The Washington Capitals concluded the 2024 NHL Draft from The Sphere in Las Vegas. It was a whirlwind of a day with picks and trades galore. Let's round out the Capitals final two picks and learn more about them.
Petr Sikora
Petr Sikora is 18 and recently recorded 40 points in 30 games with HC Ocelari Tinec in the Czech junior league with 13 goals and 27 assists. He did so en route to the Czechia Under 20 championship. The five foot 11, 172 pound forward also earned a silver medal with Czechia at the 2023 Hlinka Gretzky Cup. That was their sixth rounder at 178th overall.
Miroslav Satan
The Caps rounded out their draft with selecting Miroslav Satan who's the son of 14 year NHL veteran Miroslav Satan. The 7th rounder at 212th overall tallied 30 points in 26 games with 14 goals and 16 assists with HC Slovan Bratislava of the Slovakian Junior league in 2023-24. Listed as six foot seven and 190 pounds, the forward also represented Slovakia at the 2024 Under 18 World Championship where he had four assists in seven games. Satan was acquired via a trade from the Vegas Golden Knights.
“You just prepare for every scenario ... Then you come here, feel confident in what you prepared, and make your picks.”
— Washington Capitals (@Capitals) June 29, 2024
Assistant general manager Ross Mahoney recaps the seven players Washington selected during Day 2 of the 2024 #NHLDraft#CapsDraft | @Verizon pic.twitter.com/3pLK5Vqo4U
Free agent frenzy soon
So the Caps begun the draft with six picks but flipped it to seven as part of the trade for Satan. A great move in Vegas by Brian MacLellan. We all know the Great Eight isn't getting any younger and if this is part of the last waltz then this is it. But it also isn't it. Expect the Caps to still be active in the coming days as they look to retool their roster.
#Caps selected F Ilya Protas 75th overall in the 2024 #NHLDraft. Aliaksei (91st overall, 2019) and Ilya Protas are the second set of brothers to be selected by Washington in the NHL Draft, joining Yvon Corriveau (19th overall, 1985) and Rick Corriveau (168th overall, 1991). pic.twitter.com/oFAJdtKhLh
— CapitalsPR (@CapitalsPR) June 29, 2024
Salary cap
The salary cap will go up to a whopping $88 million. That's money to spend and like we said, they may not be done. There's signifcant overlap with the schedule as development camp takes place soon as in addition to the madness that is free agency.