Capitals called up defenseman Justin Holl from Hershey yesterday and moved Matt Roy to injured reserve with a lower-body injury. Holl responded by scoring his first goal as a Capital in the 4-2 loss to Carolina last night. (There have been a few new Capitals that have done that in the last week.) I thought the Caps should have recalled rookie Ryan Chesley instead of Holl, but what do I know? Apparently, head coach Spencer Carbery knows what he's doing. While Chesley looked ready for the NHL during training camp and preseason, last night showed that calling up Holl was the right move.
Holl is a veteran defenseman with over 400 games of NHL experience and should slide into the bottom pairing with no problems. I was just hoping that the Caps would call up Ryan Chesley from the AHL, who has yet to play an NHL game. While I understand why the Caps called up Holl, why not give the 22-year-old Chesley a cup of coffee to see what he can do?
The Caps defense has been assembled via trade (Jakob Chychrun, Rasmus Sandin, and Timothy Liljegren), free agent signings (Desharnais, Matt Roy, Dylan McIylrath, and Holl), and draft picks (Martin Fehevary and rookie Cole Hutson.) Having veterans like Holl available to step up when in case of injury is good team building. Chesley might be ready, but he’s probably better off in Hershey, where he will get more ice time and a more prominent role instead of watching the game from the seats in a suit.
Chesley was drafted in the 2nd round, 37th overall, in the 2022 NHL Draft. He played college hockey for the University of Minnesota and was the captain his senior year. Chesley looked very good in the preseason for Washington last month. He played in one preseason game against the Flyers on September 21 and showed off his skating and defensive chops. Chesley finished the game with 3 assists in a win against the Flyers.
Head coach Spencer Carbery was able to plug Holl into the lineup and the veteran responded with a good game. While it’s always nice to have young players in the system to call upon when needed, signing veteran guys like Holl and center Josh Brodzinski for depth were smart moves by general manager Chris Patrick. Having experienced veterans in the minors takes the pressure off players like Chesley. Maybe Chesley is ready, but Carbery knows that Holl can step in and handle the job.
The Caps’ have some promising depth at forward in their pipeline, like winger Andrew Cristall, Lyden Lankovic, and Maxim Schafer, but not so much on the backend. With the Caps a contender to hoist Lord Stanley’s Cup in the spring, they may have to improve their defensive depth before the playoffs begin. When Sandin and Roy return from injured reserve, the Caps that will give them a formidable defensive corp. But if they take longer to return, Holl proved last night he can handle the position.
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