Caps’ bid rejected in court

The Washington Capitals have lost round one in their attempt to force left wing Alexander Semin to fulfill his contractual obligation to the club.

The U.S. District Court in Washington yesterday did not grant the Caps’ request for a preliminary injunction against Semin and his agent, Mark Gandler and International Sports Advisors Inc. The injunction sought to prevent the agent from dealing with Semin in continuing what the Caps maintain are illegal dealings because the player is under contract to the team for another two years.

“Issuance of a preliminary injunction required the Capitals to prove a ’substantial likelihood of success on the merits,’ ” according to a statement from the team. “The court concluded that there were enough issues involved in the case, such as the potential for arbitration under the NHL-NHLPA collective bargaining agreement, that it could not issue a preliminary injunction.”

Said general manager George McPhee: “Nothing in the court’s decision changes the fact that we have a valid NHL contract with [Semin]. We will not cease in our efforts to have the contract honored and Semin in our lineup.”

Meanwhile, one recent Caps draft choice has been named to the U.S. national junior team, and two others were invited to the final tryout camp for spots on the Canadian national junior team.

Chris Bourque, taken 33rd overall in the 2004 draft and now a forward with Hershey in the American Hockey League, will be one of 22 players representing the United States at the 2006 IIHF World Junior Hockey Championships in British Columbia later this month.

The 5-foot-8, 175-pound Bourque, 19, has four goals and 13 points in 16 games for Hershey. He is the only pro player on the roster, which includes mainly players from U.S. colleges. Bourque, a native of Revere, Mass., was on the U.S. world junior team last year.

Defensemen Sasha Pokulok and Jeff Schultz have been invited to the selection camp for the Canadian junior team. They are two of 34 players invited to the camp, 12 of them defensemen.

Pokulok, 19, is 6-5, 220 pounds and a sophomore at Cornell, which is ranked 13th nationally. He is a native of Montreal and was taken 14th by the Caps in 2005.

Schultz, also 19, is with the Calgary Hitmen of the Western Hockey League in his hometown. He is 6-6, 215 pounds and was taken 27th overall in the 2004 draft.