Just as a heads up, this morning was a little light as far as analysis goes, but we should have plenty of info after this afternoon's scrimmage. Both groups came out and skated through speed and agility testing and came off the ice fairly quickly. The typical guys impressed, and we got to see an epic spill from Joe Finley during one agility test, which registered about a 4 on the Richter scale. To whet your appetite before this afternoon's scrimmage, here are of my favorite pictures from the morning. You can check out my pictues from both groups on my flickr feed here (Group A) and here (Group B). Hit the jump for a few thoughts:

Evgeny Kuznetsov skates up ice

Not too much to say here, but I do have two more interviews for you all to enjoy as well a few drill videos. We'll be back with more coverage tomorrow!

Braden Holtby flashes some glove.

Today's Group A sessions was much lighter than yesterday, but there was still plenty to observe. Out of the participants, Bruce Boudreau pointed out the Evgeny Kuznetsov looked strong and Cody Eakin continued to perform better than almost anyone in the camp. When I asked Gabby a little more about the young Western League product, he went as far as expressing his disappointment that Eakin had to return to his junior team this season. Boudreau also pointed out that Eakin played particularly strong during his stint in Hershey and that he's shown a ton of potential during both development camps.

One interesting thing to note is that Boudreau also expressed high praise for the oft-maligned Anton Gustafsson. AnGus has struggled since being picked in the first round by George McPhee a few years back and has battled back problems over the last two seasons, but Boudreau claims that Gustafsson is "twice the player" he was at development one year ago. This news has to be extremely encouraging to Caps fans who have been quick to write off the young Swede, especially because of the quick rise of Marcus Johansson. Below I've listed a few videos as well as some of my best shots from Group A today. Please check out all of my pictures from today's second session on my Flickr feed. I'll post some more videos and pictures later tonight.

Group B took the ice first today, and while they are significantly thinner than Group A as far as talent, they feature the star of this week's camp, Marcus Johansson. The players and coaches will not be available to the media until later today, but Bruce Boudreau did give comment that Johansson shows that he has played with men for the past two years, and has skated well so far at camp. MoJo also took some time to sign autographs for some fans after his on-ice session, and was cordial to the media present at the time. His English is very strong, and he seems to be very personable. Hopefully he'll fit right in once training camp rolls around.

As far as his measurables, Johansson looks NHL ready. It seems that he's worked on his body quite a bit since being drafted. He has a strong core and broad shoulders that could accomodate further development. He seems leaner than Nicklas Backstrom, but it doesn't seem to hurt him with regards to strength on the puck or in his skating ability. His strides are smooth and he has good speed. His shot wasn't particularly impressive to me, but he did show some really good playmaking ability during passing drills and line rushes. Overall, I'm extremely encouraged by his performance so far.

Stanislav Galiev catches a breather

So I had to leave a little early from Group B's on-ice session, but I did get a chance to jot some notes down and take a few quick videos. I focused primarily on Stanislav Galiev and Marcus Johansson for this session, and they didn't disappoint. During one-on-ones, Johansson was extremely strong on the puck and also showed good hands when trying to swipe the puck from his opponent. He showed great skating ability, and while his speed didn't seem to blow me away, he had great control and agility. Galiev had a far prettier shot than Makan and put a few nice shots past the goalie on his end of the ice without any major effort (of course it was one of the invitees for what it's worth). He also skated well, although it seems that he has to fill out his frame a lot more before he will be fully NHL ready. Both guys were impressive early in the session, and Johansson earned special praise from Bruce Boudreau, who stated that he was a better skater than the Caps' top pivot Nicklas Backstrom.

Bruce Boudreau and the Washington Capitals opened up their 2010 Development Camp today at Kettler Capitals IcePlex in Arlington, VA. Over 40 prospects and invitees from various programs are spending the week in suburban D.C. with hopes of making a good impression on the Caps' brass. While most of these players won't even sniff an NHL roster spot in their careers, there are several intriguing players participating in this year's camp. Here is a brief look at a few (and early impressions from their day one performance), and hopefully I will have a chance to speak to a few of these guys at some point this week:

(Kevin Keyes via John Sickels' Minor League Ball)

Since my last update, the Nats have signed 2 outfielders: 7th rounder Kevin Keyes and 32nd rounder Randolph Oduber. Keyes has been verified by the Nats official site. Oduber, on the other hand, has been reported on by Gastonia Gazette but not by the Nats yet. Once again, if you missed the earlier editions, here are parts one, two, three and four plus an extended look at undrafted FA signing Mike Gallo).

The Key Play is putting on a Hokie Memorabilia Contest to help us all through the doldrums of July. While none of my submissions are particularly unique, I still figured that they're worth posting. After the jump, check out what yours truly has to offer:

I've made my position known on the Virginia Tech football uniforms in the past. I liked the 2004 editions, and more specifically the 2006 all-maroon variation, but the 2008 re-vamped version just wasn't for me. Fortunately for my own tastes, it appears that the Hokies have formally ditched that uniform and decided to rock out in their maroon and white throwbacks for good in 2010. The university and the athletic department haven't commented on the team's apparel at this point, but there were rumors buzzing throughout the spring (specifically over at GC) that Tech would switch to the throwbacks for good this season. To take that rumor a step further, the bookstore is officially peddling these jerseys in full force on its website. There are nine versions of the throwback available for purchase- Logan Thomas, Tyrod Taylor, Dyrell Roberts, Eddie Whitley(?), DJ Coles(?!), Danny Coale, Darren Evans, Ryan Williams, and Barquell Rivers. Better yet, the bookstore is offering them all on sale for $51 currently, so you get a bit of a discount as well (down from $60). Apparently the athletic department wants our fans appropriately outfitted for the Boise State game, don't you think?

Some quick notes and thoughts on the jerseys: the white edition was first worn during the Furman game in 2008 while the maroon edition didn't show up until the Georgia Tech game last season. These uniforms are far more aesthetically pleasing than Nike's previous two uniforms (the "Pro Combat" look and the 2008 strange side color look) in my opinion. The shoulder piping is classic but not over-the-top, and the numbers are simple and clean. Furthermore, the fact that the players don't have names on the jersey screams "team-first" attitude. Personally, my favorite touch is the old 'T' over 'V' look on the collar that screams school history (and I'm a little biased...it's tattooed on my arm).

So, what do you guys think? Is it a good shift? Should we continue to throw money at Nike to give us 8,000 different jerseys to buy each year? Please chime in the comments below!

The Nats have signed a few more undrafted college seniors. Here's what I could dig up on them (and if you missed them, here are parts one, two and three, plus an extended look at undrafted FA signing Mike Gallo).