The Washington Capitals could breathe a sigh of relief Thursday as forwards Bogdan Trineyev, Henrik Rybinski, and Graeme Clarke, and defenseman Louie Belpedio all cleared NHL waivers.
The players can now be assigned to the AHL, where the Hershey Bears’ first training camp under new head coach Derek King got underway on Sunday. The Bears played their first preseason game on Wednesday night – a 5-1 victory over the Lehigh Valley Phantoms.
The only player claimed across the NHL was former Capitals goaltender Pheonix Copley, who was snatched up by the Tampa Bay Lightning from the Los Angeles Kings.
The four Capitals who cleared are set to be important players for Hershey this season. Both Trineyev and Rybinski were members of the Bears’ back-to-back Calder Cup champion teams in 2023 and 2024, and had career years last season.
Trineyev returns to Hershey after three preseason games for the Caps this fall, scoring one goal, firing five shots, and throwing six hits.
Rybinski featured in two preseason games for the Caps in September, averaging 14:07 of ice time.
Clarke and Belpedio were signed to NHL deals by the Capitals over the summer. Both players are set to begin their first years in the team’s organization, providing Hershey with much-needed prior AHL experience.
The Capitals also loaned prospect defenseman David Gucciardi to the Bears on Thursday. The club will have to make further decisions regarding waivers in the coming days as they continue to trim their roster down to a final 23 players by October 6.
The Caps currently have 33 players remaining in training camp, including 19 forwards, 11 defensemen, and three goaltenders.
