Washington Capitals: Top 3 prospects to get excited for in 2020
Top 3 Washington Capitals prospects to get excited for.
There are plenty of reasons to get excited about the Washington Capitals in 2021 when hockey makes it’s long awaited return. In the meantime, some Capitals prospects are already in action and after the draft we have a new list on who the top ones are.
The Caps added to their prospect pool at the beginning of last month in the NHL Draft. First they traded their 24th overall pick and 80th pick to the Calgary Flames to select Hendrix Lapierre who they recently signed.
On the second day of the draft they selected right winger Bogdan Trineyev at 117th, center Bear Hughes at 148th, goaltender Garin Bjorklund at 179th, and left wing Oskar Magnusson at 211th.
Trineyev was ranked seventh among European right wings and 19th overall among all forwards by NHL Central Scouting. The 18 year old is listed at six foot three and 198 pounds. He registered 26 points with 12 goals and 14 assists in 36 games with Dynamo Moscow 2 in Russia’s junior league.
Now let’s break down who the best of the best are in regards to the future of the Caps. We’ll take a look at the top 3 prospects to get excited for.
#3 Alex Alexeyev
Alex Alexeyev is the top defensive prospect to watch. He is currently on a loan with the Salavat Yulaev Ufa of the KHL so he gets some playing time. When the Caps selected him they took him with the 31st overall pick in the 2018 NHL Draft, he was a star on the Red Deer Rebels of the WHL.
He remained with the Red Deer Rebels after the Caps selected him and had 10 goals and 33 assists for 43 points in 49 games until his season was cut short due to a knee injury. He also represented Team Russia in the U20 World Juniors that season.
Last season was his first season in the AHL with the Hershey Bears. Alexeyev had three goals and 18 assists for 21 points in 58 games before the season was shut down due to the novel coronavirus pandemic. The Caps recently loaned him to the KHL so he can get some playing time with all the uncertainty surrounding when the AHL will return to play.
He’s played in 20 KHL games so far this season and has scored two goals and three assists for five points. We’ll keep tabs on him and hope things work out with the AHL so we can see him back over here.
#2 Hendrix Lapierre
In the NHL Draft this year the Caps traded up from the 24th pick to the 22nd to select Hendrix Lapierre. The Caps also gave up their 80th pick in a deal with the Calgary Flames.
The 18 year old was ranked seventh overall among North American centers and ninth overall among forwards by NHL Central Scouting. A native of Gatineau, Quebec, Lapierre spent the 2019-20 season with the Chicoutimi Sagueneens in the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League (QMJHL) recording 17 points in 19 games with two goals and 15 assists.
The six foot, 179 pound center recorded 11 points with three goals and eight assists in five games in the 2019 Hlinka Gretzky Cup, leading all skaters in the tournament in points and helped Team Canada earn a silver medal.
In the 2018-19 season, Lapierre won the Michel Bergeron as the QMJHL Offensive Rookie of the Year after recording 45 points in 48 games with Chicoutimi with 13 goals and 32 assists.
This year was the second straight draft the Caps selected a center in the first round after taking Connor McMichael with the 25th overall pick in 2019. Lapierre became the 17th center the Caps have selected in the first round in team history and the first player from the QMJHL since Stanislav Galiev and Samuel Carrier in 2010.
Currently, he has three goals and five assists for eight points in four games with Chicoutimi this season.
#1 Connor McMichael
Connor McMichael is our number one prospect to watch. He was selected at 25th overall in the 2019 NHL Draft from the London Knights. He is a speedy, playmaking center who makes an impact game after game.
Prior to his selection, he scored 36 goals and 36 assists for 72 points and he was even better last season with 47 goals and 55 assists for 102 points in 52 games. He also represented Team Canada in the World Juniors and helped them win a gold medal with five goals and two assists in seven games.
McMichael got called up to the Caps as a black ace in the bubble in Toronto but didn’t get any playing time. The team expects him to continue to develop in the OHL unless he turns some heads during training camp and it’s enough to get him a roster spot on the Caps.
Elite Prospects touts McMichael as, “A smart center with impressive hockey sense. Reads the game very well and plays well in his own end too. Puckhandling is good and he has a decent nose for the net. Some consistency issues.”
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McMichael hopes to have an even bigger season with London unless he makes it to the AHL which could be possible. He’s the most exciting prospect to watch.