{"id":15005,"date":"2017-08-23T08:45:34","date_gmt":"2017-08-23T12:45:34","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/hockey\/?p=15005"},"modified":"2025-10-10T22:55:36","modified_gmt":"2025-10-11T02:55:36","slug":"tsp-washington-capitals-prospects","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/hockey\/2017\/08\/23\/tsp-washington-capitals-prospects\/","title":{"rendered":"TSP: Washington Capitals Prospects"},"content":{"rendered":"

Welcome to the 2017 edition of \u201cTop Shelf Prospects\u201d. During the summer, I will feature a team-by-team look at the top prospects in the NHL. I will follow the order of the first round of the NHL draft (as if there were no trades). You\u00a0can find all the articles here<\/a>. Since we had an\u00a0extensive NHL Draft preview<\/a>, I will not be reviewing the players who were drafted this year. There have been no games since then, and my reports on them will not have changed.<\/em><\/p>\n

I will link you to those articles; as well as taking a look at prospects that were acquired before this year\u2019s draft; their progress, and their chances of making the 2017-18 roster.\u00a0<\/em>I will also bring you one sleeper pick \u2013 a player who was either drafted in the 4th-round or later; or an undrafted free agent signing who I pick as a dark horse to make the NHL. 50 NHL games played or being 25 years old is the cut-off for prospects. These are not hard or fast rules though, and I may make some exceptions depending on the circumstances.<\/em><\/p>\n

TSP: Washington Capitals Prospects<\/h2>\n

\"\"<\/a>Many thought that 2016-17 would finally be the Washington Capitals<\/a> year. Once again, the team looked great in the regular season. They won their second straight President’s Trophy. Unfortunately, they also failed to get past the second round of the Stanley Cup Playoffs, falling to their familiar rivals, the Pittsburgh Penguins<\/a>\u00a0in seven games.<\/p>\n

The loss brought about big changes in Washington. Defenceman Nate Schmidt<\/a>\u00a0<\/strong>was lost to the Vegas Golden Knights<\/a>\u00a0in the expansion draft<\/a>. Free agency ravaged the roster with Kevin Shattenkirk<\/a><\/strong>,\u00a0Justin Williams<\/a><\/strong>, and\u00a0Karl Alzner<\/a> <\/strong>all signing with new clubs. The team re-signed<\/a>\u00a0centre\u00a0Evgeny Kuznetsov<\/a><\/strong>, winger<\/a> T.J. Oshie<\/a><\/strong>,\u00a0and defenceman<\/a>\u00a0Dmitry Orlov<\/a><\/strong>\u00a0to new big deals. However, this created a cap crunch and Marcus Johansson<\/a>\u00a0<\/strong>was traded to<\/a> the New Jersey Devils<\/a>. The additions have been few and far between, as Devante Smith-Pelly<\/a><\/strong> is the Capitals biggest free agent acquisition.<\/p>\n

2017 NHL Draft Picks:\u00a0Tobias Geisser<\/strong>,\u00a0Sebastian Walfridsson<\/strong>,\u00a0Benton Maass<\/strong>,\u00a0Kristian Roykas Marthinsen<\/strong><\/p>\n

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Top Prospect: Ilya Samsonov<\/h3>\n

Goalie \u2014 Shoots Left \u2014 Catches Left
\nBorn February 22nd, 1997 \u2014 Magnitogorsk, Russia
\nHeight 6\u20194\u2033 \u2014 Weight 203 lbs [193 cm \/ 92 kg]
\nDrafted by the Washington Capitals in the 1st round, #22 overall at the 2015 NHL Draft<\/p>\n