As a young child in Sweden, Milton Gastrin’s first-ever jersey was an Alex Ovechkin sweater. Now, he has a Capitals jersey that isn’t a replica.
The Capitals picked Gastrin, currently a center for MoDo Hockey in Sweden, with the 37th overall pick on Saturday, and he was thrilled to join his childhood team.
“Oh, it’s actually amazing,” he said. “I can’t put words (to) it. It’s so cool that — growing up and having the Capitals as your favorite team, and you wanted a jersey from them when you were a kid, and now being able to play for them in the next couple of years, it’s so amazing.”
Gastrin spent most of his draft season playing for MoDo’s J20 team, where he recorded 42 points (18g, 24a) in 40 games, but he also notched 8 games in the SHL. Gastrin described himself as a two-way player, noting that he models his game after Colorado’s Gabriel Landeskog.
“I would say that I’m a 200-foot player who loves to compete and can work really hard,” he said. “(I’ve) got good skating and good vision and good passing ability as well, so that’s a simple way of describing it.”
While Ovechkin was his childhood favorite, an eighteen-year-old Gastrin pointed to Backstrom as a Capitals player he looks to emulate in his play, having watched what his fellow Swedish center accomplished in Washington.
“I think he’s an amazing Swede,” Gastrin said of Backstrom. “You can see his career in Washington and everything he’s done for the organization and everything. Yeah, of course, I followed him.”
Still, he was most excited at the prospect of meeting Ovechkin all those years after opening his jersey at Christmas.
“I think it would be a great honor to meet him,” he said. “Growing up with him as a role model and as a person you look up to, and now you’re going to get the chance to talk to him and meet him, so it’s just so cool.”
Gastrin was already looking forward to attending development camp for the Capitals next week, noting that he hasn’t spent much time in the United States before. The chance to experience the 4th of July in DC stood out as a particular high point in his plans.
“It’s going to be so cool,” he said. “Especially 4th of July as well. I’ve got to experience that. So I think the whole development camp and everything is going to be so amazing and so cool.”
Gastrin expects to remain in Sweden next season as he continues his development, having signed a one-year contract with MoDo for 2025-26. But, he noted, if the Capitals come calling, he’s certainly ready to answer the bell.
“It’s the decisions that the people in the organization have got to make,” he said. “I signed a one-year deal with Moto back in Sweden, so that’s my plan, but you never know. If the Washington Capitals want me over, then it’s no doubt that I will come.”
