The Capitals announced on Sunday morning that they have recalled goaltender Vitek Vanecek from the AHL’s Hershey Bears and have re-assigned Ilya Samsonov to the Bears.
The move allows the Caps to keep three goaltenders available while also letting Samsonov return to the Bears to prepare for the AHL playoffs. The Bears will play the final game of their regular season on Sunday night before facing off against the Bridgeport Sound Tigers on Friday.
Vanecek will travel with the Capitals to Raleigh for Game Three on Monday evening. This is Vanecek’s first call-up to the Capitals.
Vanecek, who was selected with the Capitals’ second-round pick in the 2014 NHL Draft, has played 38 games with the Bears this season and posted a 21-10-6 record, with a 2.62 goals against average and a .907 save percentage.
Vanecek led the Bears to a 4-1 victory against the Utica Comets on Saturday night and was selected as the first star of the game.
A message from your number one star! pic.twitter.com/9L6xBzN5ON
— Chocolate Hockey (@ChocHockey) April 14, 2019
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The Washington Capitals have recalled goaltender Vitek Vanecek from the Hershey Bears and re-assigned goaltender Ilya Samsonov to Hershey, senior vice president and general manager Brian MacLellan announced today.
Vanecek, 23, has posted a record of 21-10-6 with a 2.62 goals against average and a .907 save percentage in 38 games with the Bears this season. The 6’1″, 190-pound goaltender was named to the 2019 AHL All-Star Classic Atlantic Division team and was named the CCM/AHL Player of the Week for the period ending Oct. 21. In that span, Vanecek posted a 2-0-1 record with a 1.62 goals against average and a .949 save percentage, stopping 94 of 99 shots in three road starts. The Havlickuv Brod, Czech Republic, native has allowed two or fewer goals in 19 games this season.
In 110 career games with the Bears, Vanecek has a 52-33-24 record with a 2.69 goals against average, a .903 save percentage and nine shutouts.
The Capitals selected Vanecek with their second round pick, 39th overall, in the 2014 NHL Draft.
Samsonov, 22, has posted a record of 19-14-5 with a 2.74 goals against average and a .896 save percentage in 36 games with the Bears this season. The 6’2″, 205-pound goaltender has recorded three shutouts and posted a 10-0-1 record from Jan. 12 through Feb. 27.
The Magnitogorsk, Russia, native recorded a 12-9-1 record with a 2.31 goals against average and a .926 save percentage in 26 regular season games and a 1-2 record with a 2.30 goals against average and a .913 save percentage in five playoff games with Metallurg Magnitogorsk in the Kontinental Hockey League (KHL) during the 2017-18 season. The Magnitogorsk, Russia, native also represented Russia in two international games, recording a 0.99 goals against average and a .956 save percentage.
Washington selected Samsonov with their first round pick, 22nd overall, in the 2015 NHL Draft.
