Crane swoops in:

Woo, Yay and Woo once more....

Finally the Capitals announce something and luckily enough for the fans it was a new player signing. D-man Ryan Crane has joined the club after playing his hockey in the ECHL and Norway last season. He split his time between the Pensacola Ice Pirates and Lillehammer in the top Norwegian division. He looks to be a bit of a journey man having played for several clubs over the last few years but I am hoping he brings alot of experience to the club. His stats indicate that he is a stay back defender but he put up 12 points in 18 games with Lillehammer so maybe he can carry that on and be a little more offensive minded with the Capitals too.


I can see Crane playing on the same line as Jeff State depending on his skating speed that is. I have been in contact with some Reading Royals fans and they tell me State is a good physical presence out on the ice and that the opposition will think twice about any of the naughty stuff but when it comes to actually playing the game he can be caught out of position and doesn't have the legs to get himself back in to the right places. The Royals fans also gave me some information on what to expect from Doug Christiansen. Isn't the Internet wonderful. The Royals fan had this to say about our director of hockey.

" Christiansen is good player as long as he plays as a forward. It is his best position on the ice. Unfortunately for us The Royals had this "grand experiment" last year where they moved him back to play defense, and it failed miserably. He was just too big and lumbering to play defense, he couldn't get back on pucks and left a lot of open ice behind him, but like I said play him as a forward and he could be very useful for the Capitals "

I'm pretty sure the signings the club have announced so far will give us a strong, steady foundation to build on. We are building from the back and now have size and presence on the ice now. Considering we are usually softer than Graham Nortan and Julian Clarey put together, the "new" way of thinking is a welcome change for the Capitals. I do however hope we don't completely forget what has gone before at the Capitals and sign up some European forwards, their puck handling ability and skills in the corners would be the perfect match for our grittier, tougher Canadians. Fingers crossed for that...