Ivan Miroshnichenko impresses Capitals in preseason debut: His ‘upside is awesome’ and ‘he looks like he’s got a lot of tools’
Ivan Miroshnichenko was nervous and had jitters in the first period of his NHL preseason debut for the Washington Capitals. But by the end of regulation, the 19-year-old Russian, who was the Caps’ first round pick in the 2022 NHL Draft, was the game’s second star and one of only two Caps’ players who had a multi-point night.
“He was sort of similar to a lot of our players I’d say, they got better as the game went along,” Spencer Carbery said at his post-game press conference.
Skating on the first line with Alex Ovechkin and Nicklas Backstrom, Miroshnichenko impressed in his 16:23 of ice time posting two assists, three hits, and three shots. He called the experience a dream come true.
“Only three shots!?” Tom Wilson said surprised. “I thought he had like 10. He was buzzing.”
Miroshnichenko’s outing was so good that it has seemingly turned an automatic assignment to the AHL’s Hershey Bears during Training Camp into a more difficult decision.
Read More
