Last season, as the Washington Capitals celebrated their 30th anniversary, the organization made the tough decision to unload high-priced veteran players for prospects. Fans must accept the short-term growing pains of this rebuilding effort, meanwhile the Portland Pirates, courtesy of the NHL lockout, will field one of their best teams in years. Tim Army is back for his third season at the helm, and he will helped by assistant coach Jay Leach.

Departed

Two players expected to make an impact with the Portland Pirates this season have made the decision to play in Europe. The Washington Capitals had assigned Alexander Semin to Portland, but Semin decided not to report so that he could remain in his native Russia to suit up for Lada Togliatti. As a result of violating the terms of his standard entry-level contract, the Capitals have suspended him. Goaltender Rastislav Stana, an unsigned restricted free agent who has spent parts of the past three seasons in Portland, is spending this season with Södertälje of the Swedish Elite League. Stana still figures prominently in the Capitals goaltending plans for the future.

Some veteran contributors with last year’s squad will also not be returning. Ivan Ciernik, Francois Methot, and Andrej Podkonicky will be playing overseas this season. The trio accounted for 84 points last season. Also, prospect Roman Tvrdon will play with the Nottingham Panthers for the 2004-05 season.

Goaltenders

With a big assist to the NHL lockout, the Portland Pirates will be solid between the pipes thanks to the return of Maxime Ouellet. Ouellet is entering his fourth season in Portland, and will again shoulder a tremendous workload. Ouellet is a big goaltender (6’2, 195) and he certainly uses his size to his advantage, as he plays his angles well.

It remains to be seen who his backup will be this season. Maxime Daigneault, a first-year pro and highly-regarded prospect, was dispatched to the Capitals new ECHL affiliate, the South Carolina Stingrays, to increase his ice time. The battle for backup in Portland is now between rookie Justin Eddy and Derek Gustafson.

Defense

On the blue line, the Portland Pirates will be extremely mobile. Led by top prospects Jakub Cutta, Steve Eminger and Shaone Morrisonn, the defense corps is strong. Expect to see these three players get a lot of specialty teams time. Here they can develop their offensive skills, make the proper reads and jump up into the play in transition from time to time.

Morrisonn, who has an abundance of talent, is in a position where he can take advantage of his time in Portland, so that when the NHL lockout reaches its inevitable conclusion, he should be ready to step right in and be a solid contributor in Washington. Cutta had seemed to have fallen out of favor with the Capitals prior to last season, but his play during the second half of last season has renewed optimism. Cutta has great speed and elusiveness, but he has yet to show his offensive skills on a consistent basis.

Due to the fact that Nolan Yonkman sustained an injury over the summer, the defensive unit will be rounded out with Jeff Paul, Louis Robitaille and Dwayne Zinger.

Forwards

Up front, the Portland Pirates have a slew of highly-skilled forwards, many of whom were first- and second-round draft choices. Due to Semin not reporting, they only have one natural left wing, that being Tomas Fleischmann.

Amongst the forward ranks, the Pirates have a good mix of veterans to augment their young prospects. Fleischmann, Jonas Johansson and Jakub Klepis are all first-year pros who are being looked at to provide an offensive flair as they possess great puck-handling skills. Another prospect who should be a big offensive contributor this season is 22-year-old Jared Aulin. Aulin played in only 10 games late last season for Portland. Also, Owen Fussey and Boyd Gordon are sparkplugs who possess solid offensive skills and are also good forecheckers. Brooks Laich, acquired in a trade from Ottawa, is a high-energy center who is a tough checker and is willing to pay the price in front of the net.

The most experienced forward in Portland is Trent Whitfield. Whitfield has spent a lot of time in Washington, and is being counted on to pass along his knowledge to the younger players. Two other players who have seen time with the Capitals are Brian Sutherby and Darcy Verot. Verot, a fan favorite, favors an agitating style of play and is willing to mix it up with anyone. Filling out the remainder of the roster are Graham Mink, Garret Stroshein and Jason Ulmer.

Outlook

Thanks in large part to the realigned divisions (Portland is one of seven teams in the Atlantic Division), plus the fact that there are so many top-echelon prospects spending time this season in the AHL, the Pirates will have to come out of the starting blocks strong to stay in contention. Portland does have a young team, but they have a great equalizer with Ouellet in net. If this team can avoid the injury bug, and they assert themselves more on the offensive end than they did last season, there is no reason why this team cannot make the playoffs. The Pirates will need time to gel, but by the second half of the season, they should be a very cohesive unit and a fun team to watch.

Portland just completed a 4-0 preseason, and is eagerly anticipating their first game, which will be at home on Oct. 16th vs. the St. John’s Maple Leafs.

Copyright 2004 Hockey’s Future. Do not duplicate without permission of the editorial staff.