Washington Capitals Draft: Top 5 sleepers to bolster the team
As of right now, the Washington Capitals will not be picking until the second round at 55th overall in the 2021 NHL Draft. But that doesn’t mean there won’t be any sleepers available. When Caps assistant general manager Ross Mahoney talked to the media earlier this week, he talked about how their gameplan entering the draft is the same as any other year, take the best player available.
So who will be available for the Caps to take and how can they impact the team in the future? We take a look here. It was tough to do research but out of our due diligence here is who we found.
#5 Anton Olsson
Corey Pronman of The Athletic (subscription required) has the Capitals selecting Anton Olsson who’s a left handed defenseman. Here’s what Elite Prospects says about him:
What he brings to the table, above all else, are shutdown abilities. He scans the ice, identifies threats ahead of time, and cuts their path to the net, often quite abruptly, laying the odd hit and battling for every inch of space around the net and on the boards. Defensively, Olsson can match the pace, the intensity, and the work-rate of professional players already, and, at times, even surpass it.
#4 Sean Behrens
Like Olsson, Behrens is a left handed defensemen. The 18 year old is from the United States with his birthplace in Barrington, Illinois. He is expected to attend college at the University of Denver. Last season he was on the U.S. National U18 Team and recorded 35 points in 47 games with seven goals and 28 assists.
Behrens also was on the USNTDP Juniors where he recorded 18 points in 23 games with four goals and 14 assists. As an alternate captain for USA’s U18 Team in World Juniors he recorded four points in five games with one goal and three assists.
Here is what Elite Prospects says about Behrens:
He surfs backwards with the perfect posture, a nice blend of risk-mitigating footwork and graceful crossunders on the backwards stride, and a good sense of when to close. He scans regularly off of the puck. He cuts opponents off at the hands, always from a low centre of gravity. He ties up loose sticks. He mitigates risk with his positioning. His motor never stops running.
No matter which left handed defensemen the Caps take don’t expect to see them on the ice with the varsity squad next season. The Caps are fully stocked on the blue line and may have to make a trade.
#3 Chase Stillman
Chase Stillman is a right winger and our first forward on this list. He is another American on this list who was born in St. Louis, Missouri. This past season he was on a loan for Esbjerg U20 in Denmark’s U20 league. He recorded 16 points in eight games with nine goals and seven assists. He was also on Canada’s U18 team in the WJC where he recorded four points in seven games with two goals and two assists.
During the previous season, Stillman played for the Sudbury Wolves of the OHL. In 58 games he recorded 34 points with 13 goals and 21 assists. He also had four points in six games for Canada White U17 in the WHC-17 with a goal and three assists.
Here’s what Elite Prospects says about Stillman:
Call it motor or energy or engagement or drive — Stillman has it. He is willing to go above and beyond, willing to play whatever role needed to the maximum of his ability to give his team the win. He knows when to go after to try and retrieve it, and will head to the best areas of the ice to get a scoring chance off.
That is three players down now only two to go.
#2 Danila Klimovich
Danila Klimovich is a right winger who could also play center. In 37 games with Minskie Zubry of Belarus Vysshaya he recorded 52 points with 28 goals and 24 assists. He also was on Dinamo-Molodechno of Belarus where he played in six games and had a goal. Additionally he scored six goals in five games with the Belarus U18 team in the WJC.
In the playoffs with Minskie Zubry he recorded 14 points in 12 games with nine goals and five assists. The previous season he played on Team Blarus on the U17, U18 and U20 teams.
Here’s what Elite Prospects says about Klimovich:
Klimovich moves on the first touch and cuts inside on most opponents. He plays his game in between the dots as much as possible, uses teammates, and plays with a hard, and violent energy.
His best stretch came on the U20 team that 2019-20 season. In 32 games he recorded 23 points with 13 goals and 10 assists. He also had 19 points in 16 games with the U17 team with 13 goals and six assists. With the U18 team he had three points in five games with a goal and two assists.
That is four players and now there is one more sleeper left that we will profile.
#1 Stanislav Svozil
We started this list with a left handed defensemen and we’ll conclude this list with a left handed defensemen. Stanislav Svozil is an 18 year old from the Czech Republic. Last season he spent time with HC Kometa Brno where he recorded three points in 30 games with a goal and two assists. He was also on a loan fo rHC Prerov of the Czech 2 where he had two points in three games with a goal and an assist.
He has also represented the Czech Republic internationally in the WJC-18 and WJC-20 tournaments. He had two assists in 10 combined games.
Here’s what Elite Prospects had to say about Svozil:
He works hard to attach himself to his check, with mirroring footwork and great body-on-body positioning, driving them into the boards when the moment is right. He’s physical but always with a purpose. Good luck getting past Svozil in the neutral zone. He takes away the middle of the ice with his stick, skates with risk-mitigating footwork, and closes with aggression at just the right moments.
light. Trending. Washington Capitals will be back on 82-game schedule in 2021
These are the players who will hopefully be available for the Caps to take with the number 55 pick. You can catch the Caps in the draft tomorrow at 11 a.m. on NHL Network.