Just Who Is That Masked Man?
Caps' Semin Still a Bit of an Unknown Quantity

By Tarik El-Bashir
Washington Post Staff Writer
Friday, October 5, 2007

Alexander Semin's ability to single-handedly change the outcome of a game was never in doubt after the Washington Capitals' second game last season. That night, Semin scored a hat trick on consecutive shots -- a ballistic blast from the blueline, a perfectly placed wrist shot from the circle and gimme from the goal line.

Semin's talent cannot be questioned. But for all of his breathtaking goals and imaginative passes, the 23-year-old Russian winger, who is crucial to the Capitals' hopes of ending a three-season playoff absence, remains a mystery to fans and his teammates, his young career marked by promise and controversy.

Under the "personal" section in his media guide bio, the following was written: "Last name is pronounced SEH-minh." That's it. Listed next to his 38 goals and 35 assists last season are 90 minutes in minor penalties, an abnormally high number for a player with his level of skill.

"He's a bit of an enigma," veteran goaltender Olie Kolzig said. "We don't really know too much about him. We know he's a talented kid. But not much else."

Semin remains a virtual unknown in his own locker room in part because his command of English remains limited. While his countryman and close friend Alex Ovechkin regularly holds court with reporters after games and practices, Semin looks on quietly as he removes his pads.

Isolated by culture and language, Semin has been reluctant to grant in-depth interviews to American reporters and only recently agreed to share some of his thoughts through an interpreter.

A Long Way From Home

Semin was raised in Krasnoyarsk, a large industrial city in southern Siberia, where the economy revolves around an aluminum factory and the winters are bitter. His father, Valeri, worked in the factory and his mother, Tatiana, was a bank teller. Their home was modest.

Semin's hockey career began at age 4, when his father, a former professional hockey player and youth coach, modified a pair of figure skates and put him on the ice.

Valeri never coached his son, at least not formally. Instead, he did so in the car after games and at the dinner table, tutoring him on the game's intricacies, the wrist shot in particular.

"Even when I played good, he was very critical," Alexander Semin said.

As a 17-year-old, he was selected to attend the renowned hockey school Traktor Chelyabinsk and spent the 2001-02 season splitting time between the club's junior and professional squads.

After one season with Chelyabinsk, he earned a spot on Lada Togliatti, one of the Russian Super League's premier teams. He had 10 goals and seven assists in 47 regular season games, and five goals and four assists in 10 playoff games.

Semin's stock began to rise in the eyes of NHL talent evaluators. And when Semin's name was still on the board at No. 13 during the 2002 entry draft, the Capitals wasted no time selecting him.

In September 2003, Semin arrived in Odenton, thousands of miles from his home town, for his first NHL training camp. Language and cultural barriers made the distance seem even farther.

As a rookie, he appeared in 52 games, amassing 10 goals and 12 assists. But on the last day of the regular season, Semin missed the team flight to Pittsburgh. He never made it to the game.

A week later, the Capitals sent him to Portland, Maine, then home of their top minor league affiliate, for the start of the American Hockey League playoffs.

"It was very tough," he said. "It was my first year in a foreign country. In Portland, it was even more difficult because no one spoke Russian. The language problem was very hard to overcome."

Then he smiled and said, "It was hard, but I didn't die."

During the NHL lockout that erased the next season, the Capitals wanted Semin to return to Portland to get some seasoning.

But Semin never showed up. Instead, he remained in his homeland, where he resumed playing for Lada Togliatti and earned significantly more than he would have in the AHL.

The Capitals were willing to put the episode behind them. But when Semin failed to arrive for training camp in September 2005 after initially telling club officials that he planned to return to Washington, the team sued him and his agent in U.S. District Court, alleging breach of contract.

So instead of building on his fine rookie campaign, he spent the 2005-06 season playing in Russia. The Capitals, meantime, traded for veteran Jeff Friesen to replace him. Friesen, though, wound up scoring three goals in an injury-plagued season, and the Capitals finished in last place in the Southeast Division for the second straight season.

Semin and his agent claimed he wasn't permitted to leave Russia because of military obligations, and the lawsuit later was thrown out of court. A judge ruled that the court did not have jurisdiction because he was serving in the military.

When pressed for his side of the story, Semin said: "There were people who didn't want me to leave. Right now, I want to put this in the past. I don't want to talk about who, when, why. It's in the past. I want to move forward."

'I'm Very Emotional'

In April 2006, both sides did. Semin signed to a two-year contract that expires after this season.

He didn't wait long to announce his return to the NHL. His hat trick in the Capitals' home opener last season, a 5-2 victory over the Carolina Hurricanes, served notice of his immense skill.

"He's the Capitals' secret weapon, because Ovechkin is obviously the one everyone focuses on, and for good reason," said Brian Engblom, a former NHL player and current television analyst for Versus. "Meanwhile, Semin is pretty darn good. He has such a quick release, and a great wrist shot. He's so quick with his hands."

Semin's wrist shot has been compared to Colorado's Joe Sakic, a future Hall of Famer, and Atlanta's Ilya Kovalchuk. Semin's speed, shifty skating style and slick stickhandling skills have been compared to Buffalo's Maxim Afinogenov.

"Even when I talk to guys [from other teams] in the summer, they can't believe his skill," Capitals captain Chris Clark said. "It's something they haven't seen before."

Semin's game, though, is far from flawless. Like many wingers who play his type of game, Semin's defense is lacking, and he has a penchant for taking lazy penalties. Last season, he racked up a league-high eight high-sticking infractions and 13 for hooking.

"Sometimes, it's the refereeing," Semin said. "You get hit in the head with a stick, and the other guy gets nothing. Then I pull someone's stick with my stick, and I get a penalty. I must get used to it."

What happened March 31 in Tampa had nothing to do with the officiating. But it left some of his teammates angry, and others shaking their heads in disbelief.

Angry when no penalty was called after he was checked from behind, Semin picked up the puck and threw it into the corner in protest. He earned a penalty for closing his hand on the puck, and the Lightning scored what turned out to be the game-winner on the ensuing power play.

Behind closed doors after the game, Semin received a stern lecture from the team's leaders.

Asked about the incident, he said: "I'm very emotional on the ice. I didn't think."

Kolzig said he hoped Semin learned an important lesson.

"We've all at some point in our career gone through some criticism we didn't appreciate, especially from our peers and our own teammates," Kozlig said yesterday. "We were trying to make him a better player."

About a month later, Semin's reputation took another hit when he was left off of Russia's world championship team after arriving 3 1/2 hours late for training camp. He was heartbroken.

Speaking With His Stick

Determined to redeem himself, Semin worked hard in the offseason to improve his conditioning and arrived for training camp last month focused and in top condition.

Expectations for both the Capitals and Semin are considerably higher after an offseason spending spree that landed three veteran free agents.

To accommodate the new players, Semin has been moved from left wing to right wing and is expected to start the season skating with rookie Nicklas Backstrom and playmaking center Michael Nylander, who racked up 83 points while serving as Jaromir Jagr's setup man for the New York Rangers last season. If Semin and Nylander mesh, Semin's offensive numbers could spike.

"We are still learning to play together, so the results aren't so good right now," said Semin, who will miss tonight's season opener because of a sprained ankle. "But it will improve."

Ovechkin, Semin's confidant and roommate on the road, said: "If he needs to say something, he asks me or [Viktor] Kozlov. He's getting better. If he learns English, it will be better for him. But he tries. I see it, everyone see it."

Semin maintains his comfort zone by surrounding himself with friends and family; his parents are living with him in his Arlington townhouse. His mother prepares Russian meals for him and tends to his errands so he can focus on his job.

Away from hockey, he spends much of his time with Ovechkin, catching a movie, shopping, bowling or talking cars. Both players drive top-of-the-line Mercedes sports sedans.

After games, Semin dresses quickly and slips out of the locker room, leaving Ovechkin to absorb the spotlight.

"I don't think he has any interest in being understood," Capitals Coach Glen Hanlon said. "He's not any different than I am in that regard. We don't care what other people say or write about us. We know what we do. That's why I like him. He likes being under the radar."