The Washington Capitals called up goaltender Garin Bjorklund to the NHL and optioned Clay Stevenson back to the AHL’s Hershey Bears on Tuesday.
The move was made due to the Capitals’ goaltending quandary at the NHL level, which left Charlie Lindgren on injured reserve during the NHL’s Olympic break.
The NHL CBA requires each team to have two goaltenders on the 23-man roster at all times. With Lindgren still out due to a lower-body injury, the team kept Stevenson on the roster heading into the Olympic break, and Bjorklund started in Hershey’s 4-3 overtime loss to the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins on Saturday — their last before the AHL All-Star Break.
Stevenson attended the game in Hershey with Aliaksei Protas and Garrett Roe, sitting in a Giant Center suite.
Stevenson returning comes at a crucial time for the Bears, who are 3–2–5 in their last 10. They currently sit fourth in the Atlantic Division standings with 48 points — two ahead of fifth-place Lehigh Valley and three ahead of sixth-place Bridgeport.
The Bears play the next four games away from home with games against Laval (2/13), Belleville (2/14, 2/16), and Toronto (2/18) before returning home for a back-to-back at home against Lehigh Valley (2/20, 2/21).
Here’s the full press release from the Washington Capitals:
Capitals Recall Garin Bjorklund
Goaltender Clay Stevenson loaned to Hershey
ARLINGTON, Va. – The Washington Capitals have recalled goaltender Garin Bjorklund from the Hershey Bears of the American Hockey League (AHL) and have loaned goaltender Clay Stevenson to Hershey, senior vice president and general manager Chris Patrick announced today.
Bjorklund, 23, has a 4-5-3 record with a 3.47 goals-against average, a .881 save percentage and one shutout in 12 games played with Hershey this season. The 6’2”, 195-pound goaltender has also appeared in seven games with the South Carolina Stingrays (ECHL), posting a record of 4-2-0 with a 2.37 goals-against average and a .929 save percentage.
In 2024-25, Bjorklund posted a 21-4-3 record with a 2.02 goals-against average, a .927 save percentage and one shutout in 29 games with South Carolina. The Grande Prairie, Alberta native ranked second in the ECHL in goals-against average and third in save percentage, helping the Stingrays capture the Brabham Cup championship as the ECHL team with the best record in the regular season. Bjorklund also made two starts for Hershey, going 2-0-0 with a 1.49 goals-against average and a .942 save percentage. Bjorklund made his AHL debut on March 26, 2025, making 26 saves in a 4-1 win at Bridgeport.
Bjorklund appeared in 27 games with South Carolina in 2023-24, posting a record of 14-11-1 with a 3.33 goals-against average, a .882 save percentage and one shutout.
In 14 career AHL games with Hershey, Bjorklund has a 6-5-3 record with a 3.17 goals-against average, a .889 save percentage and one shutout. Bjorklund has a 40-17-4 record with a 2.63 goals-against average, a .907 save percentage and two shutouts in 64 career ECHL games with South Carolina.
The Capitals selected Bjorklund in the sixth round (179th overall) of the 2020 NHL Draft.
Stevenson, 26, has an 11-8-3 record with a 2.57 goals-against average and a .912 save percentage in 24 games with Hershey this season. In three games with Washington this season, the 6’5”, 196-pound goaltender has a 2-1-0 record with a 2.33 goals-against average and a .904 save percentage.
Stevenson has a 56-26-9 record with a 2.47 goals-against average and a .908 save percentage in 96 career AHL games with Hershey.
