The Washington Capitals used their fifth pick of the 2021 NHL Draft on a defenseman, the fourth time overall they decided to draft a blueliner. Dru Krebs is a left handed defenseman who’s listed as five foot 11 inches and 182 pounds. Last season he had 11 assists in 23 games with the Medicine Hat Tigers of the WHL.
The 18 year old’s 11 assists ranked fourth among all Medicine Hat players this season. Krebs nearly equaled his point total from the 2019-20 season in 31 fewer games played with 13 points with three goals and 10 assists. The Okotoks, Alberta, native also played one game with the Okotoks Oilers of the Alberta Junior Hockey League (AJHL).
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Here’s what Elite Prospects had to say about Krebs:
"Krebs’ dimension is transition, starting with his skating. He’s more skilled than mechanically-sound, lacking depth, but having a separation gear in the WHL and evasiveness from mohawks, punch turns, and fake pivots/cutbacks. Those skills bring inherent deceptiveness, which he increases with look-offs to mask his intended pass recipient."
The defenseman won’t be scoring a lot of goals but he hopes to one day be a shutdown defender in the NHL like his other three peers that were also selected by Washington with an eye on the future blue line.
Krebs is the younger brother of Vegas Golden Knights forward Peyton Krebs. He evens out the defensemen selections as the Caps took both two righties and two lefties. His selection also marks 10 players from the WHL the Caps have taken in their last four draft classes. His brother was a first round selection in 2019 by the Golden Knights at 17th overall.
Krebs is the 142nd ranked North American skater by NHL Central Scouting. The Caps had one more pick in the draft, also in the sixth round, at 183rd overall. We’ll tell you in a moment who they took.
Grade B-: We give this grade a B- since we still aren’t sure why the Caps are loading up on defensemen.