Terik Parascak is from Prince George of the WHL. It was the second half of the first round and there were nerves as the Washington Capitals were on the clock. Turns out they did not trade up or down but instead went with the 17 year old nicknamed "super rookie".
Ross Mahoney said after the pick was official via Mike Vogel of WashCaps.com:
""A really intelligent player, a really, really smart player. He sees the ice really well, has a really good touch around the net, if you take a look at the number of points he had and the number of goals he scored. But I think that intelligence really translates over into his penalty kill; he might've been fourth in the league in shorthanded goals.... he's a hard-working kid, but I really like the hands and the hockey sense.""Ross Mahoney
Assistant general manager Ross Mahoney shares his thoughts on the First Round of the 2024 #NHLDraft, including the Capitals selecting Terik Parascak 17th overall.#CapsDraft | @Verizon pic.twitter.com/qfGaXQT4TH
— Washington Capitals (@Capitals) June 29, 2024
In the same piece, Parascak added
""I don't even know the exact number, I think it's probably close to 40 or 50. It's pretty unbelievable for them to come down and support me, I couldn't be more grateful.""Parascak
As he waited for his name to get called there were nerves all around the Caps and all over DC. Who would the Caps take at 17th. He was very excited to get drafted at such a cool location such as The Sphere in Vegas as he was surrounded by friends and family who made the trip.
Parascak spent most of his age 16 season skating for Edge School but he also played in four WHL contests. It was a whirlwind of a season for the Lethbridge, Alberta native and he was beyond thrilled that his name was called and honored to be a Capital.
"I'm at such a loss for words. It's such an honor. I'm just so excited for what's coming."
— Washington Capitals (@Capitals) June 29, 2024
Terik Parascak shares his excitement on being drafted in the First Round, as well as reflects on his successful rookie season in the WHL.#CapsDraft | @Verizon pic.twitter.com/u8k133EFDa
In the Elite Prospects 2024 NHL Draft Guide, it said the following:
""Parascak's a high-end quick-position player, capable of both setting up plays and finishing them. He doesn't just get open, he adjusts his positioning to be in the perfect spot with perfect timing.""Elite Prospects
More on the Super Rookie
Mahoney said that they were chasing after this pick for a while believing that he could complement a certain someone for a certain milestone that we aren't going to jinx. The Caps were familiar with Parascak as he was a teammate of Zac Funk at Prince George, who the Caps signed not too long ago to an entry level contract on March 1 of this year.
Today will be a bannans day as picks 2-7 will take place at 11 a.m. eastern on ESPN and ESPN plus.