Washington Capitals Draft: Every pick in all seven rounds
The Washington Capitals made six selections in the 2021 NHL Draft. Let’s take a look at each player they selected and learn more about them.
Vincent Iorio, 2nd Round, 55th overall
The Capitals used their first draft selection to take Vincent Iorio, a right handed defenseman. He has good size listed at six foot three and 191 pounds and has a two way game. He is from Brandon of the WHL and has three seasons of experience under his belt in that league. Overall, this was a good selection by the Caps, who loaded up their defensive prospect pool with four blueliners.
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Brent Johnson, 3rd Round, 80th overall
He doesn’t know if his parents named him after the former backup Caps netminder and current TV analyst but what we do know is that Brent Johnson was an easy steal at the third round. He was ranked higher than Iorio so he basically fell into the Caps lap despite them trading down with the New York Rangers to gain a pick.
.@Johny0374 is pumped to get to D.C. and be a Capital!#CapsDraft | @Ticketmaster pic.twitter.com/jwxzvtcj7c
— Washington Capitals (@Capitals) July 24, 2021
Johnson scored 11 goals and 32 points with Sioux Falls and will be attending college at the University of North Dakota this upcoming season. These two defensemen were very good steals by the Caps.
Joaquim Lemay, 4th Round, 119th overall
Joaquim Lemay played in 15 games for the Salmon Arm Silverbacks in the British Columbia Hockey League. He’s an 18 year old native from Quebec that’s slated to attend the University of Nebraska Omaha this fall. He is listed as six foot one while weighing 178 pounds and totaled 10 assists last season.
Fourth-round pick @JoaquimLemay discusses being drafted, growing up a fan of the Caps (check out that light!) and who he models his game after in his first media session as a Capital.#CapsDraft | @Ticketmaster pic.twitter.com/4SHU479Uh5
— Washington Capitals (@Capitals) July 24, 2021
Lemay even grew up rooting for the Caps and his Zoom availability had a Capitals lamp in the background. He sees himself bringing a two way game to the table as an offensive defenseman. His best attributes are his skating abilities, breaking the puck under pressure and creating offensive chances from the blueline. Maybe he will be a Mike Green or John Carlson someday.
Haakon Hanelt, 5th Round, 151st overall
Haakon Hanelt was the first non defenseman the Capitals drafted. He is a German center that turned 18 just under two months ago. He played last season for Eisbaren Berlin of the DEL, the highest level of German hockey.
Hanelt spent 22 games in the DEL last season as a 17 year old and sees himself as a playmaking pivot with his best assets as his skating ability, hockey sense and stick handling. He is listed as six foot and 194 pounds and compares his game to Caps center Nicklas Backstrom.
Dru Krebs, 6th Round, 176th overall
The Caps gained an extra pick in the trade from the Rangers and used that pick to select Dru Krebs. He’s another fellow defenseman with a left handed shot who played in 23 games with the Medicine Hat Tigers of the WHL last season recording 11 assists. He’s listed at five foot 11 weighing 182 pounds.
Krebs sees himself as a two way defenseman with a good skating ability, a solid work ethic and smart hockey sense. He compares his game to Kris Letang of the Pittsburgh Penguins.
Chase Clark, 6th Round, 183rd overall
The Caps ended their draft by selecting a goaltender in Chase Clark. He’s a native of Williamsville, New York who catches right handed and has a towering presence at six foot six and 202 pounds. He sees himself as a hybrid butterfly goaltender with good size, athleticism and puck playing ability. He compared himself to Andrei Vasilevskiy of the Tampa Bay Lightning.
Hot. Washington Capitals get it right with Alex Ovechkin. light
Clark played for the New Jersey Hitmen of the USPHL last season and also appeared in three games with the USHL’s Tri City Storm last season. The Caps scouts liked what they saw from him and now he’s a goaltender of the future.