Posse81
September-30th-2003, 05:02 PM
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A19255-2003Sep29.html
A Seasoned Eminger Returns to the Caps
By Jason LaCanfora
Washington Post Staff Writer
Tuesday, September 30, 2003; Page D06
Steve Eminger was naturally disheartened when the Washington Capitals ended his whirlwind NHL tour last December, loaning him to Canada's entry in the world junior championships. But he had little time to feel sorry for himself.
A few weeks after being loaned out, Eminger won a silver medal in the prestigious tournament while playing before fans from his hockey-mad home country. From there the 6-foot-2, 200-pound defenseman returned to his junior team in Kitchener, Ontario, and immediately regained his sterling form. He finished the season by leading Kitchener to a Memorial Cup, the championship of Canadian junior hockey. While it was not as glamorous as a season spent entirely in the NHL, it has served Eminger well, and those experiences have given him a strong opportunity to open this season back with the Capitals.
"The whole year really helped me a lot," Eminger, 19, said. "Getting an opportunity to win a Memorial Cup and being a winner is a key thing, and that was one of the first times I experienced something like that. I think that will help me out in the long run; a lot of teams try to get there and only one wins.
"Getting to start the year in Washington really helped me out a lot, and playing against the top European players, who play a different style of game, in the world junior championships really helped me as well. I think it all played a part in my development."
Eminger, drafted 12th overall in 2002, played 17 games for the Capitals, averaging 10 minutes per game on the third defensive pair. He appeared rattled at times -- which is what one would expect from a teenage defenseman -- and relied on his skills too frequently. Rather than make the easy play, and quickly pass the puck up ice, Eminger would try to use his skating and stickhandling ability to get around opponents, which led to turnovers and other defensive miscues.
"Last year coming in here I was in awe the first two months," Eminger said. "I almost felt like it wasn't real, like I wasn't really in the NHL. But when you get closer you feel a little more comfortable and then you start to feel like one of the guys out there."
Eminger has been more settled this September, both with and without the puck. Eminger was the best player participating in a rookie camp attended by several NHL teams at the start of the month, according to several scouts there, and quickly distanced himself from others clamoring to win one of a handful of roster spots for defensemen in Washington's training camp.
"He's playing more like a veteran now than he did last year, and for good reason," Capitals General Manager George McPhee said. "He had a great year of experience last year and what he's learned is it is a lot easier in this league if you move the puck rather than try to beat a guy one-on-one by yourself.
"Sometimes you have to fall back to that, and that's what you like about talented players: When all other options are gone and you have to use your own skill to beat guys one-on-one, it's nice to be able to do it. Some guys can't, and he can do that. Last year that was his first option instead of his last, and now he's getting rid of the puck right away and playing it safe and letting the game come to him."
Eminger has been compared to former Capital Calle Johansson, the smooth skating defenseman who retired this summer as the franchise leader in games played, and the youngster is already skating with Brendan Witt, Johansson's longtime defensive partner. Little separated Eminger from the others fighting to make the team at the start of training camp, but he is now a front-runner to be among the top six defensemen who dress regularly for NHL games.
The job should be Eminger's if he continues to shine in the exhibition games. The other two top defensive pairs are likely to be Josef Boumedienne and Sergei Gonchar and Jason Doig and Joel Kwiatkowski. Witt will be expected to carry a heavy workload this season, particularly with Johansson and Ken Klee no longer on the team, and that will require a lot of his partner as well. Eminger might just be ready to meet the challenge.
"It may be a tall order for Emmer because Witt often plays against the other team's best offensive guys," Capitals Coach Bruce Cassidy said. "But that may just be the way it is. . . . We're going to try that pair for now. So far so good with them."
© 2003 The Washington Post Company
A Seasoned Eminger Returns to the Caps
By Jason LaCanfora
Washington Post Staff Writer
Tuesday, September 30, 2003; Page D06
Steve Eminger was naturally disheartened when the Washington Capitals ended his whirlwind NHL tour last December, loaning him to Canada's entry in the world junior championships. But he had little time to feel sorry for himself.
A few weeks after being loaned out, Eminger won a silver medal in the prestigious tournament while playing before fans from his hockey-mad home country. From there the 6-foot-2, 200-pound defenseman returned to his junior team in Kitchener, Ontario, and immediately regained his sterling form. He finished the season by leading Kitchener to a Memorial Cup, the championship of Canadian junior hockey. While it was not as glamorous as a season spent entirely in the NHL, it has served Eminger well, and those experiences have given him a strong opportunity to open this season back with the Capitals.
"The whole year really helped me a lot," Eminger, 19, said. "Getting an opportunity to win a Memorial Cup and being a winner is a key thing, and that was one of the first times I experienced something like that. I think that will help me out in the long run; a lot of teams try to get there and only one wins.
"Getting to start the year in Washington really helped me out a lot, and playing against the top European players, who play a different style of game, in the world junior championships really helped me as well. I think it all played a part in my development."
Eminger, drafted 12th overall in 2002, played 17 games for the Capitals, averaging 10 minutes per game on the third defensive pair. He appeared rattled at times -- which is what one would expect from a teenage defenseman -- and relied on his skills too frequently. Rather than make the easy play, and quickly pass the puck up ice, Eminger would try to use his skating and stickhandling ability to get around opponents, which led to turnovers and other defensive miscues.
"Last year coming in here I was in awe the first two months," Eminger said. "I almost felt like it wasn't real, like I wasn't really in the NHL. But when you get closer you feel a little more comfortable and then you start to feel like one of the guys out there."
Eminger has been more settled this September, both with and without the puck. Eminger was the best player participating in a rookie camp attended by several NHL teams at the start of the month, according to several scouts there, and quickly distanced himself from others clamoring to win one of a handful of roster spots for defensemen in Washington's training camp.
"He's playing more like a veteran now than he did last year, and for good reason," Capitals General Manager George McPhee said. "He had a great year of experience last year and what he's learned is it is a lot easier in this league if you move the puck rather than try to beat a guy one-on-one by yourself.
"Sometimes you have to fall back to that, and that's what you like about talented players: When all other options are gone and you have to use your own skill to beat guys one-on-one, it's nice to be able to do it. Some guys can't, and he can do that. Last year that was his first option instead of his last, and now he's getting rid of the puck right away and playing it safe and letting the game come to him."
Eminger has been compared to former Capital Calle Johansson, the smooth skating defenseman who retired this summer as the franchise leader in games played, and the youngster is already skating with Brendan Witt, Johansson's longtime defensive partner. Little separated Eminger from the others fighting to make the team at the start of training camp, but he is now a front-runner to be among the top six defensemen who dress regularly for NHL games.
The job should be Eminger's if he continues to shine in the exhibition games. The other two top defensive pairs are likely to be Josef Boumedienne and Sergei Gonchar and Jason Doig and Joel Kwiatkowski. Witt will be expected to carry a heavy workload this season, particularly with Johansson and Ken Klee no longer on the team, and that will require a lot of his partner as well. Eminger might just be ready to meet the challenge.
"It may be a tall order for Emmer because Witt often plays against the other team's best offensive guys," Capitals Coach Bruce Cassidy said. "But that may just be the way it is. . . . We're going to try that pair for now. So far so good with them."
© 2003 The Washington Post Company