The Washington Capitals tried something new today, something a bit risky for a city that is only recently remembering it’s love affair with hockey and the scrappy team that brings the sport to them on a nightly basis. So the potential was there for the first ever Caps Convention to either be a great success or an overdone, overhyped flop.

After spending nearly 12 hours in a sea of red absorbing the sights, sounds and smiles of my fellow fans, I think it’s safe to say that it was the former – and that “great” would be an understatement.

There were a few small kinks to be fixed, as is the case with any first time venture. The biggest issue probably stemmed from the main stage where some of the bigger sessions took place – including the very popular Young Guns panel of Ovechkin, Backstrom and Green. Minimal standing room and horrible acoustics made it hard for everyone to see/hear the people on stage unless you managed to get right out in front.

Other than that, though, things seemed to go pretty smoothly. It was a little slice of hockey heaven right there in the National Harbor, a day filled with demonstrations and interesting discussions of hockey and the men who play it, and for the lucky few (or insane, take your pick) who stuck around until the bitter end, there was a preview of this year’s new opening video.

Some other thoughts on a fantastic day:

- Of all the ones I attended, there really wasn’t a bad breakout session in the bunch – but the best one by a hair might be the Bradley-Steckel-Laich session where kids asked the questions. If you missed it, there are no words to describe how hilarious those three are together. And I’m not sure what was funnier, their responses or the answers they clearly wanted to give but couldn’t because of the kids.

- Gary Bettman got a very respectful greeting from the crowd. I’m choosing to believe it’s because he was alongside Ted and people didn’t want our beloved owner to think they were booing him.

- It was interesting to watch George McPhee and Dick Patrick discuss trades and free agency, including a little discussion on why no-trade clauses basically…well, they suck. Lots of talk about Nylander without actually ever mentioning his name – or maybe that’s just where my (and everyone else’s) mind went.

- I somehow missed seeing Peter Bondra and Al Iafrate, two guys I’d been dying to see – but a Kelly Miller sighting more than made up for that, one of my all-time favorites. Now if only the Caps could get a few other guys back for next year. Calle Johansson, anyone?

- Brendan Morrison had possibly the most honest moment of the day, saying truthfully that Verizon Center used to be one of the three worst arenas to play in as a visitor. It might sound harsh, but those of us who were there during the less “rocking” times know he speaks the truth – and he, like Knuble and just about everyone else on the team, was quick to praise the fans coming out in droves over the last year.

12 hours of Caps and hockey-related goodness. Now that’s the way to spend a Saturday, am I right? And if you missed it, don’t despair – hopefully I’ll have some poor quality photos and shaky-handed video up here in the next day or two so you can share the magic.

Let’s do this again next year, shall we? With perhaps one more trophy to share next time around…