Washington Capitals: 15 All-Time Best Draft Picks
Ilya Samsonov
Ilya Samsonov was dubbed “goaltender of the future” when the Capitals selected him with the 22nd pick. He was coming up from the Russian hockey league known as the Kontinental Hockey League (KHL) for the Metallurg Magnitogorsk where he remained the next three seasons before signing a three-year, entry-level deal with the Capitals following the 2017-18 campaign.
Samsonov became a mainstay in Hershey’s net (Washington’s AHL affiliate) last season, backstopping the Bears to a 20-14-2 record with an 89.8% save percentage and a 2.70 goals-against average. He even earned a callup as insurance on Nov. 16, 2018 in a game against the Colorado Avalanche, serving as a backup to Pheonix Copley when Braden Holtby suffered an upper-body injury.
It’s too early to tell if Samsonov was the right pick but with the inevitable Seattle expansion draft next summer, the Capitals have to make a decision on whether to protect or expose either Holtby or Copley. But the numbers he’s shown coming up the ranks says a lot about the goaltending depth in the organization.
Braden Holtby
Braden Holtby was the biggest draft steal in the history of Capitals drafts and that’s no bias if the NHL said it themselves.
Holtby is the only non first rounder on this post for a reason. He was taken in the fourth at 93rd in 2008 and made his debut on Nov. 5 2010 against the Bruins as a backup to then-starting goalie Michal Neuvirth. Two days later, Holtby earned his first win against the pre-Gritty, Philadelphia Flyers with 23 saves on 25 shots and a .920 save percentage.
The goaltending situation was shaky in Washington at the time and this early stage of the “Rock the Red” era featured all the offense a high scoring fan could want. Despite this, Holtby earned his stripes in a seven-game first round upset over the Bruins.
In that series, Holtby had a .940 save percentage and stopped 233 of the 248 shots he faced. Additionally, Holtby stoped 31 of 32 in the Game 7 clincher and kept the Capitals in the game to set the scene for Joel Ward’s overtime heroics.
Holtby won back-to-back Vezina Trophies with the best record in the NHL in 2016 and 17 with 48 and 42 wins, respectively.
Holtby struggled the next season but after an emotional reset he backstopped the Capitals all the way to the Stanley Cup in 2018 with a 2.16 GAA and a .922 save percentage. He even made the most epic save imaginable that helped catapult the the Capitals the rest of the way to the prize.
No matter what happens in the Seattle expansion draft next summer, Holtby will always be remembered for this in Washington.
Olaf Kolzig
Olaf Kolzig, also known around Washington as “Olie the Goalie” or “Godzilla”, was taken at the 19th pick in the 1989 draft. He saw a little bit of time during the following seasons before spending the next few stints in the minors.
He finally got his NHL call in 1995-96 as a backup recall to starting netminder Jim Carey. He remained a backup the following season when the team acquired Bill Ranford from the Boston Bruins before he suffered an injury on opening night of the 1997-98 season and never looked back.
Kolzig finished that campaign with a 33-18-10 mark in 63 games with a GAA of 2.20 and a save percentage of .920. He carried that strong season into the playoffs backstopping an unprecedented run at the time to the Stanley Cup Final, a franchise first.
Kolzig had a down year the next season but rebounded in the 1999-2000 campaign where he won the Vezina Trophy with a monster 41-20-11 season.
Kolzig was a part of the Capitals during a young Alexander Ovechkin rookie and sophomore campaign before being traded at the deadline in Feb. 2008 for Cristobal Huet. Despite this, he still remained a vital part of the Capitals organization in the future coming back as a stint at associate goaltender coach in 2011 before the role expanded to professional development coach.
Kolzig gave a lot to this organization and it’s only fitting his name is engraved on the 2018 Stanley Cup.