NsHL Washington Capitals
Annual Awards

2003-2004

Washington Capitals held their annual awards ceremony today at the MCI Center. The entire squad got together for the last time before they head back to their home towns during the off-season and get prepared for a much different Washington Capitals entering the 2004-2005 campaign.

Most Valuable Player - Peter Bondra/Michael Nylander. Peter had a great year for us and was second in the league with 10 powerplay goals. Peter was fantastic, leading our team with 36 goals and was second in team scoring with a total of 70 points. He was the leader in our change room, and will hopefully bring the same type of skill to the ice next year. Michael Nyalnder is one of the most under-rated players in the NsHL. Altough being shoped around by GM Cawker he still kept his mind on hockey, and was fantastic all year long. Nylander is such a play maker and is always looking to make that beautiful pass. He lead our team with 72 points (52 of those being assists).

Top Defenseman - Barret Jackman/Danny Markov. Both Jackman and Markov were brought into a Caps uniform during the 2003-2004 season, and filled in the shoes of Sergei Gonchar tremendously. Jackman led the Capitals with a +14 rating, and second on the Capitals with 264 PIM. He finished second in team scoring for the defenseman with 26 points (10 goals), despite being suspended for 5 regular season games. Jackman will definitely bring his game next year, and we look forward to watching this young stud develop into one of the NsHL's elite defenseman. Danny Markov was also spectacular this year, being our #1 defenseman after Gonchar was sent in a deal for him. Markov lead the team in PIM with 265, and points with 27 (7 goals). Markov is still young and we are looking forward to seeing Markov/Jackman being our #1/#2 defenseman next year respectively.

Top Goaltender - Dan Cloutier. Cloutier was acquried on deadline day by GM Cawker in exchange for the underachieving - Olaf Kolzig. Cloutier played about 90% of our games down the stretch, and we were quite impressed with his game. Dan ended the season with a 2.50 GAA, .906%, and a 10-12-5 record in 37 games played. We look forward to watching Dan succeed as he receives his first chance to open as a starting goalie for a team in the NsHL!

Rookie Of The Year - Steve Eminger. After being selected in the 1st round last years entry draft, Steve Eminger new the expectations were high for him. Eminger played on the second line for most of the year with sopohomore defenseman - Barret Jackman. Eminger was fearless and let all of our opponents know that he shouldn't be taken lightly and they won't get by him easily. Eminger finished the season with 18 points (16 assists) in a surprising 81 games played (1 game missed because of an injury). He finished with 76 PIM, and will definetly be an elite defenseman in the NsHL in a couple of years. Eminger will most likely see 22+ minutes next year on the second line with Jackman once again.

The Capitals would like to thank all of their fans for their support throughout the 2003-2004 season and guarantee them that this organization has a promising future! We would also like to thank our players for performing all year long to their best of their ability, and always having the desire to win!

See you all in the 2004-2005 season!