The speed, Sam Carrier said, was the biggest obstacle, but it didn’t take long for the young defenseman to find his bearings.

“It is way faster than juniors, harder passes, harder shots, faster execution,” Carrier said from the Washington Capitals’ rookie camp Wednesday, but I think it only took a day and I was fine.”

Carrier, an 18-year-old defenseman for the Lewiston Maineiacs, is participating in his first rookie camp with the Capitals, who drafted the blueliner in last June’s NHL entry draft in the sixth round (176th overall). He’s one a several QMJHL players at that camp, and one of six Lewiston skaters away from the team at an NHL camp right now.

“They have a bunch of really good prospects here including (Stanislav) Galiev and (Dmitri) Kugryshev, who played in the Q, but I belong in that group,” Carrier said emphatically.

Some NHL squads enter their rookie teams into tournaments. The Capitals did not this season. Carrier and the Capitals’ rookies have instead been participating in intrasquad skates and drills all week.

“It is really hard because they want to see how we trained this summer, but I did good,” Carrier said.

The team will skate in its first rookie squad game Thursday night against the Philadelphia Flyers’ rookies, and Carrier will skate against a current Maineiacs’ teammate, Michael Chaput. According to Carrier, Chaput will play, but Matthew Bissonnette, who is also in Flyers camp with Chaput, will not.

“It will be an awesome feeling,” Carrier said. “Just in the warmup, to look on the other side of the ice and to see the Philly jersey and Chaput, it will be an awesome experience.”

Thursday will also be a chance to audition. Only so many rookies and draft picks will be invited to the Capitals’ main camp. Carrier is hoping to be one of them.

“It is tough to know (what they will do),” Carrier said. “I don’t know how many rookies are going go to the main camp, but I certainly hope they will keep me longer.”

Stay or return to Lewiston, though, the main goal, Carrier said, is to show Washington he is moving forward in his development, as a player and as a person.

“It is important to show the Capitals that I am progressing,” Carrier said. “I want to show them I can be an NHL player in the future so they can give me a contract. And for sure it is pride to go to those camps. It is a boost of confidence, as well.”