One of the biggest surprises early in Washington Capitals’ Training Camp was Lynden Lakovic, the Caps’ first-round pick from the 2025 NHL Draft.
The 18-year-old, 6-foot-4 winger turned heads in rookie camp and brought that momentum into his first NHL training camp days later, earning high praise from Capitals head coach Spencer Carbery.
“The two things that I notice: One, he’s got deceptive speed for a bigger guy,” Carbery said on September 19. “You saw it in the skate test – he blew away his group. For a guy his size at his age to be able to be that efficient as a skater is really impressive. For someone that big, that you think is only going to grow into being a big power forward that can skate like that, is very unique.
“And he’s got a great presence about him. Usually, [at] your first pro camp, you’re a little tentative, nervous, just kind of getting where you fit in. He’s asking questions, looking you in the eye. ‘What do I do here, coach?’ You can feel he’s got confidence and also a little bit of swagger, but not in an arrogant way, in a way that he feels like he fits in and can play with everybody out here.”
Lakovic made his Capitals’ preseason debut on September 21 against the Boston Bruins. He received 13:53 of ice time while skating on the fourth line with Eriks Mateiko and Spencer Smallman.
Saturday, his nine-day stint in training camp officially ended when he was one of eight cuts from the Capitals roster. Lakovic was optioned back to the WHL’s Moose Jaw Warriors, where he’ll spend the 2025-26 season.
Carbery explained that the early cut was not a reflection of Lakovic’s play, but rather a result of the team’s intense battle for forward spots among more seasoned prospects.
“I thought it was excellent,” Carbery said. “I told him this [Friday]. As a young player, especially a high prospect, highly-touted first-round pick, where he was picked, what was he picked at, 27? In all reality, even though these guys are so focused on, ‘I’m going to try and make the Washington Capitals.’ In all reality, odds are, you’re going back to junior. So, what are your goals coming into an NHL camp? You just were picked in the first round. To me, he accomplished exactly what he set out to do as a young prospect and a first-round pick. He showed his skill set and why we picked him, and raised some eyebrows and caught the attention of people upstairs, coaches, teammates, scouts, media, and that’s what you want to do.
“You want to be able to come into an NHL rookie and main camp and make people go, ‘Whoa, this guy’s got some game.’ And that’s exactly what he did. And everything else on top of that, getting into a game, us sending him back, whether he could have played another game – he certainly had an argument to do that. We just felt at this point, partly because of the competition that’s going on and why we need to look at so many different wingers, we just felt like it was organizationally the best decision to send him back at this point, even though he showed very, very well at camp. He should be really proud of what he put on display.”
Lakovic didn’t take long to re-settle in with his junior team. Saturday, he made his season debut for the Warriors and scored twice, earning first star of the game honors.
