Washington Capitals: Top 3 new prospects to keep an eye on in 2021
The Washington Capitals don’t have a deep prospect pool but there are a couple of good names to keep an eye on this upcoming season. Of course, everyone knows Connor McMichael but who else besides McMichael is worth watching this season?
For those that don’t know, McMichael is the top Capitals prospect who has just one game of NHL experience under his belt. He could likely make the lineup if there was a suspension or an injury to one of the forwards.
Last season with the Hershey Bears, McMichael finished with a team leading 14 goals and 13 assists for 27 points.
#3 Brett Leason
Lost in the McMichael madness of 2019 was Brett Leason, who was taken by the Caps in the second round at 56th overall. In 2019-20, he made the jump to the AHL where he recorded three goals and 11 assists for 14 points. This past season he was even better with nine goals and 11 assists for 20 points.
Leason brings a scoring punch to the Bears at the right wing position. He is savvy with and without the puck, isn’t afraid to use his big frame in puck battles and has a high hockey IQ. He also boasts an NHL caliber wrist shot and has plus hand eye coordination.
#2 Axel Jonsson-Fjallby
Axel Jonsson-Fjallby had a solid season with the Hershey Bears. The left winger scored 10 goals and added five assists for 15 points. The speedy forward has a flow that rivals Carl Hagelin. He has yet to taste NHL action due to the difficulty that is making the Capitals lineup.
Jonsson-Fjallby was taken by the Capitals in the 2016 NHL Draft in the fifth round at 147th overall. Earlier in the 2020-21 season, Jonsson-Fjallby was on a loan to Vasterviks IK where he also recorded 15 points with four goals and 11 assists.
AJF had a solid season the year before that with the Hershey Bears where he scored 12 goals and 11 assists for 23 points. He put himself on the hockey map in the 2017-18 World Junior Championships for Team Sweden where he recorded four points with two goals and two assists.
Jonsson-Fjallby will likely enjoy a breakout season with the Bears where he could score at least 20 goals. Doing so would rise him up the ranks of the prospect boards. He is definitely a guy to keep an eye on this upcoming season. Sadly he’s one of the best that may not play in an NHL game but that goes to show how deep Washington is.
#1 Matt Moulson
Matt Moulson is practically an AHL veteran with a little bit of NHL experience under his belt. Moulson was drafted in the ninth round in 2003 by the Pittsburgh Penguins. He’s a hard working winger with a good shot and goal scoring instincts. He features a good size but has a few weaknesses in that he is lacking in the skating department and isn’t a very physical player.
Last season he had 12 goals and 12 assists for 24 points with th eHershey Bears. The season prior to that he had 22 goals and 15 assists for 41 points That was his first season with the Hershey Bears. He enters his third season with Hershey.
Prior to the Bears, Moulson was on th eOntario Reign. In 2018-19 he scored 28 goals and 34 assists for 62 points. The season prior to that he had 18 goals and 28 assists for 46 points and appeared in 14 games with the Buffalo Sabres. In the season prior he scored 14 goals and 18 assists for 32 points with the Sabres.
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In addition to the Sabres, Moulson has also played for the New York Islanders and Los Angeles Kings. He likely won’t make the varsity lineup with the Caps but he’ll be an impact player in Hershey this season nonetheless.