Connor McMichael played in his first Home Opener for the Washington Capitals on Friday. The 22-year-old forward impressed head coach Spencer Carbery through Training Camp and the preseason enough to earn a spot within the team’s top-six forward group, where he skated against the Pittsburgh Penguins.
Carbery was asked after practice on Sunday about what he has seen change in McMichael’s game that has taken the former first-round pick to the next level. The rookie bench boss knows McMichael’s development path well as he was his bench boss with the Hershey Bears during the 2020-21 season, leading the team in goals (14) and points (27).
“He’s been excellent the whole way through camp,” Carbery said. “He was good the other night as well. Confidence, playmaking ability, making plays when they’re there, making smart decisions when they’re not there. The total package. He’s demonstrated [that] through camp, through preseason games, and I liked his game the other night against Pittsburgh.”
McMichael has developed and paid his dues in recent years. After being sent down to the Bears last November, McMichael helped push the Bears to the franchise’s twelfth Calder Cup championship, leading the team in postseason goals. McMichael fully committed himself to two-way hockey, centering the team’s second line and playing in all situations.
Monumental Sports Network’s Tarik El-Bashir mentioned to Carbery that Evgeny Kuznetsov said it seems like McMichael’s growth has come from not being afraid to make mistakes. Under Peter Laviolette, McMichael received infrequent ice time and would seemingly be stapled to the bench if he made any sort of error.
“That’s a really fair point for an individual player of walking that line of earning opportunity from a coach, being reliable, especially for an offensive player that needs to make those types of plays to be effective and be an offensive threat,” Carbery said. “You feel like you almost have a weight off your shoulders where you’re able to push the envelope there and if it does end up bad it’s not the end of the world.
“For offensive players, that’s a big part of confidence and earning coaches’ trust. And, that’s what he’s been able to do because he’s been successful with those plays. He’s gone through a long process of learning what that looks like. When to make a decision to do ‘X’ and when I can be creative and make decision ‘Y’.”
McMichael spent virtually the entire preseason playing on the left wing of the second line, skating with Evgeny Kuznetsov and Tom Wilson. He kept that spot in the team’s first regular season against the Penguins.
A top-six role would normally mean that the team is depending on McMichael to put up consistent points in games. Carbery says he doesn’t exactly see it way.
“I think it’s important, but I’ll be honest with you, I won’t put much weight on it myself or with him,” Carbery said. “Just because, if he’s playing the way that he’s playing right now, good things will follow. Good things will happen whether it’s this year or next year. I’m not really worried about that. If he’s constantly doing things that are leading to positive outcomes on the ice – numbers will follow.”
McMichael will get a second crack at registering his first point of the season against the Calgary Flames on Monday night.
Headline photo: Elizabeth Kong/RMNB
