The Washington Capitals are picking eighth in the NHL Draft tonight with the first round televised at 7 p.m. on ESPN and ESPN plus. Rounds 2-7 will continue tomorrow at at 11 a.m. on NHL Network.
The best way to stream the draft is through fubo.tv which is available on all devices through your laptop, smart phone, tablet, and TV. If you sign up through this link you can get a free seven day trial to watch the draft and beyond.
The Caps eighth pick is the first time they own a top 10 pick since 2007 when they took Karl Alzner. Prior to that the last two times the Caps picked in the top 10, they selected Nicklas Backstrom at fourth overall in 2006 and Alex Ovechkin at first overall in 2004.
Ovechkin is the franchise’s all time leader in games played, goals, points, playoff games played, playoff goals, and playoff points, while Backstrom ranks first in assists, playoff assists, and second in games played, points, playoff games played, and playoff points.
Alzner played in 540 consecutive games in a Capitals sweater from 2010 to 2017 and posted a plus 61 plus minus rating in 591 games with Washington.
Tonight’s occasion will mark the 17th time the Capitals will pick in the top 10 in franchise history and the first time they will pick eighth overall.
Notable players selected with the eight overall pick in recent drafts include Sean Couturier of the Philadelphia Flyers in 2011, William Nylander with the Toronto Maple Leafs in 2014, Zach Werenski of the Columbus Blue Jackets in 2015 and Adam Boqvist of the Chicago Blackhawks in 2018.
The Caps hold five picks in the draft. In addition to the eighth pick in the first round the Caps pick 40th in round 2, 104th in round four, 136th in the fifth round and 200th in the seventh round.
Again the draft starts tonight at 7 p.m. on ESPN with the first round while Rounds 2-7 are tomorrow at 11 a.m. on NHL Network.