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Washington Capitals: 2018 Draft about stocking depth

By Ron Juckett

DALLAS, TX - JUNE 21: (L-R) 2018 NHL Draft top prospects Adam Boqvist of Sweden, Evan Bouchard of Canada, Noah Dobson of Canada, Quintin Hughes, Filip Zadina of Czech Republic, Brady Tkachuk, Andrei Svechnikov of Russia and Rasmus Dahlin of Sweden pose for a group photo while visiting Reunion Tower during the Top Prospects Media Availability as part of the 2018 NHL Entry Draft on June 21, 2018 in Dallas, Texas. (Photo by Glenn James/NHLI via Getty Images)
DALLAS, TX - JUNE 21: (L-R) 2018 NHL Draft top prospects Adam Boqvist of Sweden, Evan Bouchard of Canada, Noah Dobson of Canada, Quintin Hughes, Filip Zadina of Czech Republic, Brady Tkachuk, Andrei Svechnikov of Russia and Rasmus Dahlin of Sweden pose for a group photo while visiting Reunion Tower during the Top Prospects Media Availability as part of the 2018 NHL Entry Draft on June 21, 2018 in Dallas, Texas. (Photo by Glenn James/NHLI via Getty Images) /
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Starting Friday night, the Washington Capitals have seven picks in this year’s NHL Draft. Where will they got picking 31st? Any trades coming?

The first major step of the off-season happens Friday night in Dallas as the Washington Capitals own the 31st, and last, first-round pick in the 2018 NHL Draft.

On Saturday morning, the draft resumes with rounds two through seen. The Caps have selections in most rounds. But, they own the 15th pick in Round 2 and have no choice in Round 5. Montreal has Washington’s second-round regular selection while the Minnesota Wild own the fifth-rounder.

In Rounds 3, 4, 6 and 7, they have the last pick.

As the brain trusts settles in for a long weekend in Dallas, Washington has the hard task of re-stocking their system with the tough task of finding diamonds in the rough. Those are the breaks for winning the Stanley Cup; a nice perk to have.

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Watch for the Caps to go with forwards early. They have good defensive depth in AHL Hershey and ECHL South Carolina. Center Ty Dellandrea from Flint in the Ontario Hockey League and right-winger Kirill Marchenko from Russia are The Athletic’s mock picks for the first round. Rogers Sportsnet agrees with Marchenko.

Bet your bottom dollar one mid-round projected choice will fall down the ranks and be there for Washington. If, for some reason, left-winger Joel Farabee or right-wing Vitaly Kravtsov fall, those are the players with good value the Caps would love at the 31st pick.

Forward Akil Thomas is worth watching. He can play center and the wings and might still be on the board by the end of the night.

The other story to watch for on Friday is Philipp Grubauer. Washington is shopping the goalie around and could dangle him for a higher first-round pick. Although no team is projected to draft a goalie on night one, teams struggling on defense may see what the cost is on a Grubauer package.

The Caps are not grabbing a lottery pick for him, but another second-rounder is a possibility and maybe a fifth too.

The bulk of the action is on Saturday when the rest of the draft happens. Again, forwards early followed by the best talent on the board toward the end. This year is stockpiling depth, not finding players making an immediate impact.

Round 1 is on NBCSN Friday at 7:30 ET. Saturday’s conclusion starts at 11:00 AM on NHL Network.

Next: Caps sked offers road map for repeat

Without a named head coach, and with John Carlson’s future unresolved, the Washington Capitals go into the draft with more unresolved questions than answers. But, those are for another night. The next two days are about the future, not the present.

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