Nothing guaranteed for Caps’ Varlamov

The participants in this week’s rookie camp for the Washington Capitals are using an auxiliary dressing room at Kettler Capitals Iceplex, and it is hard to walk in there and not feel that Semyon Varlamov is out of place.

Yes, he is only 21 years old and still a rookie by NHL standards, but he also is the only guy in the room who has 13 NHL postseason war stories to tell.

“You can get into games, but when you are in playoff games with a team, you just become more part of the team,” Caps captain Chris Clark said. “When you get into that level - and he played so well - he definitely feels like one of us.”

For about three weeks in April, there was no bigger surprise in the 2009 Stanley Cup playoffs than the fresh-faced kid from Samara, Russia, who helped rescue the Caps from a 3-1 series deficit against the New York Rangers and delivered them to a seventh game against Pittsburgh despite being outplayed by the soon-to-be league champs.

Now it is time for an encore, but success this year is far from guaranteed. First, he must beat out Calder Cup playoffs MVP Michal Neuvirth just for a spot on the opening night roster. Second, his coach already has deemed the man he replaced in April, veteran Jose Theodore, the No. 1 goaltender when training camp commences.

“It is not like Joe Sakic who did it for 15 years in a row and you know what you’re getting,” Caps coach Bruce Boudreau said. “He’s done it for 13 games, and we loved it, and we think he’s going to be great, but if throw all your eggs in that basket right off the bat and it is not so, then you’re in trouble.”

Added Varlamov via an interpreter: “I took [the news] really well and calm. I know he is No. 1 right now and I am No. 2. What I need to do is play really well and earn that spot, that top spot during preseason games. Bruce told me last year when the season was over that I would have to earn it, and I am ready for it.”

There is plenty of recent precedent to warrant Boudreau’s trepidation about making his goalie of the future the unquestioned netminder of the present. More young goalies are making an impact in the NHL than ever before, but for every high-profile rookie who progressed seamlessly, there is one who slumped in his second go-round.

Varlamov was compared to Cam Ward during the postseason because the Carolina goalie had led his team to a Stanley Cup in 2006 as a rookie despite not being the starter when the playoffs began. The Hurricanes let Martin Gerber leave via free agency, but Ward followed his Conn Smythe-winning performance with a mediocre year, and his team failed to reach the playoffs.

In 2008, Carey Price steered his Montreal Canadiens into the second round of the postseason at age 20. Montreal didn’t add a veteran to replace Cristobal Huet and made Price the franchise netminder. His play also slipped in his second season, and now that franchise label is in question.

Of the increased preseason expectations for Varlamov, Boudreau responded: “I think people said the same things about Carey Price, so you have to be aware. There have been a lot of second-year goalies who didn’t have the same kind of year in their second year. There’s been a lot of them, and they end up being good goalies, but it isn’t easy.”

In other words, not trading Theodore to clear the path for Varlamov might prove to be an astute decision by Caps general manager George McPhee. Another might be the addition of Arturs Irbe, a Russian-speaking goaltender coach who can help bridge the language barrier.

“This is a huge positive for me because I understand him 100 percent,” Varlamov said. “I understand him really well from Day One, and we’ve got a good connection going. He gives me advice on every shot and save I have to make, so it is really good.”

To be counted on again next April, Varlamov also must ease concerns about his durability. While he correctly pointed out that his coach with Yaroslavl put him in net 60 times two seasons ago between the regular season and playoffs, the Caps didn’t let him play back-to-back games for either Hershey or Washington until Games 4 and 5 of the series against Pittsburgh.

Also, part of the reason he was such a surprise may have been the time he missed with multiple injuries - he would have played more than six NHL regular-season games had he been healthy.

“I do exercises on my lower body after every practice to make sure that I avoid those types of injuries,” Varlamov said. “I think I am much stronger comparing to last year physically. Right now I know how to get myself ready for games. Maybe last year I didn’t really know how to get myself ready, but now I am better at that.”