Over the weekend, reader Donya noticed that the bio photos for the 2017-18 Capitals team were published. 21 players are included in this initial batch. NHL rosters can include up to 23 players.

In terms of secured roster spots, there may not be anything to read into here, but let’s break down a few interesting additions to this year’s team anyway.

Forwards Nathan Walker, Chandler Stephenson, and Alex Chiasson, who is at Caps camp on a professional try out, are all included while Devante Smith-Pelly is not. On defense, Aaron Ness, who has played 10 games over the last two seasons with the Caps, is the sole newcomer to this year’s team.

The bio photos of Nicklas Backstrom (angelic), Jay Beagle (big grin), Andre Burakovsky (confused), and Alex Ovechkin (Beardy McBeardson) are all highlights.

Nicklas Backstrom

Jay Beagle

Andre Burakovsky

John Carlson

Alex Chiasson

Taylor Chorney

Brett Connolly

Lars Eller

Philipp Grubauer

Braden Holtby

Evgeny Kuznetsov

Aaron Ness

Matt Niskanen

Dmitry Orlov

Brooks Orpik

TJ Oshie

Alex Ovechkin

Chandler Stephenson

Jakub Vrana

Nathan Walker

Tom Wilson

Capitals’ team photographer Patrick McDermott took these photos.

Which bio photos are your favorites?

Headline photo: @Capitals