With the start of training camp now just days away, more Washington Capitals players are arriving in town to get back onto the ice at MedStar Capitals Iceplex.

Thursday, we got a whole new batch of faces, including Anthony Mantha and Connor McMichael, who will both be looking to make a big impression on new head coach Spencer Carbery this preseason.

familiar faces we love to see pic.twitter.com/s1zcyTC63M

— Washington Capitals (@Capitals) September 14, 2023

Mantha, 28, is coming off perhaps his worst season in the NHL, seeing his points per game drop by more than a third (from 0.62 to 0.40) and being healthy scratched multiple times by former bench boss Peter Laviolette. The big winger told reporters at the Capitals’ Breakdown Day that he had hired a “mental coach” following the scratches and in a more recent interview committed to losing ten pounds this summer to ensure a more productive 2023-24 campaign.

The weight loss is part of his strategy to have a major comeback year and earn a big deal next offseason in unrestricted free agency. “My personal goal is 60 points this year and then to sign a long-term contract somewhere,” Mantha said. “I must have a big season – this is the last year of my contract and I would like to bounce back. It’s practically a second chance after last season. I had other less good seasons in the NHL or AHL so I know how to come back strong.”

McMichael, like Mantha, is also hoping for a big preseason. The 22-year-old former first-round draft selection took a bit of a step back last year as he got into just six NHL games compared to the 68 he played in his rookie season. Once sent back to the AHL’s Hershey Bears, however, McMichael helped guide that Bears team to the franchise’s twelfth Calder Cup victory with a team-leading six playoff goals.

The young forward likely hopes that his past Hershey connections to Carbery as well as his ties to new assistant coach Mitch Love through Team Canada will help propel him to a more permanent spot on the NHL roster this season. McMichael was markedly pleased by the news of Carbery’s hiring in June.

“Right when the news came out it was exciting,” McMichael said then. “Knowing Carbs from my first year here it couldn’t have happened to a better guy. He’s a really hard-working guy. I’m excited to hopefully get the chance to work with him again and have that understanding with each other, that familiarity. I’m excited.”

Other new and notable players to join Mantha and McMichael for the informal session included Rasmus Sandin, Charlie Lindgren, Martin Fehervary, Trevor van Riemsdyk, and Sonny Milano. Both Sandin and Milano are preparing for their first full seasons as members of the Caps, while Fehervary and TVR are coming off shiny new contracts they will look to live up to. Lindgren will be seeking a bounce back of his own after winning just twice in his last 13 appearances with the team.

Capitals’ training camp begins on September 20.

Headline photo: Alan Dobbins/RMNB