The Washington Capitals announced another roster move to bolster the Hershey Bears for their AHL playoff run after sending Aliaksei Protas, Joe Snively, and Beck Malenstyn down on Friday morning.
The team re-assigned 19-year-old, Swedish forward, Alexander Suzdalev, from the WHL’s Regina Pats to their AHL affiliate. Suzdalev wrapped up a highly successful rookie season in Canadian junior hockey with the Pats in April.
The Capitals selected Suzdalev in the third round of the 2022 NHL Draft.
NEWS | The Washington Capitals have re-assigned forward Alexander Suzdalev from the Regina Pats of the Western Hockey League (WHL) to the Hershey Bearshttps://t.co/Mp4vE95C8h
— Washington Capitals (@Capitals) April 14, 2023
With the Pats as super phenom Connor Bedard’s teammate, Suzdalev recorded 86 points (38g, 48a) in 66 regular season games. He added 10 more points (3g, 7a) in 10 playoff games.
The 6’3″, 172-pound winger ranked first among all WHL rookies in scoring by a whopping 28 points. Suzdalev was named WHL Rookie of the Month in both December and February. He also pulled off ‘The Michigan’ in a live game and recorded his first career hat trick.
Suzdalev joins fellow prospects Dru Krebs, Mitchell Gibson, Bogdan Trineyev, and Ludwig Persson as effectively Hershey’s black aces for the team’s upcoming postseason.
The Bears do have two more regular season games left on their schedule. It is unknown if Suzdalev or any of the other prospects will play in either.
Here’s the press release from the Caps:
Capitals Re-assign Alexander Suzdalev from Regina Pats to Hershey Bears
The Washington Capitals have re-assigned forward Alexander Suzdalev from the Regina Pats of the Western Hockey League (WHL) to the Hershey Bears of the American Hockey League (AHL), senior vice president and general manager Brian MacLellan announced today.
Suzdalev, the Capitals’ third-round choice, 70th overall, in the 2022 NHL Draft, recorded 86 points (38g, 48a) in 66 games with Regina this season. The 6’2″, 172-pound forward led WHL rookies in goals, assists and points and ranked tied for 11th among all skaters in scoring. Suzdalev was named the WHL Rookie of the Month for the months of December and February, the only player to earn the honor twice this season. Suzdalev added 10 points (7g, 3a) in seven playoff games with Regina, which ranked third on the team.
Suzdalev spent the 2021-22 season in Sweden, leading HV71’s junior team (Sweden-Jr.) in scoring with 51 points (15g, 36a) in 45 regular season games. The Khabarovsk, Russia native, who competes with Sweden internationally, also appeared in four games with HV71’s U18 team, where he recorded eight points (3g, 5a), and skated in five games with HV71 of HockeyAllsvenskan (Sweden-2). Additionally, Suzdalev won a gold medal with Team Sweden at the 2022 IIHF World U18 Championships, appearing in six games.
Headline photo: @WHLPats/Twitter
