Washington Capitals trade up once more; draft Martin Has at 153rd overall

The Washington Capitals traded up for the second time on the second day of the draft, this time into the fifth round to select defender Martin Has at 153rd overall.

Washington traded its seventh round pick this year (211th) and a 7th round pick next year for the 6-foot-4, 192 pound right-handed defender.

Has played his 2018-19 season mostly as a member of Tappara U20 in Jr. A SM-liiga in Finland, where he scored nine goals and seven assists in 37 games. He had 38 penalty minutes and was a minus one.

He’s Czech, and played for the U18 team at the World Junior Classic where he scored one goal, one assist and had six penalty minutes in five games.

He played 23 games for the Czech Republic U18 and 20 teams international, registering six goals and five assists in 18 games.

At 6-foot-4, Has possesses the size to be able to build into his frame at the NHL level. Corey Pronman of The Athletic placed him 101 out of 107 ranked skaters on his NHL Draft Big Board.

“He’s a 6-foot-4 defenseman who can move the puck,” Pronman’s story said. “He has above-average IQ and some power play QB ability. His skating isn’t a selling point. I know some scouts who call him slow. I disagree. I think it projects as pro-average. He has some elusiveness and can close on checks but won’t be a blazer.

He also noted how coaches and scouts weren’t pleased or optimistic about his trajectory as a player.

Has was ranked 38th by NHL Central Scouting for European skaters on their list of draft eligible prospects.

The move should be the end of the NHL Draft weekend for the Capitals, who made a busy day out of the second day of the weekend despite having just four picks to start with.

With three drafted forwards in the fold, and now a right-handed shot, Has should fill a bottom half of the prospect pool with some depth in a unit that lacks right-handers.