Coming into the 2021-2022 season, the Washington Capitals were expected to have one of the oldest rosters in the NHL, with few roster spots up for grabs and an experienced, established, veteran-laden team.
There were a number of exciting prospects in the organizational pipeline, but with such an established group already at the NHL level, few (if any) of those prospects were expected to make the jump this season, with the exception of defenseman Martin Fehervary.
But with injuries piling up early for the Caps right out of the gate, there’s been opportunities for young players to step up. And step up, they certainly have.
Missing Nicklas Backstrom, TJ Oshie, Anthony Mantha, Nic Dowd, and now Vitek Vanecek due to injuries — the Caps really haven’t missed much of a beat, losing just twice in regulation through 12 games and holding a top-3 spot in the tough Metropolitan Division. This is largely due to the play of a number of rookies who are making their somewhat unexpected NHL debuts for the Caps this season.
(It’s also largely due to an MVP-worthy campaign being authored by a 36-year-old Alex Ovechkin, which you can read about here — but this article is about the rookies, so let’s stick to that for now.)
Let’s take a look at the youth movement that’s been happening in Washington:
- Martin Fehervary – who was probably the most likely rookie to make the team out of training camp – has really impressed. He’s playing on the Caps’ top defensive pairing alongside perennial Norris trophy candidate John Carlson, he’s playing against the opposition’s top players every night, and he’s thriving. He really looks like he belongs — not just in the NHL, but on that top pairing. He’s averaging almost 20 minutes/game and has even seen time on the penalty kill. His skating is such an asset, he can get up and down the ice in a hurry and can skate himself out of trouble, and I’m really digging the physicality he’s added to his game as well. The extra 15 pounds of muscle he put on in the offseason suits him.
- Connor McMichael – who’s getting a chance to show what he can do in the middle of the ice because of an injury to Nicklas Backstrom – has probably been the most consistently impressive rookie forward. McMichael started off a little slow purely from a points standpoint — the pucks just weren’t going in. It happens. But he was certainly generating a ton of scoring chances for himself and his linemates, and so we kept hearing head coach Peter Laviolette saying “Be patient; it’s coming.” Well — Laviolette was right, and the points have arrived. Since scoring his 1st NHL goal against the Florida Panthers on November 4th (a goal that tied the game and got the Caps to overtime against the league-leading Panthers), McMichael is on a 3-game point streak (2 goals, 1 assist). All in all, he’s put up 2 goals and 5 points in 10 games so far this season, and he’s already got 20 shots on net. He’d be on pace for 16 goals and 41 points over a full season, and he’s doing all of this in pretty limited ice time so far (just over 10 minutes/game, and no power play time). His analytics and advanced stats are some of the best in the entire NHL, and Caps fans have been clamouring for him to get more ice time and a crack at the power play with so many regulars out with injuries, so it’ll be interesting to see how Laviolette utilizes him going forward. But one thing is abundantly clear: Whether the future is this season or if we have to wait a little bit longer for full-time #McMichaelSZN, the future with this kid is very, very bright. Also: Shameless plug for my own McMichael article can be found here.
- Hendrix Lapierre – who was just sent back to his junior team yesterday after an impressive first stint in the NHL as a 19-year-old – made us all fall in love with him in the short time that he was here. But don’t worry. He’ll be back. It’s simply the smart move for the Caps to send him back to junior before he hits the 10-game mark at the NHL level, as that would burn the first year off of his entry-level contract. The Caps know they’re getting Nicklas Backstrom back soon, so it really wouldn’t make any sense at all to waste a full year of a cheap entry-level contract. Those types of contracts for talented young players who can contribute in your NHL lineup are extremely valuable in a salary cap era, and so the longer that those contracts last, the better. The Caps are doing the smart thing here, as much as we’ll miss Hendrix in the short-term… He’s going to be a part of this Caps team for a long, long time. And hey… At least he got to score his 1st NHL goal while he was here, and it was a beauty! See you soon, Lappy!!!
- Brett Leason – mammoth forward and the Caps’ 2nd Round pick in 2019 – was called up because of injuries in the Caps’ forward group and has produced beautifully, scoring 2 goals/3 points in 5 games. He’s also put 9 shots on net already, despite limited ice time.
- Forwards Aliaksei Protas, Beck Malenstyn, and Axel Jonsson-Fjallby have also all tasted the NHL this season and goaltender Zach Fucale was just recalled yesterday because of the injury to Vitek Vanecek. It’s possible that Fucale could see some game action if Vanecek is not ready to go, as the Caps play back-to-back in Detroit/Columbus over these next two days.
So all in all, the Caps have had 8 rookies on their roster already this season. And yet they continue to be analytically, statistically, and standings-wise one of the best teams in the NHL. Even with all of the injuries to all of the key players, they’re still out-possessing, out-shooting, and out-chancing almost everyone. The recent game against the Florida Panthers – who at the time were 9-0-1 – was a perfect example — on the road and without half of their top-6 forwards, the Caps out-shot and out-chanced the Panthers heavily and were able to fight back from a 4-1 deficit to force overtime and to earn a point. It’s that fight that’s got them having just the 2 regulation losses despite their lineup being so depleted by injuries. And it’s a testament to the organizational depth, the development of these players, and – of course – to the players themselves. The rookies who have come in, forced their way onto the team and into the lineup, and stepped up at a time when the Caps have needed them to — the Caps have 4 guys who have scored their 1st NHL goal already this season. That’s 2nd in the NHL, behind only the rebuilding Anaheim Ducks.
It’s not an easy thing to come into the NHL and look like you belong right away, to contribute right away. But that’s exactly what these Caps young guns have done, they’re making the most of their opportunity, and it’s been fun to watch.
Obviously, we all miss guys like Nicklas Backstrom, TJ Oshie, etc. — these are not only some of the best players on the Caps, but some of the very best players in the entire NHL. So any team is obviously going to be a million times better with them than without them — but for now, the rookies are helping to make their absences hurt a little less. And this experience for these young players is going to be invaluable, it’s going to speed up their development 10-fold so that when it really is their time, they’ll be 10x even more ready than they would have been otherwise. And that could potentially come in very handy for the Caps, especially if you’re dealing with injuries come playoff time. It’s always nice to have a bunch of talented young players to choose from who all already know your system and know what it takes to compete at the NHL level. That’s never a bad thing.
So for now, sit back and enjoy the youth movement taking hold. These kids are blossoming right in front of our eyes. And for a team that was supposed to be “over the hill” … When you add up all of these rookies, plus the youngest goalie tandem in the NHL in Samsonov and Vanecek, plus young scorers like Sprong etc. … Plus an Alex Ovechkin who’s still playing and scoring like he’s 24… Well then, suddenly this is one of the youngest teams in the league.
You can find our article on the Caps’ rookies who made the team right out of training camp here. It was written a month ago. It is no longer relevant as there is twice as many of them now. Hah.
The Caps’ next game is TONIGHT, 7:30pm EST/4:30pm PST, in Detroit against the Red Wings… who are actually kind of good now? No idea who will be in the lineup or who will be in net. Should be fun!
