Washington Capitals: Top 8 prospects worth getting excited about
Here is a look at the Top 8 Prospects in the Washington Capitals system.
For many years, the Washington Capitals, led by Alex Ovechkin, were considered a great regular-season team who didn’t have what it took to win a Stanley Cup, and for good reason. Through his first 12 seasons in the league, he and his teammates over that time had failed to advance past the second round of the Playoffs. Thankfully, that all changed in 2018 when Ovechkin led the Capitals to their first ever Stanley Cup Championship.
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The last two years however, the Capitals have gone back to what they were previously. They have once again been great in the regular-season, but have had no postseason success. While they will certainly have another shot at a Stanley Cup this year, Ovechkin is now 35-years-old, making it fair to question how much longer he will be one of the league’s top players.
Due to the Capitals being in win-now mode for the last decade, they have traded many prospects over the years in order to help their current roster. As a result, they have one of the weaker prospect pools in the entire NHL, meaning that whenever players like Ovechkin and Nicklas Backstrom do fall off, this is a team who could struggle for a few seasons. Still, despite not having a strong pipeline of prospects, they do have a few gems, one in particular who could become a great NHL talent very soon.
As mentioned in every other Top 8 Prospects articles throughout this series, any player who has played in more NHL games than any other league in a season, regardless of the season, will not be included. (Exception has been made for the 2020-21 season, given that many leagues, including the AHL, have yet to play any games).
Here are the Top 8 Prospects in the Washington Capitals system:
8. Garrett Pilon
Garrett Pilon, who was drafted by the Washington Capitals in the Third-Round (No. 87 overall) of the 2016 NHL Entry Draft, had a pretty successful second season with the Hershey Bears in the AHL in 2019-20. After a rookie season where he had 10 goals and 33 points in 71 games, the 22-year-old forward was able to improve those totals to 18 goals and 36 points despite playing in just 61 contests.
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Pilon’s 18 goals last season was the third highest total amongst his teammates, while his 36 points was just eight shy of the team lead. He proved during his three seasons in the WHL that he is very offensively talented, so it comes as little surprise to see him branching out in the AHL. He will look to once again build on those totals with the Bears this season in hopes of catching the attention of Capitals management ahead of the 2021-22 Training Camp.
7. Aliaksei Protas
When the Capitals selected Aliaksei Protas in the Third-Round (No. 91 overall) at the 2019 NHL Entry Draft, there was not much hype surrounding the pick. The Belarusian forward was coming off his rookie season in the WHL with the Prince Albert Raiders in which he posted a modest 11 goals and 40 points in 61 games. However, it is likely that his 23 points in 22 Playoff games that year is what caught the Capitals attention, and he has since proved that the offensive outburst was no fluke.
Last season, Protas went off with the Raiders, scoring 31 goals and 80 points in just 59 regular-season games, both of which led his team. On top of those impressive numbers, he also recorded a plus/minus rating of +37. Given that the WHL has yet to start this season due to the pandemic, Protas is currently playing for Minsk Dynamo in the KHL where he has 13 points in 46 games. While he is still years away from being a finished product, he has a very high ceiling given his talent.
6. Damien Riat
One of the least talked about prospects in the Washington Capitals system is Damien Riat, but that may soon change. The 23-year-old forward was taken in the Fourth-Round (No. 117 overall) of the 2016 NHL Entry Draft, after his rookie season in the Swiss National League where he posted nine goals and 21 points in 45 games. He has remained in Switzerland since, and is currently playing in his sixth season in the league.
The 2019-20 season was Riat’s best in terms of points per game since playing in the NL, registering 11 goals and 22 points in 36 games. While those are solid totals, they aren’t enough to garner much NHL attention. This season, however, he is starting to make some noise. In just 20 games played, he has seven goals and 18 points, which has started to turn some heads. Given that he had signed an Entry-Level Contract last March, he was expected to head over to North America this season, though the pandemic has put those plans on hold. As of now, he remains in Switzerland, where he will likely stay for the remainder of the 2020-21 season. He will more than likely play in the AHL for the start of the 2021-22 season however, where the organization will get to see how his skill level translates.
5. Alexander Alexeyev
As of now, the Capitals appear to have made a pretty good selection with the last pick in the First-Round (No. 31 overall) at the 2018 NHL Entry Draft when they grabbed Alexander Alexeyev. At the time, the Russian defenseman was coming off a season with the Red Deer Rebels in the WHL where he had seven goals and 37 points in 45 matches. He then returned to the Rebels for one more season where he slightly increased his offensive totals to 10 goals and 43 points in 49 games.
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The now 21-year-old Alexeyev spent the entire 2019-20 season with the Hershey Bears. Considering he was a rookie 20-year-old defenseman at the time, he played quite well, putting up 21 points in 58 games. Thankfully, this season he has not been forced to wait around for hockey to start, as he was loaned to Ufa Salavat Yulayev in the KHL. In 45 games this season, he has seven goals and 14 points. Though he still needs time to continue developing, it wouldn’t come as a surprise to see him get some NHL games in during the 2021-22 season.
4. Martin Fehervary
When the Washington Capitals drafted Martin Fehervary in the Second-Round (No. 46 overall) at the 2018 NHL Entry Draft, not much was known about him. At the time he was drafted, he had just finished his first season in the Allsvenskan, which is the second highest league in Sweden. He went on to play the following season in the SHL for HV71 Jonkoping, where he had just seven points in 45 contests.
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Given his modest totals during his last few seasons in Sweden before heading overseas, there was not a lot of hype surrounding Fehervary. That all changed last season however. Though the now 21-year-old spent most of the season with the Hershey Bears in the AHL, he received his first ever NHL call up in February. As a result, he suited up for six regular season games with the Capitals, where he chipped in with one assist. His play clearly impressed management as he appeared in two of their postseason contests. While he is set to play for the Bears again for the 2020-21 season, he may have a shot to become a full time NHLer in 2021-22.
3. Vitek Vanecek
The Capitals likely didn’t envision it taking as long as it has for Vitek Vanecek to develop when they grabbed him with the 39th pick at the 2014 NHL Entry Draft, but it appears he has finally arrived. The 25-year-old goaltender has spent the past five seasons developing, mainly with the Hershey Bears. The 2019-20 season was his personal best as a pro, as he posted a 2.26 goals against average (GAA) and a .917 save percentage (SV%) in 31-games played.
While it was certainly deserved given his success last season, it came as somewhat of a surprise when the Washington Capitals announced this season they were keeping Vanecek for the 2020-21 season to back up Ilya Samsonov. Though it’s early, it looks like a great decision so far. He has played in four games to Samsonov’s two due to the latter testing positive for COVID-19, and he has risen to the challenge so far, posting a 2.87 GAA along with a 912 SV% and a 2-0-2 record.
2. Hendrix Lapierre
One of the most exciting prospects the Washington Capitals have in their system is Hendrix Lapierre, who they selected 22nd overall at the 2020 NHL Entry Draft. Unfortunately, the 18-year-old forward was limited to just 19 games during the 2019-20 season, but showed his skill when he was in the lineup with 17 points. The season prior, he had 45 points in 48 games as a rookie with the Chicoutimi Sagueneens.
There is no questioning the talent level of Lapierre, but his injury past causes concern. The reason Lapierre fell as far as he did in the 2020 Draft is due to a history of concussion and neck issues, which kept him out of the lineup for long chunks in both the 2018-19 and 2019-20 seasons. He has said the issues are a thing of the past and that he is completely healthy, which the Capitals will hope to be true. He was able to play five games with Chicoutimi before the season was paused, posting eight points (3 G, 5 A).
1. Connor McMichael
At the 2019 NHL Entry Draft, the Capitals were able to grab highly talented forward Connor McMichael with the 25th overall pick. To put it simply, the 20-year-old is a goal scoring machine. During his draft year, he put up 36 goals and 72 points in 67 games with the London Knights of the OHL. He followed that up with an even better 2019-20 season in which he scored 47 goals and 102 points in just 52 contests.
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McMichael has become a pretty well known player given his performances at both the 2020 and 2021 World Junior Tournaments where he has represented Team Canada. He helped Canada capture gold in 2020, registering five goals and seven points in seven games.
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Though Canada was unable to win Gold for a second straight year in 2021, McMichael impressed again with four goals and eight points in seven games. He played in his first ever NHL game with the Washington Capitals this past Sunday, but will likely be sent to the Bears to get more minutes once the AHL season begins.