The Capitals relinquished their exclusive rights to draft picks Haakon Hanelt and Brett Hyland after signing neither to an entry-level contract before June 1’s yearly “must sign by” deadline. The two prospects have now become free agents.
Hanelt was a 2021 fifth-round pick by the Capitals, and Hyland was a 2023 seventh-round pick. Neither player spent the 2024-25 season in the team’s organization.
PuckPedia shared the full list of players around the league set to become free agents late last month.
Hanelt played last season in his native Germany, splitting his time between the Deutsche Eishockey Liga (DEL) and DEL2. At the top level, he played 26 games for the Cologne Sharks, recording one assist. In 11 games for EC Bad Nauheim in the second tier, he recorded seven points (4g, 3a).
The 22-year-old forward has been a regular attendee at past Capitals development camps and made his AHL debut for the Hershey Bears during the 2023-24 campaign. Hanelt also played in one NHL preseason game for the Caps and represented Germany at the 2022 World Juniors.
Hyland, 22, played this past year in the Canadian college hockey ranks at the University of Alberta. In 21 games, he recorded 33 points (13g, 20a). The Edmonton native played five years in the WHL for the Brandon Wheat Kings, where he was teammates with Bears defenseman Vincent Iorio.
Hershey signed Hyland to a one-year AHL contract last July, but he never played a game for the Bears. Hyland missed part of the Capitals’ training camp last fall for personal reasons.
Update (10:17 pm): PuckPedia has updated their list, correcting that Hyland’s rights will actually stay with the Capitals due to being a college player.
