The Washington Capitals’ 2025 Development Camp got underway on Tuesday, just three days after the team concluded picking five new players at the NHL Draft.
One of those selections was Swedish-born center Milton Gastrin, picked 37th overall during the second round. The 18-year-old Swede arrived at MedStar Capitals Iceplex with the rest of Caps’ draft class, but was noticeably more excited than the others.
“It’s just amazing, the whole environment,” he told reporters. “The weather is hot, it’s like vacation in Sweden, it’s so much colder [there]. But I really enjoy it here.”
Capitals’ Development Camp runs through July 5, so the Swede is hoping to take advantage of absorbing as much American culture as he can, especially around the holiday weekend.
“[I want to] experience 4th of July, it’s so cool,” Gastrin said. “I heard you got the biggest fireworks as well.”
The Caps’ practice facility is just a short drive away from the banks the Potomac River where Gastrin could get a great view of Washington, DC’s Independence Day celebration. The fireworks, set off from the National Mall, are scheduled to begin at 9:09 pm ET following “A Capitol Fourth” concert in front of the Capitol building. There’s also a parade on Constitution Avenue from 11:45 am to 2pm ET earlier in the day.
Gastrin might have also revealed himself as a member of the “BeyHive” during his press conference, expressing his desire to attend Beyoncé’s “Cowboy Carter” tour which has two stops at Northwest Stadium in Landover, Maryland on Friday and Monday.
“I heard – we talked about, I think, Beyoncé is playing on Friday, so it would be really cool to see that,” he said.
But for now, Gastrin is focused on hockey. He admitted he has some ways to go before he’s NHL-ready but is motivated to “learn a lot” while at camp. He noted skating coach Wendy Marco has put the group through some tough and unusual drills.
“I think this is actually my first skating in like two months, I’m glad that I survived ice skating,” he noted. “I’ve never done a kick in a cone. I was like, ‘What’s going on?’ But it was really fun and I think she knows what she does.”
Gastrin played just eight games with SHL side MoDo Hockey, which ended its season in early March, but produced an impressive 42 points (18g, 24a) in 40 contests in the J20 junior league. He expects to “play the whole season” with MoDo for the 2025-26 campaign which he believes will “be really good for me and my development.”
“You see how good everybody is on their work and everything is so much more professional than it is in the other places,” Gastrin said. “I can take so much with me back home and work on stuff… Hopefully, I can make it here.”
