Washington Capitals: Most Intriguing Players To Watch This Upcoming Season
By CJ Witt
Jakub Vrana
Jakub Vrana is just getting into his prime years. That makes this year and the next year or two very interesting for him. We will soon see just how good this player will be for the next seven or eight seasons.
Like Carlson, Vrana is coming off his best season as a professional. He beat his career bests in all scoring categories, he had 25 goals, 27 assists and 52 points. His previous bests came in 2018-19 where he had 24 goals, 23 assists and 47 points. He set his new bests while playing thirteen fewer games.
Thirty goals is in this player’s future for sure. Going forward, not scoring thirty goals and sixty points every year, while maybe not disappointing but it should definitely be considered a down year.
In a shortened season thirty goals is unlikely for Vrana. If Vrana were to score thirty goals in 56 games that would mean he is around the forty goals mark in an average season. This isn’t to say he can’t do it, forty goals may be in his future. I just think it’s unlikely to be this season.
If we want to see progress in the goal scoring department from Vrana he should aim for about twenty goals this season. Scoring just over twenty goals this season would mean in an average 82 game year he would have cracked the thirty goal mark. At the same time, getting about 41 points in this shortened season will also mean about 60 points in a regular season.
If we see those numbers this season that will mean Vrana took another step up in his development. I think this guy is a huge part of the Capitals future. If everything goes well he could be a star for this team for years to come. This season marks the first year where I think Vrana is a must watch going forward.