The Washington Capitals made the first round of cuts to their 2024 Training Camp roster on Monday. 20 players were cut in total, trimming the team’s roster to 51 from the 71 players that began camp at the end of last week.
Four players will head back to their junior clubs, while the other 13 will report to the AHL’s Hershey Bears once the back-to-back Calder Cup champions get their camp underway. Three of the players, Cam Allen, Eriks Mateiko, and Leon Muggli, played in Sunday’s preseason-opening loss to the Philadelphia Flyers.
Players sent back to junior/European teams
- Cam Allen, D (Guelph Storm, OHL)
- Patrick Thomas, F (Brantford Bulldogs, OHL)
- Eriks Mateiko, F (Saint John Sea Dogs, QMJHL)
- Leon Muggli, D (EV Zug, Swiss NL)
Players sent to the Hershey Bears
- Ryan Hofer, F
- Garin Bjorklund, G
- Grant Cruikshank, F
- Brad Hunt, D
- Justin Nachbaur, F
- Garrett Roe, F
- Hudson Thornton, D
- Brennan Saulnier, F
- Matt Strome, F
- Aaron Ness, D
- Dmitry Osipov, D
- Tyler Weiss, F
- Jayden Lee, D
Players released from tryout
- Ayodele Adeniye, D
- Oasiz Wiesblatt, F
- Seth Eisele, G
None of the veteran players cut are signed to NHL contracts so they will not require waivers to head to Hershey. Two of the prospects cut are starting their first seasons in the Capitals organization after being selected in the 2024 NHL Draft.
With the smaller roster, the Capitals will cut down from three Training Camp groups to two.
“Now we start to play, we have a back-to-back coming up so there’ll be a game group and then there’ll be a practice stash,” Capitals head coach Spencer Carbery said after the team’s 6-2 loss to the Flyers, Sunday. “I don’t know what our number will be at but it’ll be a practice and maybe a few extras that we work through.”
Washington had a scheduled off day on Monday before flying to Boston on Tuesday to play the Bruins in the first of two preseason meetings between the clubs. The Capitals will play five more preseason games, culminating in an October 5 matchup with the Bruins.
The Capitals will open their regular season at home against the New Jersey Devils on October 12.
#Caps have reduced their training camp roster to 51 players. Washington’s updated training camp roster can be found here: https://t.co/6QUm0zAJgA pic.twitter.com/YZA61PEItE
— CapitalsPR (@CapitalsPR) September 24, 2024
