The boys were indeed back in town and back in action today as Coach Boudreau and friends put the veterans, rookies and invites through a rigorous first day of camp. As they were last year, all attendees were divided into three fairly evenly matched teams in anticipation of the Gaetan Duchesne tournament that kicks off tomorrow.

Group A was an interesting mix of what could potentially be our first line (Ovechkin-Backstrom-Knuble), a number of prospects and standouts from Development/Rookie Camps (Dubuc, Broda, Mestery and Eakin), and a pair of young blueliners who could very well be forming the top D tandem someday soon (Carlson and Alzner). Group A thoughts:

- First on the ice? Alex Ovechkin, who hopped off of the benches about 15 minutes early – even before the rink had been fully resurfaced, skating loops around a partially fresh sheet of ice while the poor Olympia driver dodged the face of the franchise.

- After being drafted by the Caps, Cody Eakin made mention of the fact that Alex Ovechkin was his favorite player. Imagine how surreal and exciting it must be for the youngster to not only take part in his first NHL training camp, just a few months after being drafted, but to be in the same group as one of his idols.

- Ovechkin and Backstrom don’t look like they’ve missed one step over the summer – they really do just have terrific chemistry on the ice. And while it’s only been one part of one day, Knuble looks perfectly comfortable alongside the two youngsters while showing off some flash and flare of his own. I think this just might work…

- Fehr’s blazing yellow “don’t hit me!” jersey made him easy to spot, and it was nice to see that his shot is starting to come back after having double shoulder surgery. His stride looks pretty good, too. Still can’t take contact, though, and that’s a big part of his game.

- It never really gets old to say that Carlson’s got some serious game, which is good…because Carlson’s got some serious game. Actually both he and Alzner looked quick, strong and well positioned in the brief time I saw them. Both appear to be in great shape, too, with each of them pacing their respective groups in the morning’s final skate. Neither one did anything particularly sparkling, but they didn’t look out of place with the big boys, either.

- There’s a little bias here because he’s one of my favorites, but Boyd Gordon has looked pretty sharp early on – based on limited viewing in an informal scrimmage and today’s first drills, of course, but still.

Group B had more of a grinding, physical feel to it, with guys like Finley, Amadio, Bruess, Laing and Erskine rounding out the roster. It also featured our first look at a potential (and very much not grinding and physical) second line of Morrison and Semin, with Giroux filling in for Fleischmann on the right side. Group B observations:

- There’s no other word for it; Amadio is just kind of a badass. Not sure if that’s a good thing or a bad thing, really, as he definitely showed a physical side but also seemed to display a tendency for getting a bit overzealous. Like when he tried to basically shove Garrett Mitchell’s head down from it’s rightful position on his shoulders…into the ice. Probably would have been a penalty, sir.

- Brendan Morrison isn’t very big but he’s very fast, with great hands and great vision on the ice. In other words, exactly as advertised. Also as advertised? Apparently 100% healthy.

- About that Semin/Morrison potential – I like it. It seemed to take a few drills for them to find a rhythm but after that the two of them had a pretty nice flow going and made some nice passes to each other. Now all we need is a big, physical presence on the right side and we’ll be all set.

- Finley was sporting a nice big gash next to his left eye, no doubt a little souvenir of his fight in Friday’s rookie game. Aside from that he wasn’t a huge standout to me, although we’ll see how he does as the week goes on.

- I will agree with Boudreau’s assessment that Tyler Sloan had a great first day; he was physical and aggressive while not trying to do too much. Yup, throw another hat into the ring for that last D spot – this one could get interesting.

And then there was Group C, with guys like Clark, Laich, Green, Steckel, Bradley and yes, Nylander. Not surprisingly there were a few more smiles in this group – speaking of which, how is it that Laich seems to be best friends with everyone on the team, the prospects, the trainers and the coaches? I guess it’s a gift.

- After camp ended for the day Nylander consistently reinforced his desire to remain in DC. Still, he didn’t look too happy to be here from where I was standing. Not that he’s ever really been a smiley guy on the ice – a very serious, hard-working type if ever I saw one – but he did look extra serious and extra isolated today. He did share a laugh with Laich at one point, though (see?).

- After two years of injuries and surgery, I think we’ve all forgotten what the real Chris Clark looks like – we got a reminder today. He had that quick release back in his shot that netted him 30 goals just a few years ago and didn’t shy away from anything in the corners. The best part? The smile that’s still on his face. Someone’s happy to be back.

- Neuvirth appeared to take the brunt of a Dylan Yeo collision and was flexing and stretching his hip for a few minutes afterward. He made it through the rest of the day, thankfully, but didn’t look completely comfortable at any point afterward. Stay tuned.

It was a fun, albeit long, day out at Kettler with the boys and there was a lot to see – but the best thing was just the presence of hockey in general. That and the fact that there are only 18 days until the regular season!