Washington Capitals: Grading The 2009 NHL Draft
Washington Capitals Second Round Pick: Dmitry Orlov
Photo credit: Tori Hartman
Dmitry Orlov was selected by the Washington Capitals in the second round with the 55th overall pick. People thought that the Caps found a bargain there, as he was ranked as the ninth best European skater. However, in hindsight, perhaps that wasn’t the case. This is largely due to injuries, but Orlov has not produced like the Caps had hoped that he would. He’s played in just 119 NHL games and has 31 points. It’s hard to call Orlov a bust because the main reasons that he hasn’t produced at the NHL level are injuries and two idiot head coaches who didn’t utilize him as well as they could have (Dale Hunter and Adam Oates).
More from Capitals News
- Breaking down the Rookie Camp roster
- Hear what Magic Johnson said about Alex Ovechkin
- Capitals announce Rookie Camp schedule
- Breaking down the 2023-24 Capitals national TV schedule
- Capitals Alumni Weekend is coming back
In hindsight, the Washington Capitals could have drafted one of two forwards that were drafted within five picks after Orlov: Brandon Pirri or Tomas Tatar. Either one of the two would have been better picks than Orlov. However, it’s worth noting again that it’s very difficult for me to blame the Washington Capitals for drafting Orlov. He’s an extremely talented defenseman who can’t seem to catch a break. Hopefully Orlov can have a healthy year and make me look silly for writing this.
HINDSIGHT PICK: I would love to have someone with Pirri’s extremely funny stat line of 22 goals and two assists in 2014-2015, but Tatar is one of my favorite non-Caps, so I’ve got to go with Tatar.
GRADE: C+. I can at least understand the logic behind the pick. If Orlov wasn’t a victim of circumstances beyond his control, this wouldn’t look like a bad pick at all.
Next: Third Round Pick: Cody Eakin