Washington Capitals: Top 5 players to watch this preseason

Washington Capitals preseason hockey is underway.

With one game under their belt and five more games to go, there are several Washington Capitals players worth keeping an eye on as each player tries to make a spot on the roster.

The Capitals preseason roster is massive and divided into three groups. One group will get to play in the game that night while the other two will scrimmage each other. It’s on a rotating basis as the Capitals will try to trim the roster before opening night.

The roster will likely begin to shrink during the team’s scheduled off day on Thursday. We should know the first round of roster cuts by the start of the weekend. All of Washington’s draft picks from the last few seasons as well as some stars on the Hershey Bears will be players you’ll see over the next two weeks.

In the grand scheme of things, these six games do not matter in the standings, however, for young prospects chomping at the bit to make an NHL roster the preseason means everything.

The Capitals have to make decisions on not just who to include in their roster but how to get under the salary cap. Here are the five players to watch.

#5 Joe Snively

Joe Snively is the local prospect that will be highlighted throughout the preseason. He’s a smart kid, having studied at Yale and he’ll look to be one of the former Ivy League players looking to make an impact at the NHL level.

Snively grew up in local Herndon, VA and had the same dentist as Alex Ovechkin. At one point inside the waiting room, the two hockey players encountered each other and Snively got Ovechkin to sign his hockey gloves.

Snively made his Capitals debut in Monday’s preseason game against the Chicago Blackhawks. He assisted on Washington’s third goal of the game scored by Aliaksei Protas.

https://twitter.com/Capitals/status/1173754539738112000

Last season with Yale, Snively recorded 36 points (15 goals, 21 assists) including an NCAA career-high five goals on the power play. He led Yale in points in all four years of his college career and finished with 58 goals and 81 assists for 139 points in 129 college games. His efforts was rewarded by the NCAA by receiving a nomination for the Hobey Baker Award as the top college player in the country.

The Capitals signed him back in mid-March following his senior year and he immediately went to Hershey to further his development. Snively appeared in nine games with the Bears to close out the season and added seven points (2 goals, 5 assists).

#4 Connor McMichael

The top Washington Capitals draft pick of the summer is going to get a lot of eyes on him during the preseason and for good reason. He is groomed by the legendary Dale Hunter, who’s got a good thing brewing with the London Knights.

Connor McMichael made a couple good plays at the Prospect Showcase. He also suited up for Monday’s Capitals preseason opener against the Chicago Blackhawks. McMichael centered the third line next to Chandler Stephenson and Damien Riat. He had an assist on the game’s first goal which belonged to Riat.

The Capitals possession metrics were solid with the one-game sample size from McMichael. He played a total of 11:19 and finished with a Corsi-For percentage of 57.69% and a Fenwick For percentage of 52.63% (via Natural Stat Trick).

“After a couple shifts I felt good. I felt like it was just another game for me. I felt more comfortable and had a lot of fun,” McMichael told the media after the game.

McMichael added:

“A lot of veterans were playing so the speed was up, the physicality (was up). Like I said, I had a lot of fun and I hope I can get another one in.”

Hopefully McMichael will get another game or two for a chance to light up the lamp.

#2 Chandler Stephenson

Usually the preseason players to watch list includes many high profile prospects you otherwise won’t get to see in the 82-game regular season. For Chandler Stephenson though, he’s fighting for his spot on the roster. It doesn’t help his case that the Capitals signed not one but two fourth line forwards in the offseason.

Stephenson struggled last season with just 11 points (5 goalls, 6 assists) in 64 games, a drop off from the 18-point season he had in 2017-18, his rookie season. Stephenson began the summer as a restricted free agent (RFA) and took his contract situation all the way to a neutral arbitrator. He was awarded a $1.05-million extension.

The good news for Stephenson is that he has a chance to compete for the third line center spot for at least the first three games with the Evgeny Kuznetsov suspension. Though he’ll go up against Travis Boyd and other prospects who are chomping at the bit for their first taste of NHL action.

Once Kuznetsov is back though, the Capitals will have to deal with the reality of trying to get under the salary cap. Part of this contract Stephenson signed is so Washington is able to take his full salary off the books to send him down to Hershey. The better Stephenson plays, and he was in action Monday night, the harder this decision will be.

#1 Ilya Samsonov

Ilya Samsonov embarks on one of his biggest seasons in North America. All eyes are on him as he could very well be next year’s starting netminder in Washington should the team not be able to afford Braden Holtby. 

Samsonov dressed for Monday’s game but was a backup to Pheonix Copley, who played the whole game. It’s possible the backup goaltender spot could be up for grabs with the tight salary cap situation the Capitals are facing.

If Samsonov wants that spot though, he’ll not only have to beat Copley but also his own Hershey teammate Vitek Vanecek, who’s a good netminder himself.

Last season Samsonov struggled and lost his first three games, but rebounded nicely while splitting goaltending duties with Vanecek. He finished his first season with the AHL’s Hershey Bears with a record of 20-14-2 with 2.70 goals-against average and a .898 save percentage in 37 games.

The future is now for Samsonov and even though it’s preseason it’ll be fun watching him get a look or two soon.