The Washington Capitals have given Brooks Orpik a job in their player development department, where he’ll work primarily with defensemen with the AHL affiliate Hershey Bears.
“As a member of our team, Brooks was a tremendous leader and a great role model for our young players,” general manager Brian MacLellan said in a statement. “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.”
Orpik announced his retirement in June after a 16-year NHL career as a blueliner for the Pittsburgh Penguins and the Capitals. He played in 1,035 regular season games and 156 postseason games, and he won a Stanley Cup with both Pittsburgh and Washington.
Even the week he retired, Orpik was still spending time around the Capitals’ practice facility, meeting and giving advice to the young prospects there for Washington’s annual development camp.
Just a few months later, Orpik is back with the team to continue doing what those who know him say he does best.
“The thing with Brooks Orpik is I don’t have to ask him to talk to anybody. He just does it and that’s who he is,” coach Todd Reirden said in June. “I’ve seen him in more conversations, whether it was last year, the year before, the 10 years I’ve known him — he always has had the desire to grab, in particular, a young defenseman and talk to him.”
• Adam Zielonka can be reached at azielonka@washingtontimes.com.
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