Martin Fehervary is headed into his third full season in the NHL. The 23-year-old Slovakian defenseman has been a staple in the Washington Capitals’ top four the past two seasons and is expected to fill that same role under new head coach Spencer Carbery.
While Carbery may be new to some Caps players, he isn’t to Fehervary. The two spent parts of two seasons together in the AHL with the Hershey Bears. The young blueliner spoke about that connection and a variety of other topics in his first media availability of the preseason.
“I think [Carbery] knows what to do,” Fehervary said Tuesday. “I really like this system, what we play. I had him in Hershey. And I always liked it. And I never had any issues. So I think it should be really good fit for us.”
To ensure that he got the chance to play under Carbery again, Fehervary first needed to sign an extension with the Caps this past summer. Fehervary’s entry-level deal that he signed with the team in 2018 expired and he put pen to paper on a new three-year, $8.025 million contract in July.
The former second-round draft pick expressed relief at the renewed job security and hinted that playing in a contract year last season weighed on him.
“Just mentally, got the kind of release,” Fehervary said. “You always want to say you don’t want to think about it, and during the contract year, but you still have it somewhere in your mind. Feels like I was a little bit, kind of stressed, or like I was just thinking about it a little bit sometimes, and I just feel awesome right now. That really helps me a lot. I’m super excited for the season.”
Something else that may have affected Fehervary’s performance last year was lingering injury issues. Like many other Caps, Fehervary was not spared by the injury bug despite his younger age.
Fehervary was first dinged up in December, when Calgary Flames forward Milan Lucic stapled him along the boards. The hit, which injured the rearguard’s elbow,forced him into a sling, onto the injured reserve, and kept him out of 12 games.
After returning from that ailment, Fehervary would then go down again in March with a groin problem. That didn’t stop him from recording the third fastest top maximum skating speed during the 2022-23 season and being literally faster than Connor McDavid but it did slow him down in other ways.
“It wasn’t really like big injuries, but it limited me,” Fehervary said. “So right now, I’ve been working all my summer about that, prevent those kind of injuries, make sure I have a good summer practice. And I did.
“Didn’t go for a World Championship because of those injuries. I just wanted to focus for this season and just make sure I’m healthy. And I am, which is really great. And I’m feeling really, really good.”
In the 67 games that Fehervary did feature in, he came up with just 16 points (6g, 10a). One point fewer than his previous NHL career high of 17 (8g, 9a) set the season before and a far cry from his hot 2020-21 AHL season that saw him put up 17 points (3g, 14a) in just 24 games.
That professional career best was set with Carbery at the helm of the Bears. Fehervary would like to try and get back as close as he can to that sort of offensive production this upcoming season.
“I think I can improve my offensive game,” Fehervary said. “Still working on the details in the D-zone and just get better as a hockey player. Like I said, I’ve always wanted to work hard and get better. And right now we’re working on it. With that confidence, you feel better on the ice and then you can do more stuff on the ice.
“I scored, I don’t know, maybe six goals last year, something like that. I think I can get more. But the same with [making plays]. I think I can get better. I’ll try to work on it. Don’t just stay at home and just defend.”
Overall, Fehervary sounds like he’s very excited to get going again and is raring to go under a coach that he knows and has had success under previously.
“I got here in the US a little bit earlier than last year,” Fehervary said. “So I’ve been here for a while now, and I just feel awesome. Being around, I love Washington. Me and my girlfriend are having a great time here. And so we just love it here. The atmosphere in the locker room is really awesome. So I’m really excited.”
So far, Carbery has had him primarily skating with regular partner from last season, Nick Jensen on the team’s second pair. Jensen missed three practices for personal reasons so Fehervary has also seen time next to fellow 2018 draft pick Alex Alexeyev.
Headline photo: Katie Adler/RMNB
