Washington Capitals Training Camp just opened and there is already a developing roster battle. Caps head coach Peter Laviolette has two players vying for the team’s second-line center role: Connor McMichael and Dylan Strome.
McMichael took line rushes on Friday as the center on the line with Strome on the wing and then they flipped places on Saturday. After Saturday’s practice, McMichael spoke with Mike Vogel about where he thinks he fits best.
“(Center) is a position that I want to play in,” McMichael said. “I’m just looking to prove that I belong there.
“I think it’s really healthy to have a battle with guys for certain positions on the ice,” he continued. “We brought in a lot of good players this year and there’s a lot of spots up for grabs. I want to be a centerman, that’s my natural position. I’m looking to do so and working hard against the guys who are up against me.”
The main guy that is up against him is Strome, who signed a one-year deal with the Caps this summer after being let go by the Chicago Blackhawks. Strome can play on the wing but saw the majority of his offensive success last season lining up down the middle with Alex DeBrincat and Patrick Kane. That line recorded 29 goals together at five-on-five with Strome at center compared to his time away from the duo which saw only four Blackhawks goals scored.
“Whatever happens, happens,” Strome said Friday. I played both (center and wing) last year and previous years. Coach talked to me a little bit and we’re going to try both and see what happens. I feel comfortable in both spots.”
The 21-year-old McMichael had a particularly great stretch playing down the middle last season that garnered praise from the coaching staff. In the eight-game spell with the youngster on the ice (5v5) at center, the team saw 60.9-percent of the shot attempts, 72-percent of the expected goals, 67.9-percent of the scoring chances, and 80.4-percent of the high danger chances. All of those rates led everyone on the team that played in all eight games and it wasn’t close.
“Connor’s done a pretty good job,” Laviolette said then. “He’s been a driving force on the ice. He’s been using his speed through the middle. He’s been generating chances and looks. He’s playing with a lot of confidence right now. Going into the game tonight, going into it, we want to keep him there and keep working on that confidence he’s shown.”
The former first-round draft pick was rewarded for that play by getting on average around two more minutes of ice time in March when the stretch occurred (11:05) than he did in February (8:50), January (9:09), and December (9:42).
He’ll have a full preseason to earn that sort of responsibility from the coaching staff again.
The Caps kick off their schedule against the Buffalo Sabres on Sunday afternoon at 2 pm.
Headline photo: Elizabeth Kong/RMNB
