Washington Capitals: Way too early predictions for Ilya Samsonov

Early predictions for Washington Capitals goalie Ilya Samsonov.

There will be a new starting goalie with the Washington Capitals this season or a familiar face that’s already stepping into the role. After a solid rookie season, Ilya Samsonov is ready for that role. So what would a good season look like?

Last season Samsonov played in 26 games while getting 22 starts. His record was 16-6-2 with a 2.55 goals against average and a .913 save percentage. Slightly better numbers than a struggling Braden Holtby who is now with the Vancouver Canucks.

Holtby didn’t quite see himself as a mentor to the rookie last season, not to say Holtby didn’t care but he was just focused on helping the Caps win games. What Samsonov will get this upcoming season is a solid mentor in Henrik Lundqvist.

More from Editorials

• Alex Ovechkin will score 50 goals in 2023-24
• It’s time for Capitals fans to chill out with the Anthony Mantha hate
• The Capitals Have Several Potentially Bad Contracts
• Nic Dowd looks to show reliability
• Dylan Strome’s Contract Could Be A Steal For The Capitals

Samsonov’s rookie season ended early due to an ATV accident in Russia and he didn’t get any playoff action as he remained in Washington while the team was in the bubble. He has since been back on the ice, however, gearing up for the season in the team’s informal optional skates at MedStar Capitals Iceplex.

So what would a good season look like for Samsonov? For this exercise, we’ll assume the NHL will go with a 48 game season. Say he gets 28 starts while Lundqvist gets 20. We predict, or at least I predict, Samsonov won’t be going through a sophomore slump.

His numbers will be similar to his rookie season. His record will be 18-6-4 while his goals against average drops to 2.50 while his save percentage increases to .917. That’s a good season, maybe good enough for a Vezina depending on how the rest of the league plays out.

It’s crazy to think we’ve made it to this day where we’re talking about Samsonov being the starting goalie. It seems like it was yesterday when the team drafted him in the first round at 22nd overall in 2015. Were they planning ahead to when Holtby’s contract would run out?

I don’t think it was like that. Samsonov still had to prove himself and he did just that in both the KHL and the AHL. Last season he had to battle it out for the backup spot with Pheonix Copley, who was a backup with the Caps a season ago. He beat out Copley for that spot and he hasn’t looked back.

Samsonov was the future. Now, the future is here and Sammy will take his place in net on opening night.