Washington Capitals Prospect Update: January

Feb 1, 2023 - 7:30 PM

CHL

Jake Karabela, C
JAN: 10GP - 5G - 5A - 10PTS
SEASON: 45GP - 14G - 14A - 28PTS

Karabela had his best month to date putting up a point per game, only going scoreless twice in those ten games. He’s still on pace to score less points than he did last season, it’s still good to see him go a bit of a tear. Hopefully the last couple months of the season are similar to his January.

Hakon Hanelt, C/W
JAN: 0GP
SEASON: 28GP - 3G - 14A - 17 PTS

Hanelt went off to the World Juniors in December and right before the games were about to matter he was injured and he has stayed injured, missing all of January. Injuries have always been a concern if Hanelt so this most recent injury doesn’t bode well.

Ryan Hofer, C
JAN: 9GP - 7G - 4A - 11PTS
SEASON: 36GP - 23G - 13A - 36PTS

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If Hofer has been anything he’s been consistent, being exactly or close to exactly a point per game every month. He was traded to the Kamploops Blazers, stacking up their team. He should probably dominate even more as a 20-year-old in the W, but his destiny isn’t to be a top-six player in the NHL so it’s not a huge deal. He looks like he has the identity of a strong fourth-liner as his ceiling and that’s perfectly fine.

Alexander Suzdalev, LW
JAN: 10GP - 4G - 9A - 13PTS
SEASON: 43GP - 24G - 34A - 58PTS

Suzdalev had his worst month to date this season, but that was mainly due to him going scoreless in the first three games of the month. He’s currently on a seven game, 13 point streak, getting back to being dominant. The good news his he’s been paired with Connor Bedard recently, so hopefully that sticks.

Dru Krebs, LHD
JAN: 11GP - 2G - 8A - 10PTS
SEASON: 47GP - 5G - 24A - 29PTS

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January was Krebs best month so far. Last year he was on the worst team in the league so it was hard for him to tread above water but with a new roster he’s been thriving. He is the only drafted player on his team, so the team still isn’t great but it’s much better than what he dealt with last season. He’s already smashed his point total from last season when he only scored 19 points. Still, he shouldn’t be known as an offensive guy, he’s more of a reliable skater and defender, it’s just a plus he’s putting up points.

NCAA

Joaquim Lemay, LHD
JAN: 5GP - 0G - 2A - 2PTS
SEASON: 21GP - 1G - 8A - 9PTS

Lemay didn’t play a lot in January due to the college schedule. He was up and down the lineup from top pair to the #7 man, which was kind of odd. We’ll see how the season ends for him.

Brent Johnson, RHD
JAN: 0GP
SEASON: 13GP - 1G - 5A - 6PTS

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Johnson ha been injured since the beginning of December and has yet to play. Hopefully he gets back on the ice soon.

David Gucciardi, LHD
JAN: 6GP - 0G - 1A - 1PTS
SEASON: 20GP - 2G - 4A - 6PTS

Gucciardi started this season like Johnson did last season, as his team’s seventh defensemen, but after just a handful of games he’s moved up to the bottom pairing and recently has been settling in on the second pairing. While it is his first year in the NCAA, at 20 years old you want to see him get as many minutes as possible, and as he continues to get comfortable, up that offense as well. He’s been good, not great (but not bad, either) to start his NCAA career. You want to see at least a bit more offense than this because as of now, he’s on pace to have less points than last season

Ryan Chesley, RHD
JAN: 8GP - 1G - 3A - 4PTS
SEASON: 28GP - 2G - 5A - 7PTS

Chesley has maybe finally started to find his offensive game. He has three points in his last five games, almost half his seasons total points. It’s too early to see if it’s just a little hot streak or him beginning to unlock his potential a bit more. Let’s see how February unfolds.

Chase Clark, G
SEASON: 5GP - 3.55GAA .842sv%

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Those stats don’t look amazing but Clark has yet to even start a game because he’s backing one of the best goalies in college, Yaniv Perets. All five games are coming in relief so you can’t blame Chase. He came into the game on 10/23, 10/24, 12/9, 12/10, and 1/20. It wouldn’t be easy for anyone to put up good stats in a situation like. For now, he’ll just have to keep sitting in the back and be ready if he’s ever called upon.

Mitchell Gibson, G
SEASON: 14GP - 2.25GAA, .919SV%

Gibson has had his worst month of the year in January, posting below .900sv% in three of his six games. Even then, his stats look strong on the year. It won’t be surprising to see him bounce back above .920sv% and stay there to end the season.

EUROPE

Bogdan Trineyev, LW
KHL
JAN: 12GP: 2G - 6A - 8PTS
SEASON: 30GP - 2G - 9A - 11PTS

Bogdan is starting to heat up. He’s finally staying healthy and getting consistent third line minutes and producing. He’s showing why the Caps were high on him: he’s big, hits hard, has great speed, and above average playmaking skills. He even scored his first ever KHL goal. Now he just needs to stay in the lineup and keep the points up before he heads over to North America.

Ivan Miroshnichenko, LW
KHL
JAN: 9GP - 1G - 0A - 1PTS
SEASON: 17GP - 2G - 1A - 3PTS

The good news is Ivan has been playing in the second best league in the world, the bad news is he isn’t getting the most minutes. in fact, two of the games he played he played ZERO minutes. He literally just sat on the bench. It’s interesting, in the three games he’s played in the top nine (two on the third line and one on the first line) he has posted a goal and an assist. All the other 14 games he’s played in the KHL, when he’s been on the fourth line or 13th forward, he has just one point. So, maybe they should play him in the top nine a lot more.

Tobias Geisser, LHD
National League (Swiss)
JAN: 10GP - 2G - 0A - 2PTS
SEASON: 40GP - 5G - 11A - 16PTS

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Geisser will never be confused for being an offensive defensemen but it’s good to see him keep producing at the level he has so far. He’s got a lot about his game that seems Jonas Siegenthaler-esque: a high-end shutdown defensemen with size and speed.

Damien Riat, RW
National League (Swiss)
JAN: 9GP: 2G - 4A - 6PTS
SEASON: 40GP - 8G - 12A - 20PTS

Riat is projected to score two fewer points than last season in 17 more games. It’s doubtful he’ll ever come back to North America, though, so while it’s never great if a prospect doesn’t pan out, it won’t be a surprise nor a huge loss for the organization at this point.

Ludwig Persson, C/LW
HockeyAllsvenskan
JAN: 9GP - 1G - 2A - 3PTS
SEASON: 32GP - 4G - 10A - 14PTS

Persson has continued to have a decent season in what is essentially Sweden’s AHL-type development league. It’s unknown how much time he’s getting or where he’s being slotted, but while more production would be nice, there’s nothing to be concerned about as of now.

Oskar Magnusson, C/RW
HockeyAllsvenskan
JAN: 9GP - 1G - 1A - 2PTS
SEASON: 38GP - 5G - 9A - 14PTS

Like Persson, Oskar is having a good-not-great season. He is currently projected to basically double his point total from last season, but in 11 more games. Persson is a year younger than Magnusson, but Magnusson is tied with him in six more games. Oskar is seventh forward on his team in points. So all in all, good, but you’d like to see more from him.

ECHL

Bear Hughes, C
JAN: 13GP - 4G - 6A - 10PTS
SEASON: 37GP - 16G - 22A - 38PTS

Hughes isn’t a Capitals prospect technically, he was drafted by the Caps, but was only signed to AHL/ECHL deal. He had a slight down trajectory in January but that was mainly because he was demoted to third line center for some damn reason. He’s still looking quite good, over a point per game pace. And he was also voted in the ECHL All Star. Hopefully, they put him back in the top six like he belongs.

Martin Hugo Has, RHD
JAN: 12GP - 1G - 3A - 4PTS
SEASON: 31GP - 2G - 5A - 7PTS

Hugo still hasn’t really put up the points but that shouldn’t be concerning. If Hugo is ever going to make an impact on a professional level it will be due to his defensive side of the game. He’s been getting top four time and it’s a good guess he’s probably being used as a shutdown guy due to his size and skating ability. This is fine development for a guys who’s ceiling is a strong bottom pairing defensemen.

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Clay Stevenson, G
SEASON: 18GP - 2.19GAA - .926sv%

Stevenson is looking really good to start his professional career. His ECHL save percentage is fourth in the ECHL and his goals against is second. Among U24 players, his save percentage and goals against is second. The Caps once again, are building a strong goalie pipeline.

Garin Bjorklund, G
0GP

For some reason Bjorklund hasn’t played a game yet this season. It might be injury related. Either way, hopefully he gets some games at some point because he’s just 20 years old and needs to be playing.

AHL

Garret Pilon, C/LW/RW
JAN: 10GP - 4G - 4A - 8PTS
SEASON: 23GP - 6G - 10A - 16PTS

After missing almost two months to injury, Pilon returned in January. He didn’t tear it up by any means but eight points in 10 games after missing so much time is pretty darn good. His numbers probably start to climb the healthier he stays.

Beck Malenstyn, LW/RW
JAN: 10GP - 3G - 0A - 3PTS
SEASON: 14GP - 3G - 0A - 3PTS

Malenstyn returned from injury and was assigned to the Bears. He’s doing his usual thing, playing in the Bears bottom six causing a ruckus with his speed and physicality, and using his hard shot when he gets a chance.

Bobby Nardella, LHD
JAN: 10GP - 0G - 3A - 3PTS
SEASON: 33GP - 3G - 13A - 16PTS

Nardella has also been off and on the injury list. He’s certainly having a down year by his standards. A lot of the Bears have been injured this season, especially lately, so that could be the reason for the lack of the product. We’ll see how they do as the season moves on and, hopefully, health stays in the positive.

Hendrix Lapierre, C
JAN: 9GP - 2G - 3A - 5PTS
SEASON: 41GP - 10G - 12A - 22PTS

Lapierre had slight uptick after a down December (but remember everyone did on the Bears with all their injuries and call ups). He’s still only getting third line minutes and second unit power play time so it’s hard to produce like that, but he still is. Even with the lack of proper time, Lapierre has still produced the fifth most points on the Caps. Hopefully, he gets more and more time, but unless there’s an injury to a lot of centers, it’s doubtful.

Riley Sutter, C/RW
JAN: 7GP - 0G - 1A - 1PTS
SEASON: 39GP - 2G - 4A - 6PTS

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Sutter probably won’t be much of a NHL player, more of a tweener. If he wants to prove he’s more he needs to stay healthy and start producing, which won’t be easy since he mainly plays on the fourth line with the Bears. But he still enamore the Bears with his hard work and willing to do anything to win with a big hit or shot block.

Lucas Johansen, LHD
JAN: 3GP - 0G - 0A - 0PTS
SEASON: 16GP - 1G - 1A - 2PTS

Johansen probably should have made the Caps out of camp with the way he played in preseason, but alas... Laviolette. Points are not that important for him, as he’s more of a defensive guy, but you’d still like to see a couple more points on the board. Most of all he needs to stay healthy, which he was for a bit but has missed handful of games due to an injury, only playing three games in January. He did get a call up to play with the Caps in December and January, which is always a good sign, meaning the coaches like him.

Vincent Iorio, RHD
JAN: 8GP - 1G - 3A - 4PTS
SEASON: 40GP - 2G - 12A - 14PTS

January was Iorio’s most productive month. He won’t ever be a top offensive player but it’s good to see him producing. For him, it’s all about just getting used to the professional game, which he is getting. The coaches love him and it’s not hard to see why. He’s smart, big, and reliable.

Henrik Rybinski, C/RW
JAN: 5GP - 0G - 2A - 2PTS
SEASON: 28GP - 2G - 9A - 11PTS

Just as Rybinski was starting to get going he got hurt or sick. He played just five games in January. Rybinski will be a project. He has great skill and works hard every shift. He probably won’t get the minutes he should this season but hopefully he keeps learning the game and gets bigger minutes next season.

Kody Clark, RW
0GP

Clark has been injured since the preseason. It might be time to give up all hope on him. He can’t seem to stay healthy and when he is he isn’t producing like a second round pick.

Hunter Shepard, G
SEASON: 16GP - 2.12GAA - .918sv%

Shephard had his worst month in a long time. Still, his numbers are very strong as a rookie. He has the best goals against in the league among all goalies and is ninth in save percentage. At some point the Caps need to give him a game or two to see what he can do.

Zach Fucale, G
SEASON: 24GP - 2.52GAA - .900sv%

Fucale just isn’t having a great year and with the NHL duo playing so strong and Shephard taking the number one spot in Hershey, Fucale will need to really kill to keep his NHL hopes alive.

NHL

Alexander Alexeyev, LHD
JAN: 5GP - 0G - 1A - 1PTS
SEASON: 12GP - 0G - 2A - 2PTS

It’s good news that Alexeyev has been getting some playing time with the Caps. You can tell he’s a rookie, his game is very raw, but there’s something promising in his game. He’s big, smart, and moves pretty darn well. He just needs to learn to embrace his more creative side and stop playing it so safe.