With the 151st overall pick of the 2017 NHL Draft, the Washington Capitals have selected
The second day of the 2017 NHL Draft is an important one for the Washington Capitals. With four picks on Saturday, those are the lone picks they have going into the draft. They have already used their first one to draft promising Swiss defenseman Tobias Gessier with the 120th overall pick. With their fifth round pick, the 151st overall pick, the Capitals have selected Swedish defenseman Sebastian Walfridsson.
Caps selects Swedish left-shot D Sebastian Walfridsson.
— Isabelle Khurshudyan (@ikhurshudyan) June 24, 2017
Washington Capitals
It appears Washington is addressing their lack of blue line depth in their prospect pool. Even after selecting Jonas Siegenthaler in 2015 and Lucas Johansen in 2016, looking at the Hershey Bears roster, there’s not much in the system in terms of blue line prospects. Walfridsson is 6’0″ and 194 pounds. ISS Hockey has him ranked at 67th while NHL Central Scouting has him 116th among European Skaters.
Interestingly, the Capitals have been targeting European skaters more with general manager Brian MacLellan. Second straight round he has gone with an overseas defenseman. Judging by his point totals, Walfridsson seems to be more of a stay at home defenseman.
This appears to be more of a safe pick than a risky one. While drafting players with very high upside (such as Gessier) is important, you have to even them out with some high floor low ceiling guys. Walfridsson should prove to be a quality depth defenseman. If his offense improves, he could become a serviceable third pairing defenseman.
Next: 3 potential late round steals
Washington’s next selection will be in the sixth round, the 182nd pick overall.