Capitals draft grades: Anotine Keller
With the final Washington Capitals pick at 206th overall in the 2023 NHL Draft, the team selected goaltender Anotine Keller. He rounds out a draft class of four forwards and one defenseman as the lone goalie.
The Caps acquired this pick by trading their 2025 seventh rounder to the San Jose Sharks. The 18 year old net minder spent the majority of his 2022 23 season with Geneve Servette’s U 20 team in Switzerland where he posted an 8-13-2 record with a 3.40 goals against average.
The six foot three, 176 pound goaltender also appeared in five games with HCV Martingy of My Hockey League in Switzerland posting a 2-1-1 record with a 2.42 goals against average.
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What makes Keller unique is that he was born in Dijon, France. He recorded a 2.71 goals against average and a .921 save percentage with one shutout in three games for France at the 2023 IIHF Ice Hockey U 20 World Championship Division I, Group A.
Keller is the second French born goaltender to be selected in an NHL Draft, following former Capital Cristobal Huet (214th overall by the Los Angeles Kings in 2001).
"Keller’s one of the quickest goalies in the draft. He has clear NHL lateral agility and can make highly-difficult saves. When you see Keller on his best days, when he’s pushing off into spectacular saves, or breaking up scoring chances with his aggressive play, he looks like an NHL goalie. However, he’s rough around the edges. Keller can be all over the place at times in his crease, and his decisions can be iffy at times. I love his aggressive challenges, but it can bite him too. He’s not that big, so he’s a bit of a longshot, but there are some tools to build on him that give him a chance to make it."
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Grade C+: You can’t complete a draft without a goalie and this guy needs a bit of adjustment but has faced stiff competition. Not a Darcy Kuemper but we had to use his picture since we couldn’t find one of Keller.