Home / News / Capitals select Cam Allen, Team Canada captain and one of the combine’s top athletes, in fifth round of 2023 Draft

Capitals select Cam Allen, Team Canada captain and one of the combine’s top athletes, in fifth round of 2023 Draft

By Chris Cerullo

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June 29, 2023 2:26 pm

The Washington Capitals picked their first defenseman of the 2023 NHL Draft in the fifth round, selecting Cam Allen from the OHL’s Guelph Storm. Allen is a highly-touted defenseman that was a projected first or second draft pick coming into his draft year.

His production ultimately fell off as the Storm went through two separate coaching changes and Allen suffered a shoulder injury before the turn of the new year. The athletic 18-year-old had a tremendous draft combine where he finished in the top 10 of 11 different events.

Allen’s rookie season in the OHL opened scouting eyes as he put up 37 points (13g, 24a) in 65 games. After entering the 2022-23 campaign with a lot of draft hype, Allen fell off the page a bit as he was only able to grab 25 points (5g, 20a) in 62 sophomore season games.

Allen represented Canada at both the Hlinka Gretzky Cup and U-18 World Junior Championship, serving as captain of both teams. In those 12 combined tournament games, he came up with 11 points (1g, 10a). Capitals second-round pick, Andrew Cristall, was an alternate captain on that same World Juniors squad.

Allen was ranked as NHL Central Scouting’s 46th North American skater in their final rankings. Most draft outlets had the Toronto native ranked around 60 spots ahead of where he fell to the Caps in the fifth round.

“I really didn’t expect him to get through the third round,” NHL Network’s Dave Reid said. “This guy has been a stud of a defenseman since he was about 14 years old. His leadership abilities, his poise, his ability with the puck, and his ability to make plays given time is as good as anybody’s out there. I think the Capitals got a real steal here.”

Headline photo: @cam.allen11/IG

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