Draft Day is here. The Washington Capitals will be making their first selection at pick number 20, which is the highest they have drafted since taking Jakub Vrana 13th overall in 2014.

I’ve picked out 24 potential names (12 defensemen and 12 forwards) of who could be your newest face in red.

We did the defensemen earlier and will now move on to the forwards.

Note: This is all assuming that the Capitals do actually pick 20th and said pick is not used to trade up or down in the draft or to acquire a roster player. Some of these prospects, listed in no particular order, may be projected as higher or lower selections by various scouting outlets around the world. The Caps’ eventual pick may not even make this list!

Offense, offense, offense, some more offense, and not a whole lot of defense. That’s Trikozov story here. He can score from everywhere with a wide variety of shots and has the hands to make defenders look silly. Pair that with excellent vision, the ability to fit passes through seams, and the “can’t teach that” knack of finding soft spots in defenses and you have a guy that should never fall to number 20…right?

Well, hockey is a two-way street and Trikozov is not exactly going to win the Selke. This isn’t some lazy Russian stereotype, he’s just not a particularly great skater, isn’t very physical, and simply has trouble being effective in the defensive zone. If you pair him with a center that can do a ton of that work for him and get him on the line where he doesn’t have to carry the puck a ton, you could have a high-scoring monster on the wing. The Caps system is missing big-time offensive talent and desperately needs a shot in the arm of someone like Trikozov. Plus, his name is fun to say.

NHL stylistic comparable: Alex Semin

Kasper possibly shouldn’t be in this post at all considering as we’ve gotten closer and closer to Draft Day, he has flown up the board and sits in the top ten for a lot of analysts. Everything right now points to him becoming a do-everything, top-six center as he has played a ton against men in the SHL and never looked out of place. This is a kid that has a phenomenally solid hockey foundation that building blocks could be placed on until he’s eventually a star in the NHL. A lot of respected hockey minds think very highly of him.

The speed is there, the size is there, the skill is there, the compete level is there, the strength is there, the athleticism is there, and the shot is getting there. They’re all in a drawstring bag right now and it’s just going to take pulling the string tight to meld them all together. If you screw up Kasper in some way where he doesn’t stick in the league, you’re probably doing something wrong.

NHL stylistic comparable: Jonathan Toews

Mesar is a real shifty, quick forward that is one of those players that can either slow a game down or speed it up whenever the puck is on his tape. He’s a natural playmaker and doesn’t tend to be wasteful with possession even in tight spaces or on the rush. The speed and hands combination is what makes him so highly thought of and what could propel him into the first round.

The big thing for him like many of these young forwards is the simple need to put on some muscle. Especially, when you consider that he isn’t the biggest player in the world at five-foot-ten and doesn’t really get involved in games physically. He’ll cover a lot of that up with his speed but it will only carry him so far until the NHL beckons.

NHL stylistic comparable: Jonathan Marchessault

Ostlund is a nifty, quick player that has a chance to rise in value after another year in Sweden and likely some action at the next World Juniors tournament. It’s unsure if he’ll last until 20 but he’s another silky Swede that should be able to run a future power play unit from the half wall at some stage. He has some really clever elusiveness and is really tough to knock off the puck even given that he’s not exactly the biggest center in the world.

Like a lot of playmakers his age, you want to see him get stronger so that he hopefully gets more confident in using his own shot to hurt opposing teams. He’s definitely solid enough defensively and in the dot that you wouldn’t be surprised if he ends up as a third-line center in the NHL somewhere if the offensive game doesn’t exactly pan out as planned.

NHL stylistic comparable: Alexander Kerfoot

We talked about some safe picks in the defensemen post and Kulich is probably one of those with the forwards. He already has a pretty well developed two-way game and normally players like that tend to be weaker offensively at this stage of their career but he has a very nice shot and is not afraid of going to dirty areas to score goals. Really smooth player who projects to grow into a top-six forward that can make an impact on both sides of the puck.

His play with the puck on his stick could probably use a little refining as he’s not someone who will control an entire shift by himself with the puck on a string. He’s also another one that needs to put on some muscle but that shouldn’t be a problem with the frame he has. Just a little gangly and lanky right now.

NHL stylistic comparable: Anthony Cirelli

Under normal circumstances, this is a player that should not get anywhere close to the Capitals at 20. By all accounts, Miroshnichenko was headed for the top five of this draft going into last season until he was hit with some horrible health news. In January, he was diagnosed with Hodgkin’s lymphoma which ended his campaign early. In better news, there have been positive developments after he finished up his treatment in early June and he was recently allowed to return to his regular training.

Even with the scary diagnosis and uncertainty around Russian players, he’s still expected to go somewhere in the first round on Thursday. Could a team like the Capitals take that chance and figure everything out later? He’s a player that has it all. Great size, speed, strength for his age, a deadly shot, one-on-one ability, power play prowess, leadership, celebration game, and a high compete level. His tape can be very reminiscent of a certain power forward on the Caps but we aren’t going to go there.

NHL stylistic comparable: Andrei Svechnikov

High risk, high reward with one of the better names available. Firkus has been an offensive stud in the WHL and if that game translates to the pro level he could be a top-line winger. The hands are already there and his shot is a true weapon made even more dangerous by the fact that it opens up passing lanes which he adeptly finds.

The main issue that may keep him from the first round is that scouts are not sure about his skating at the NHL level. There’s also the concern that if the offensive ability doesn’t translate against men, he doesn’t really have the skillset or the physicality to play a bottom-six role. So, the aforementioned high risk, high reward. You could have Alex DeBrincat or you could have Stanislav Galiev.

NHL stylistic comparable: Kyle Connor

There’s a sneaky play in buying on Ohgren’s ability to score goals in a bunch of different ways but it’s also always a little tough to evaluate Swedish youngsters playing in the SHL. He puts the puck in the net a whole bunch and is overall a solid, smart player. You’re buying in on a more meat and potatoes type goalscorer with Ohgren over some of the more creative, tricky options on this list.

His skating needs work which is something said about 467 times in these two pre-draft posts. Guess what’s next? He also could really do with adding a little more weight to his frame.

NHL stylistic comparable: Tyler Toffoli

Howard is one of the more underrated forward options in this draft in my eyes as his stock has been falling lately. He has a really high skill level and puts the puck into the back of the net. Simple. Maybe he’s a bit of a project but that’s why we’re talking about players towards the end of the first round and not the beginning.

Get ready to put back another two shots because guess what most believe Howard needs to work on to be effective at the next level? Add strength both in terms of his skating and frame. He’ll be a college player so he’ll likely get to simmer a bit before turning pro.

NHL stylistic comparable: David Perron

If you asked me to give you one name at the start of either of these posts, Yurov would be the one I’d want to fall into the Capitals’ hands the most. Even with the KHL contract, it’s still very likely they don’t even get the chance. He’s an absolute wizard with the puck, it sticks to his tape like glue and he knows exactly what to do with it. He’s a great skater and knows how to change gears to stymie defenders and create in the offensive zone. Unlike someone like Trikozov, he’s also very cognizant of the defensive side of the game and has a bit of a physical streak now and then.

He’s a top ten talent that may have to wait twice as long to hear his name called due to his contract status. Simple as that.

NHL stylistic comparable: Mitch Marner

Another guy with quite the name and another guy that has some skating concerns. Outside of that, Snuggerud is a pure sniper. His shot is his main weapon and is what has scouts overlooking the fact that his skating, which has come a long way from where it was, still needs a lot of work. He’s not a bad defensive player either but that side of his game is limited by the issues with his foot speed.

The Caps have seen guys with perceived skating issues (Tom Wilson) blossom as pros and a guy like Snuggerud is someone you take a chance on because he truly has a shot that could end up putting 30 pucks behind NHL goaltenders.

NHL stylistic comparable: James Neal

This guy’s name sounds like it was born out of a random hockey player name generator and we love him for it. He’s also just really good at hockey and fully deserves to be on this list even if his name was just John Smith. Another dude from the US National Team Development Program that is an absolute force offensively from the wing. Big-time “want” level from McGroarty as he’s the type of player that fights for every puck and knows what to do with it once he gets it.

He has the rare combination of grit and skill that Caps fans should know pretty well.

NHL stylistic comparable: TJ Oshie

There is a whole load of talent at the forward position and so much uncertainty as to where any of them should or could end up. That makes for a mixture that will hopefully allow the Capitals a great shot at grabbing some true talent at pick number 20. If they can grab one of the uber-talented Russians that may fall for a whole buffet of reasons, they could have a future impact player. Something similar occurred back in 2010 when they selected Evgeny Kuznetsov at pick number 26.

Who do you see among the forward group in this draft class that you’d want the Caps to target?