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Washington Capitals: Brooks Orpik returns in a new leadership role

By Michael Marzzacco

WASHINGTON, DC - APRIL 20: Brooks Orpik #44 of the Washington Capitals warms up before playing against the Carolina Hurricanes in Game Five of the Eastern Conference First Round during the 2019 NHL Stanley Cup Playoffs at Capital One Arena on April 20, 2019 in Washington, DC. (Photo by Patrick McDermott/NHLI via Getty Images)
WASHINGTON, DC - APRIL 20: Brooks Orpik #44 of the Washington Capitals warms up before playing against the Carolina Hurricanes in Game Five of the Eastern Conference First Round during the 2019 NHL Stanley Cup Playoffs at Capital One Arena on April 20, 2019 in Washington, DC. (Photo by Patrick McDermott/NHLI via Getty Images) /
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Brooks Orpik is coming back to the Washington Capitals.

In his new role, Brooks Orpik will be overseeing the Washington Capitals defensemen of the future as the team announced on Monday morning that Orpik was named to the Player Development Department.

In this new role, Orpik will primarily be with the Hershey Bears assisting and working closely with guys like Alex Alexeyev, Kristofers Bindulis, Martin Fehervary, Tobias Geisser, Bobby Nardella, Sebastian Walfridsson, Alex Kannok-Leipert and more.

Orpik was a leader to many of the players on the current Capitals roster as well. Guys like Christian Djoos, Jonas Siegenthaler, and Michal Kempny learned a lot from his leadership and even some of the veterans like John Carlson and Dmitry Orlov were influenced by the man they call “BATYA.”

Washington Capitals General Manager Brian MacLellan said in a press release:

"“As a member of our team, Brooks was a tremendous leader and a great role model for our young players. We are excited to be able to bring him back in this new role. We feel he will be a great resource for our hockey staff and our prospects.”"

This move was something that was in the works for a while ever since he decided to hang up his skates in late June, according to Tarik El-Bashir of The Athletic. Both Capitals radio broadcaster John Walton as well as Adam Vingan of The Athletic additionally noted that Orpik is with the Capitals prospects in Nashville at the Prospect Showcase/Rookie Tournament.

The Capitals prospects have performed well and will now have a leader and a strong influence they can look up to. The Capitals won the first game of the weekend 10-3 over the Carolina Hurricanes while falling yesterday 3-2 in overtime to the Nashville Predators.

Orpik’s retirement was announced on June 25, capping off 15 seasons in the NHL with the perspectives of life as a member of the Pittsburgh Penguins for 11 years and five seasons in the Nation’s Capital. Orpik was drafted in the first round at 18th overall by the Penguins in the 2000 NHL Draft and made his debut in the 2002-03 season.

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Orpik helped the Penguins win a Stanley Cup in 2009 before coming to the Caps as a free agent in the summer of 2014, helping establish them into a better defensive force. Orpik’s hard work, grit, and blue collar effort was noticed in the Caps run to the Stanley Cup in 2018 and he’ll forever be linked to the first win in that round with his game-winning goal in Game 2.

Welcome back Brooks Orpik!

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