Rasmus Sandin will start his 2024 Training Camp with the Washington Capitals late due to some US immigration bureaucracy.
According to NHL.com’s Tom Gulitti, the Swedish defenseman’s work visa is delayed. Therefore, he will not be on the ice in any of the three practice groups on Thursday.
Foreign NHL players on teams based in the United States typically apply for a P-1A Athlete visa, which indicates that they are elite athletes coming to work in the country. European players need to take an additional step that Canadians do not, visiting the American consulate in their home country for an interview to get a stamp on their passport.
Sandin’s previous contract with the Toronto Maple Leafs, signed in 2022, expired after last season, likely necessitating a US work visa renewal. The 24-year-old defender signed a five-year extension with the Capitals last March. He was one of the Capitals’ representatives at the NHL European Player Media Tour in Prague, Czechia a few weeks ago.
“Yeah, it’s a visa issue kind of out of our hands really,” general manager Chris Patrick said Thursday. “He went through the right process and channels to get his visa put into his passport and it’s just gotten held up in Sweden. So we’ve kind of done everything we can to get it expedited and so far obviously it hasn’t worked out in our favor. So we’re just hoping that it gets resolved and once he gets here, it’ll be a couple days of getting him back up to speed and hopefully on the ice.”
Sandin played in 68 games for Washington last season, recording 23 points (3g, 20a), a step back from the 35 points (7g, 28a) he posted with the Capitals and Maple Leafs during the 2022-23 campaign. The young blueliner is aware that his performance did not meet expectations and admitted precisely that in his exit meeting with head coach Spencer Carbery last spring.
Carbery leaned heavily on Sandin to eat minutes last year, giving him 21:07 of ice time per game, second on the team behind only John Carlson (21:07). Once his visa issues are settled, Sandin will join up with a new-look defense corps that now includes offseason additions Jakob Chychrun and Matt Roy.
The Capitals plan to have 24 total defensemen on the ice at Training Camp until their first roster cuts.
