Capitals: A look at prospect Damien Riat
Recently the Washington Capitals made an investment into their prospect pool signing Damien Riat.
With no Washington Capitals hockey let’s take a look at one player we could be talking about in the streets of D.C. in the future. Earlier this month on March 5th the team signed Damien Riat to a two-year, entry-level contract worth an average annual value (AAV) of $817,500.
Riat was a fourth-round selection in the 2016 NHL Draft picked by the Capitals at 117th overall.
The 23-year old has scored 11 goals and added 11 assists for 22 points in 36 games with the EHC Biel-Bienne in the National League in Switzerland. The 6’0”, 180 pound forward leads EHC Biel-Bienne with 57 penalty minutes and his 11 goals rank fifth on the team. Riat has recorded 106 points (50 goals, 56 assists) in 223 career National League games.
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Before the National League, Riat played two seasons with the Saskatchewan Midget AAA Hockey League and won the league title with Notre Dame in 2013-14. Riat also played in 40 games with Malmo’s U-20 affiliate in Sweden’s SuperElit the next season recording 14 points with seven goals and seven assists. He made his debut in Sweden’s professional Allsvenskan league as just a 17-year old that same year.
Riat even has some hardware earning a silver medal with Team Switzerland during the 2018 IIHF World Championship. In six games he posted a +/- of +1. He also represented Switzerland at the 2016 and 2017 World Junior Championships and recorded a combined 10 points in 11 games with three goals and seven assists.
Riat missed some time this season due to getting hit in the head with a puck during a game. Some say he’s out with a concussion but there is no confirmation of that news anywhere.
This contract won’t begin until the 2020-21 season with Riat finishing off a two-year contract with Biel-Bienne. The 23-year-old posted a photo on his Instagram after the news dropped.
“Extremely excited and honoured to sign my first NHL contract with the @capitals Thanks to all the people that supported me to get to this point! #AllCaps #nhl”.
https://www.instagram.com/p/B9XBIy3AV1i/?utm_source=ig_embed
The funniest video moments so far of 2020. light. Trending
The future is bright for the Washington Capitals and we’ll be talking about more prospects in the coming weeks.