Joe Snively is ready to make Herndon more proud

Today we continue our Washington Capitals player previews with Joe Snively. He is a dark horse to make the opening night roster and is ready to take that next step.

Hailing from Herndon, Virginia, Snively grew up a fan of the home team. His dentist was the same dentist Alex Ovechkin went to and as a teenager he got to meet the great eight himself. Ovechkin gave Snively his hockey gloves and even signed them.

Last season he appeared in just 12 games. It was the identical number of games he appeared in the previous season. He had two goals and two assists for four points last season while recording four goals and three assists for seven points the season before.

Snively was also a key player in the Hershey Bears run to the Calder Cup. He had nine goals and 18 assists for 27 points in the regular season and two goals and 13 assists for 15 points in the Calder Cup playoff run.

Snively was signed as an undrafted free agent in March of 2019. He then got re signed to a one year deal in 2021 before signing a two year extension in March of 2022. This will be the last year of his contract as he’ll become a restricted free agent next summer.

He didn’t play much on the NHL ice especially in the first half of the season. He has a chance to prove himself and he needs to do it this training camp now more than ever.

Believe it or not, Snively is 27 years old. That’s insane. He should still be 21 but alas time flies. If he doesn’t make the opening night roster, it’ll be hard for him to establish himself in the Capitals lineup especially given the fact that this is the final year on his contract.

But when he takes the ice at MedStar when training camp begins on September 20, he’ll have all of Herndon, Virginia rooting for him.