Screen Cap: Washington Capitals
The Washington Capitals officially concluded their annual development camp on Wednesday. There were a lot of storylines and a lot of positives during the camp. She looked more competitive and physical than in previous years, likely due to the amount of cutting-edge talent that was involved.
Assistant General Manager Ross Mahoney was very pleased with all the players who participated. However, there were a few who distinguished themselves by running the capitals. The hottest name in camp was a 2023 first-round pick Ryan Leonard. It’s safe to say he lived up to the hype, especially with his shot.
“He showed why we were so happy to have him. Powerful. Explosive… His shot has been showcased here in this developmental camp of ours. Not only is it accurate, and not only because he has a quick launch, but it’s a very heavy shot,” Mahoney said. Very competitive. He’s not afraid to take the ball into the net to score goals and those trickier areas.”
Another player the Capitals were looking forward to seeing in action Ivan Miroshnichenko. This was the first time he participated in on-ice activities for Washington due to his cancer diagnosis. He is now cancer free and looked solid this week. His shot was amazing and looked stronger.
Building strength was the focus of Mahoney’s press conference.
“I’m really happy for him. Look where he’s been at about 13 or 14 months,” Mahoney said. He can shoot the puck and he plays hard, too.”
The 19-year-old has a legitimate opportunity to play in the Capitals lineup at some point during the season. That’s if it lives up to Hershey’s hype.
Alexander Suzdalev He was another man who stood out in the camp. He really shone in the three-on-three tournament, and fell back a few times. Earlier in camp, the No. 70 seed said he also needed to get stronger going into the season. He has the option to return to the WHL, or report to Hershey.
“He played really well. He’s starting to get stronger. He obviously had a really good year with Regina last year. He had 86 points,” Mahoney said. “A lot of people thought it was because he was with him [Connor] Bedard, but he actually didn’t play with Bedard much five-on-five. From watching him in the last camp and watching this camp, you can see that he’s gotten stronger and more confident.”
The only player who needs to get bigger, and especially improve his skating, is a second-round pick, Andrew Crystal. The Capitals signed the 18-year-old to an initial three-year contract on Thursday.
“In talking with his strength coaches, they’ll give him a plan to work on the ice to improve his leg strength, which will likely help him with his overall speed,” Mahoney said. “He’s got really good edges and so you can really turn around and change directions really quickly and he has a really good chance of speed. It’s just a matter of super pace, but he’s also really small. I think building that leg up straight will help him go faster. You can see how agile he was in A three-on-three game, plus hands and feel.”
The Capitals kick off their rookie camp September 16th through September 19th at the Medstar Capitals Iceplex.
By Jacob Shires