The Washington Capitals have another prospect in the NCAA being honored for their 2023-24 season. After Ryan Leonard was named a finalist for Hockey East Rookie of the Year on Monday, Ryan Chesley was named to the All-Big Ten Second Team on Tuesday.
Chesley has been one of the nation’s top shutdown defenders for the Minnesota Gophers in his sophomore NCAA campaign. The 20-year-old blueliner has recorded eight points (2g, 6a) in 37 games this year and has blocked a team-high 74 shots which is also tied for the ninth-most blocks in the NCAA.
Big Ten Second-Team All-Stars:
F Dylan Duke #GoBolts
F Rhett Pitlick #GoHabsGo
F Landon Slaggert #Blackhawks
D Ryan Chesley #ALLCAPS
D Sam Rinzel #Blackhawks
D Scooter Brickey (UFA)
G Trey Augustine #LGRW— Kyle Cushman (@Kyle_Cush) March 19, 2024
Chesley and Leonard were teammates with Team USA at the most recent World Juniors where they took home gold medals after taking down Sweden 6-2 in the final. Depending on seeding, their two college teams could be on a collision course to face each other in the upcoming NCAA tournament.
Current projections have Boston College leading the field as the top seed in the Providence, Rhode Island regional while Minnesota is currently ranked as the eighth-best team in the country. If Minnesota ends up with the 8th or 9th seed in the tournament and isn’t swapped to another region, they could face off against Boston College in the second round if both teams win their first games.
Chesley was the Capitals’ second-round draft selection in the 2022 NHL Draft and will be eligible to forego his further college eligibility and sign an entry-level deal with the club after his postseason is over. The Capitals would likely assign him to the AHL’s Hershey Bears in that case but Chesley could also choose to return for his junior season at Minnesota.
The right-shot defender has received a ton of praise from his head coach Bob Motzko in recent weeks. Motzko even went as far as comparing Chesley to the Minnesota Wild’s Brock Faber who played with Chesley last season at Minnesota and should be a finalist for the Calder Trophy in the NHL this year.
“Some of the things that I can say about him are some of the things I used to say about Fabes,” Motzko told the StarTribune’s Randy Johnson. “He’s a beast of a defender, powerful skater, very strong, and his offense is going to continue to get better as he gets older. He’s gonna continue to become more and more of a complete player at a high, high level.
“He’s so responsible and plays heavy minutes. No matter who he’s paired with, he’s going to be out against a lot of teams’ top players. I think he’s one of the best in the country in defending.”
Chesley and the rest of the Gophers were taken out by Michigan in the Big Ten tournament semifinals on Saturday. They’ll now set their sights on March 24’s Selection Sunday to see their fate for the NCAA tournament.
