When training camp kicks off in a little over a month, at least two new faces will be joining the ranks at Kettler – offseason acquisitions Brendan Morrison and Mike Knuble will take their first strides as Capitals, clad in #9 and #22 respectively.

Unlike the singularly unique #52 that graces the back of Mike Green and the equally unique numbers of other former Caps’ greats such as Roman Tvrdon (#64) and Dean Melanson (#57), both Morrison and Knuble will be stepping into a sweater that has changed hands many times during the history of the franchise.

Here’s a look back at those numbers and the famous faces who donned them over the course of Caps’ history – why? Because it’s freakin’ August, that’s why:

Brendan Morrison – #9

Morrison’s number hasn’t exactly the most popular or consistent in Caps’ history – in fact, only one player has worn #9 for longer than three seasons. It’s certainly not without it’s place in franchise lore, though.

The first Cap to wear #9 was Dave Kryskow, a 2nd round draft pick of the Blackhawks who was lucky enough to be scooped up by Washington in the 1974 Expansion Draft. He would play in just 51 games with the Caps, racking up 9 goals, 15 assists and a sparkling -28 before being traded to the Red Wings late in the year.

He would be replaced just 2 days later by Garnet “Ace” Bailey – a member of the Caps for just over 3 seasons who was acquired from St. Louis in exchange for Denis Dupere. It would be his second to last team and the last in the NHL; sadly his is a name that might be more familiar to fans today as the LA Kings scout who was tragically killed in the attacks of September 11.

Ryan Walter would be the next to don #9, a 2nd overall Caps pick in the 1978 draft who would go on to score at least 24 goals in each of his four seasons with Washington. He was also part of one of the biggest and most important trades in Caps’ history, dealt to Montreal along with Rick Green in September of 1982. The return? Craig Laughlin, Doug Jarvis, Brian Engblom and of course, Rod Langway.

Speaking of Brian Engblom, he also wore #9 and has the distinction of being one of three former #9 Caps to have gone on to become prominent, if somewhat annoying, fixtures on national hockey broadcasts. Engblom only played 79 games over 2 seasons for the Caps before being traded to LA for Larry (woop woop) Murphy; but today he and his hair can be found on Versus, alongside another former #9, Keith Jones.

Joining their ranks were guys like Dave Poulin, the most recent addition to the Maple Leafs’ front office, and Todd Krygier, who wore it only during the final season of his tenure with the Caps – a memorable one, though, as it also happened to be the Caps’ only visit to the Stanley Cup Finals. Curtis Leschyshyn wore #9 during his bid to have the most troublesome last name of any Cap (an honor that may have been passed on to young Varlamov).

And of course we can’t forget Tom Chorske, a journeyman winger and 17-game vet of DC in ‘98-’99…whose greatest claim to fame appears to have been the fact that he was twice traded for draft picks that were used to pick a guy named Bjorn.

Which brings us to the longest tenured numero neuf, and also the most recent. Dainius Zubrus wore #9 from his arrival in 2001 to his departure in 2007. Zubie would go on to score 86 goals and 130 assists, and would pick up his first (and only) 20+ goal seasons – helped, no doubt, by a fairly famous linemate named Ovechkin.

Mike Knuble – #22

If #9 was a hodge-podge of relative unknowns mixed in with glimpses of notoriety, #22 shoulders the burden of having no real names to speak of until the late 80s. But as late-blooming numbers go this one broke out in a big way, appearing on the backs of two of the best known and most beloved Caps – Dino Ciccarelli and Steve Konowalchuk.

Ciccarelli played for only parts of four seasons for the Caps, but his impact was dramatic and immediate. After being traded from Minnesota in March of 1989 (a trade that sent away future hall of famers Mike Gartner and Larry Murphy) he went on to score 12 goals and 15 points in just 11 regular season games before going 3-3-6 through 6 playoff games.

During his tenure in DC Ciccarelli tallied 112 goals and 97 assists through 223 regular season games in the red, white and blue; his numbers were equally brilliant in the playoffs, with 21 goals and 14 assists through 32 games.

In contrast to Ciccarelli’s flashy offensive presence, the very next wearer of #22 was Steve Konowalchuck – a player whose role was that of the hard-working grinder, a role he excelled at.

Kono was a Caps’ 3rd round pick in 1991 and spent parts of 13 seasons with the Caps. A consistent 10-20 goal scorer and defensively minded forward, his best seasons came between 1999 and 2001 when he formed one of the league’s best shutdown lines alongside Ulf Dahlen and Jeff Halpern.

He would go on to wear the ‘C’ for the Caps, first as co-captain with Brendan Witt and then on his own before being traded to kick off the great fire sale of 2003-04. Since Kono’s departure the #22 has been relatively quiet, popping up for only a brief and unfortunate time post-lockout when it reappeared on the back of one Rrrrrrico Suave.

Er, Fata.

So what will Morrison and Knuble add to their respective and quite respectable numbers – fame, infamy or blink and you’ll miss it? We’ll find out soon enough.

This meaningless post has been brought to you by the 4th of August…aka a date that is still too far away from the start of hockey season.