman!

lol

i kid!

but would not be shocked to read something like that on a website, e17

Per a few Twitter feeds: Carlson will be the youngest player to suit up for the Caps since Semin in '03-04 and the first Capital born in the 1990's.

I heard an interesting comparason on NHL Live regarding Carlson, comparing him to Stevens saying that he'll be that kind of player for the Caps when he makes it up full time. Does anyone know much about Carlson as to whether that is spot on or not?

that's a lofty comparison, and they probably said it because he's a highly touted teenage defenseman. Does he have a mean streak like Scotty?

Per a few Twitter feeds: Carlson will be the youngest player to suit up for the Caps since Semin in '03-04 and the first Capital born in the 1990's.

ok, that's simply depressing...fwiw, I don't think anyone born in '89 has suited up for a game that counts either, unless one counts Holtby.

Yeah, Alzner being a late '88 I believe that's right. Carlson has the frame to be a pretty effective physical defenseman. From what I've seen he doesn't really look for big open ice hits like Stevens did--or fight like Stevens did as a Capital--but rather uses it in the corners and along the boards to separate players from pucks and then get the transition game started.

funny quote from the Vogel article, citing Brooks Laich:

“He’s played exhibition games, too,” notes Caps forward Brooks Laich, “which helps. And they play the same way in Hershey that they play here so it’s a seamless transition for Carl.”

he knows its not Alzner, right? :sarcasm:


stoked for the young man to get his first regular NHL game.

ok, that's simply depressing...fwiw, I don't think anyone born in '89 has suited up for a game that counts either, unless one counts Holtby.

ha ha I was going to say something similar... just shoot me. And no I didn't watch that tv show Foy

Per a few Twitter feeds: Carlson will be the youngest player to suit up for the Caps since Semin in '03-04 and the first Capital born in the 1990's.

oh my god my bro was born in 92 (and me 93) so carlson is only a little bit older man i cant even imagine that

I watched most of the game on the tube,and Carlson looked good. He was hitting, shooting and playing with confidence. He seemed to fit in and size looked fine also, I would like to see more of him. I think he played about 15-18 minutes...This kid looks good.

:yo:

I watched most of the game on the tube,and Carlson looked good. He was hitting, shooting and playing with confidence. He seemed to fit in and size looked fine also, I would like to see more of him. I think he played about 15-18 minutes...This kid looks good.

:yo:

We will. Now with Poti injured there's really no other choice than to play him.

He played very well I thought. At one point, he had somebody lined up for a big hit coming through the neutral zone, and then narrowly missed. It was like when Ovechkin skates down the wing with the puck and then its gloved by the goalie.

I nearly lost my **** when he hit the post, thinking that it was a goal.

Call me a homer crazy whatever you want but he looked more comfortable in our scheme than a few regulars, and much much more active. I dont think it was just adrenaline, that's him. He can hit shoot skate check reads plays well. He looks plenty ready to me. To nitpick, maybe his passing is the weakest part of his game? I doubt it actually. I have no idea what he stands to gain in Hershey.

Call me a homer crazy whatever you want but he looked more comfortable in our scheme than a few regulars, and much much more active. I dont think it was just adrenaline, that's him. He can hit shoot skate check reads plays well. He looks plenty ready to me. To nitpick, maybe his passing is the weakest part of his game? I doubt it actually. I have no idea what he stands to gain in Hershey.Well, it is the only Pro system he knows. He better be decent at it.

How much excitement can a youngster bring. :D Can't wait for today's game. :)

From what I've seen in Hershey, sometimes he tries to do a little too much in his own zone and gets running around a bit. You could see that a couple of times last night and part it is that he plays a pretty intense game in general. He doesn't really take shifts off but sometimes he needs to take a step back and just play a little safer positionally. That's really about all I can say bad about his game, though, and that's something somewhat expected for a defenseman at his age.

Too bad that shot didn't go in for him. There are only two defensemen that can snipe that like on the team in fellow righties Green and Pothier. None of the others has that level of skill and accuracy with their shot.

Not that the Caps have had many 19-year old defensemen in their line-up but he seems to be the most physically mature defenseman at that age (meaning skating & overall strength) since Scott Stevens and Kevin Hatcher. Just think of how physically effective and assertive he'll be in another year or two.

Learning to play positionally sound as a defensemen indeed may be tough when he and all our D are expected to be so active. I wonder if a guy like Sarge gets told to stay back, regardless he largely does. Staying back, its pretty easy to play positionally IMO. Maybe Carlson needs work on his positioning but blindly looking at his plus minus in Hershey, it seems like he is doing good overall. On his first shift he came over and really pressured the guy breaking in on Poti. I think that was at Bruce's command as I saw a few others doing it last night. Pressure the puck with the offside D man and let the forward cover. I am still laughing he was out for almost 2 minutes in his first shift. And very happy he survived it.

Its HF. Young players rule. There is a chunk of our crew here that loves the idea of seeing half of the Hershey roster getting a few games in the NHL even if they lose most of them.

Carlson looked great. He made some jittery rookie plays with the puck in his own end. He made some nice plays with the puck. He took the body.

Does he look like a someday stud? Oh Baby he does. Does he look like Tom Poti's regular partner right now....hell no.

I don't know. I don't see too many, um, kiddy posts ga ga'in the kid. Most of the regulars on here are more concerned about the caps and not prospects.

Personally I don't get too excited. I can't see gmgm blowing a year off the elc. But what I saw last night just reconfirmed for me why I thought he's higher rated in my eyes than karl.
And that's no slight to karl. Its like saying ao was higher rated than backstrom.

If he can play consistently like he did last night and also get the bounces, he's easily an upgrade to a very good jurcina this year and to pots behind the net under pressure.
To pots' full game, eh probably not including transition into account.

Yeah count me in the group thinking getting our hershey guys into a few games even if we lose is a smart thing. Regular season loses are meaningless if you can make the playoffs. Having home field advantage has led to 2 game 7 loses at home in 3 tries. But we needed Sloan. Beagle. Varly. Getting them into a few regular season game does much more for our organization than winning on a tuesday in columbus in November with our vets getting all the reps.

Carlson looked like the best partner I have seen with Poti in a long time.

I really enjoyed having Carlson out there - it seemed like all of our defensemen were capable of moving the puck for once. Hell, even Erskine and Schultz were teeing up and pinching in. As well as Shamoo and Juice have played this year the idea of having Green, Pothier, Carlson, and Alzner all in the same arena sounds very appealing to me. Schultz seems to be improving as a player every game while attempting to pinch in to keep the puck in the zone. Carlson is going to be something special and if we really want to win a cup this year we need to say screw the ELC and get him in as much as possible to get him ready for the playoffs. He's more than willing to throw his body around AND he can move. I'm really excited about this kid.

Its HF. Young players rule. There is a chunk of our crew here that loves the idea of seeing half of the Hershey roster getting a few games in the NHL even if they lose most of them.


Count me in. That's what reg. season is for. Caps will make playoffs blindfolded. This summer's transactions are critical to future success. Caps need to figure out what prospects they can rely on.

If he can contribute...play him. If he's got something holding him back..send him back to where he can work on it.

Early results are good.

Does he look like Tom Poti's regular partner right now....hell no.
How many defensemen are going to come in and look like a steady top 4 defenseman in their first pro game, though? Not all that many. If they're waiting for Carlson and Alzner to become error-proof then it's a futile game because it's not happening. They're going to make mistakes because they need the exposure to the pro game in order to adapt mentally and physically. There's not much of a substitute for that. It's up to the coaching staff to put them into situations where they can succeed when they're needed. For their part, the front office has to weigh the pro's and con's of mistakes via a lack of hockey sense and skill vs. mistakes as part of the developmental process. They're taking a pretty cautious approach to this point and until another course becomes necessary--be it injuries, performance or the salary cap--that's probably not going to change.

I'm of the opinion that both still have things to work on that the AHL level can help them fine tune but if the expectation for any prospect, especially a defenseman, is perfection then you're going to be disappointed more times than not. They'll likely be a more finished product if they continue to take them along slowly but there's no avoiding the natural adjustment period that any defenseman is going to need at the NHL level. You can wait for them to become as ready as you think they can be but eventually they're just going to need to cut their teeth by getting out there, having the confidence of the coaching staff good & bad and playing the game.

thats my point. i am doing the even keel. he is a rookie. a first game in the league rookie. he didnt look out matched and he made some plays. he also blew some reads and passed the puck to empty ice and the other team.

he is a rookie. thats all. last season there were many here that thought alzner was easily one of the caps best 4 defensemen. you remember that. he was actually a rookie and while he displayed is up side with regularity he played like a rookie. made rookie mistakes. allowed his head to get messed up like a rookie.

I am not down on any of these guys. I am just pointing out they are rookies. Eric Fehr is a young guy still looking to find his way. When he was called up season before last it was time to dump fleischmann because this guy was ready to be an impact player. still waiting.

even keel.

oh...as for the value of regular season games. last season if the Caps were the 1 seed rather than the 2 seed, they went to the cup finals...very likely. they would have had a cake walk first round and the canes in the 2nd round. would not have seen the pens til the ecf.

i am just sayin

You keep talking about Alzner and Carlson making rookie mistakes, but Jurcina, Sloan, Schultz and Erskine make those same mistakes.

I contend everyone on the team makes mistakes. I think it may be harder to be a Fehr than to be Sarge or Alzner. They say playing defense is hard but scoring goals is nothing to laugh at. The race to first often ends in facing a team that got hot and made the playoffs. All the pressure on that coveted one seed, in pretty much every series. Finishing the year strong >>> where you fininsh.

Since our defense continues to be injury prone, it becomes more important than ever to get Carl and Karl ready asap. Even Juice our most durable dman is nicked. We will need help from Hershey late in the year. Bank it. I hope Carlson is in the mix. Every defensemen had to overcome their first playoff game.

You keep talking about Alzner and Carlson making rookie mistakes, but Jurcina, Sloan, Schultz and Erskine make those same mistakes.

Again. Context is important. I have said all along that my choice would be to have Alzner in the lineup now getting 3rd pair minutes and getting to move up in responsibility when injuries hit.

I have also said a steady diet of both Alzner and Carlson would be a mistake.

Yea Jurcina and Schultz make mistakes and Erskine and Sloan are more limited. However Jurcina and Schultz dont make them with as often as Carlson or Alzner would.

I reject the idea that Alzner or Carlson are an easy top 4 D on this team

Again. Context is important. I have said all along that my choice would be to have Alzner in the lineup now getting 3rd pair minutes and getting to move up in responsibility when injuries hit.

I have also said a steady diet of both Alzner and Carlson would be a mistake.

Yea Jurcina and Schultz make mistakes and Erskine and Sloan are more limited. However Jurcina and Schultz dont make them with as often as Carlson or Alzner would.

I reject the idea that Alzner or Carlson are an easy top 4 D on this team

I don't think both Alzner and Carlson are top 4 D, Alzner? Maybe. Carlson? No. But I don't see how Alzner can be worse then Jurcina and Schultz(getting 17-18 minutes per game), and I don't see how Carlson can be worse then Sloan or Erskine(14-15 minutes per game).

I think carlson and could be top 4 by end of year had gmgm made some smart moves to move marginal dmen and upgraded big time with one d (kubina was my choice).

But top 4 is semantics during the season due to injuries.

My preference always has been that alzner graduate to nhl this year with carlson getting his taste and graduating next year.
But whatever. I think next season we're going to see 4 rookies on opening game roster: MP, neuvy, karl, and carlson.