A look at the Washington Capitals needs ahead of the 2024 NHL Draft

Summer is heating up and there's a hot question going on around town. Who will the Washington Capitals draft in the first round. That's a hotly debated topic and while we don't quite have the answers yet we can go around the NHL and see what the pros say.

Corey Pronman of The Athletic (subscription required) thinks the Caps should go the goaltending route:

""Washington has acquired a lot of talented forwards lately in the draft. I was tempted to say defense here but the Capitals have some solid younger defensemen in the organization, and since the Ilya Samsonov pick went sideways for them, they've yet to secure their clear future goalie.""

- Corey Pronman, The Athletic

While I don't completley agree with this take having been on the Charlie Lindgren express for a while, I can't disagree with the take either. A first round goalie at their position would be a launch but if the risk is worth the reward, take it.

Scott Wheeler from The Athletic went the route of right handed defenseman Adam Jiricek with the Caps #17th first round pick from HC Plzen saying this:

""The Capitals have used six of their last eight picks in the draft's first two rounds on forwards and haven't taken a D in the first round since 2018. There's a belief among those I've talked to that they're going to target a D this year after taking Ryan Leonard and Andrew distal last year and Ivan Miroshnichenko the year prior."

- Scott Wheeler

That was just a snippet of his mock draft and you can check out the full one here.

Another target who the Caps could go for with their 17th pick is Stian Solber writes Nathan Moser of The Hockey Writers. He's another defenseman who's garnered attention ahead of the draft. Another name to consider, writes Moser, is Carter Yakemchuk.

So the consensus is mostly clear. Forget the forward position for now with the Pierre-Luc Dubois addition for just a moment. Pronman is right on the Caps prospect pool being stocked at the forward position whether the team wants to draft one or not.

But the philosophy has and always will be take the best player available.