Next up on our Washington Capitals report card series is forward Garrett Pilon. He was selected by the Capitals in the third round at 87th overall in the 2016 NHL Draft. He also has three games of NHL experience under his belt, playing in two last season and in one the previous season.
The two games Pilon played in for the Caps were back to back affairs. He scored his first NHL goal in Washington’s overtime loss to the Anaheim Ducks and also skated in Washington’s game against the Los Angeles Kings. Both games were on the road.
In addition, Pilon won eight out of his 10 face offs last season, laid out two hits and had one takeaway while averaging 9:25 minutes of ice time.
Pilon spent most of the year with the Caps AHL affiliates the Hershey Bears. In 62 games, Pilon scored 17 goals and added 25 assists for 42 points. In the Calder Cup playoffs, he had a goal and an assist in three games.
Garrett is the son of former NHL player Rich Pilon. He began his professional career with the Kamloops Blazers of the WHL. In his first season prior to getting drafted by the Caps, Pilon had 15 goals and 32 assists for 47 points. He was even better the next season as he recorded 20 goals and 45 assists for 65 points.
In 2017-18 with the Blazers he scored 18 goals and 26 assists for 44 points before getting traded to the Everett Silvertips where he recorded 16 goals and 20 assists for 36 points. With the Bears he has steadily progressed since the beginning but perhaps last season was his best season.
He could be one of the dark horses to make the Caps roster out of training camp and if he’s open to playing wing, there could be an opening for him.
Grade A: It isn’t fair to grade him based off of just two Caps games so this A comes mostly from his killer season with the Bears.