The Washington Capitals have signed college free agent goaltender Clay Stevenson according to Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman. Stevenson, who played his junior hockey with the Coquitlam Express in the BCHL, just finished up his first season in the NCAA with Dartmouth.

The six-foot-four, 195-pound netminder was never drafted and is the second free-agent signing the Caps have employed to bolster their prospect pool after bringing in forward Henrik Rybinski weeks prior.

According to The Athletic’s Tarik El-Bashir, the team hosted Stevenson for a visit earlier this week. The Athletic’s Rick Dhaliwal reports that Stevenson chose the Caps over interest from the New York Rangers, Vancouver Canucks, and Seattle Kraken.

In 23 games this season at the Division One level, Stevenson posted a 6-14-2 record with a 2.70 goals-against average and a .922 save percentage. Dartmouth was a very bad team this season as you can tell by his record but Stevenson still managed to finish tied for the third-best save percentage in the ECAC Conference.

He was named to the All-ECAC Hockey third team, the All-ECAC rookie team, a finalist for ECAC Hockey’s Ken Dryden Goaltender of the Year Award, and the All-Ivy League first team.

In Ivy League games, he led the conference in saves (255) and saves per game (28.33), while finishing second in save percentage (.934).

3/28 update: The Capitals made the move official. Stevenson has signed a two-year entry-level deal worth $855k annually that will begin next season.

Capitals Sign Goaltender Clay Stevenson

ARLINGTON, Va. – The Washington Capitals have signed goaltender Clay Stevenson to a two-year entry-level contract beginning next season, senior vice president and general manager Brian MacLellan announced today. Stevenson’s contract will carry an average annual value of $855,000.

Stevenson, 23, posted a record of 6-14-2, with two shutouts, a 2.70 goals-against average and a .922 save percentage in his sophomore season at Dartmouth College of the Eastern College Athletic Conference (ECAC). The 6’4″, 195-pound goaltender posted a save percentage above .900 in all 23 games this season and his .922 save percentage was tied for second in the ECAC. The Chilliwack, British Columbia, native was named to the ECAC All-Rookie Team and the ECAC Third All-Star Team. Stevenson did not play for Dartmouth during his freshman season due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Prior to joining Dartmouth College, Stevenson played in three seasons with the Coquitlam Express in the British Columbia Hockey League (BCHL). In his third and final season in 2019-20 with Coquitlam, Stevenson finished with a 30-2-2 record with four shutouts, a 1.77 goals-against average and a .936 save percentage and led the team to the Ron Boileau Memorial Trophy, presented to the BCHL’s regular season champion. Stevenson was named a BCHL First Team All-Star, was honored as the BCHL’s Top Goaltender after finishing with the BCHL’s top goals-against average and top save percentage and was given the Wally Forslund Trophy, presented to the BCHL’s top goaltending duo.

In 85 games with Coquitlam, Stevenson finished with a 48-29-3 record with six shutouts, a 2.82 goals-against average and a .906 save percentage.

Headline photo: Elizabeth Kong/RMNB