Alexander Ovechkin opened Washington Capitals training camp this morning, and he wasn't skating on the top line.
Group A hit the ice first, sorted by jersey color rather than a set depth chart, according to insider Tarik El-Bashir.
Ovechkin lined up between Dylan Strome and Ryan Leonard for the group's first skate of camp.
The presumptive top trio went to Alex Tuch, Pierre-Luc Dubois and Tom Wilson, a fresh look for Washington's forward group.
Tuch scored 33 goals and set up 33 assists a season ago, finishing with 66 points over 79 games. Wilson wasn't far behind at 62.
Dubois is the variable here. He played just 29 games last season, totaling 19 points, but racked up nine assists over his final 10 games.
Slotting him into a scoring line with Tuch and Wilson before a single preseason puck drops is a bet, not a sure thing.
Protas and Protas skate on the same line as Kyrou
The third line pairs Aliaksei Protas and Ilya Protas alongside Jordan Kyrou, uniting two players who share a last name and, now, a jersey group.
Aliaksei Protas set new career numbers a year ago, hitting 25 goals and 27 assists for 52 points over 76 games.
Ilya Protas has just four NHL games on his resume, all logged at age 20, with a goal and three assists in that stretch.
Kyrou put up 46 points last season on 18 goals and 28 assists, then closed with seven points over his final 10 outings.
Boone Jenner, Justin Sourdif and Anthony Beauvillier make up the fourth trio. Jenner finished with 38 points last season, Sourdif chipped in 35.
Ivan Miroshnichenko, Jonny Brodzinski and Ethen Frank rounded out the extras, a group still pushing for regular ice time. Miroshnichenko has appeared in just 13 NHL games, all at age 22.
Sorting a camp roster by jersey color is about as scientific as picking teams for a beer league scrimmage. Nobody should read too much into it yet.
Washington closed last season 43-30-9 for 95 points, riding an 8-2-0 stretch over its final 10 games into the offseason.
Head coach Spencer Carbery hasn't set his real lines yet. Whatever these groupings look like this morning, they're guaranteed to change before puck drop.
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Should Alexander Ovechkin be skating on Washington's top line instead of the second?
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