Rasmus Sandin will begin his first full season with the Capitals on Friday night, but about 36 hours ahead of puck drop, he joined BMitch & Finlay Thursday afternoon to express his excitement that the 2023-24 season is almost here – and they’ll kick off against a rival in the Pens.
“It’s exciting; summer was very long this year, and very excited to get it going,” Sandin said. “I think I had one game against Pittsburgh with Washington last year and, you know, it's, it's always fun playing good teams and, I'm, I'm just super excited to get the season started and looking forward to tomorrow.”
Sandin was dealt to DC last season from Toronto in February, which was an adjustment, but now, he’s had a full offseason and camp with the squad, which always helps people feel settled in.
“I'd say so a little bit; at least now, you just know the guys on the team a little bit more and stuff like that, which obviously helps a lot,” he said. “But I think last year, I came in and it was pretty good. All the guys are just unbelievable and they helped me a lot for the time I was here last year. It obviously is a little bit different, but I think it's gonna be a little bit easier to start the season with the Caps now, and I think we're all really hungry for this season.”
And, he says, there’s a vibe around the team that everyone is upset at last year’s finish of missing the playoffs, and is on a bit of a redemption arc.
“Everyone was disappointed with, with how it ended last year, so I just think everyone is really excited to get this thing going here,” he said. “All the guys here want to win, that’s no secret, and we have a little bit of an older team and getting some younger guys coming in as well, so I think we have a good mix of that. Just enjoying every day on the rink and being around each other; we have a great group of guys, so I think everyone's just really excited to bounce back from last season's disappointment.”
They’ll try to do that under a new head coach in Spencer Carbery who isn’t much older than some of the veterans on the squad, but is bringing everyone a new energy.
“I think we’ve all enjoyed the time with him so far; he's a great guy and being around him off the ice is just a lot of fun, and on the ice, he thinks hockey in a really good way that fits our team,” Sandin said. “We have a veteran team, but I think with his style and how smart he is with how he wants us to play, it really fits our team really well. It'll be exciting for him, and it's fun for us as players, having a coach who is a first-time head coach in the NHL. He’s really hungry, and that's contagious as well, so I think the whole group is just really, really excited for this year.”
Sandin knows Carbery from Toronto, where Carbs was an assistant and the power play coach until taking the Caps job, and the defenseman knows his new head coach “is really good at bringing out the best in each individual while working together as a unit.”
The power play will be a big focus in DC this year, he admitted, and rightfully so.
“That’s a weapon to have, you know, that's one thing in a game that could really change it,” he said. “When you get that chance to go on the power play and you have a better chance to score, you want that as good as possible. It’s definitely one of the things we've been working a little bit on, just coming together as a unit and having all of us be on the same page of how we're gonna play and all of that.”
Take a listen to Sandin’s entire segment above, which also includes his thoughts on how the atmosphere will be at Cap One Arena tomorrow night, Ovi’s quest for the goal record, and more!
