The Washington Capitals may have to wait one more game to see one of their trade-deadline acquisitions in action for the first time.
David Kampf, who arrived from the Vancouver Canucks for a sixth-round draft pick, is still waiting on visa clearance from the U.S. government before he can get into a game. The 31-year-old forward updated the media on his status after the Capitals’ optional practice on Tuesday morning.
“Yeah, I’m not sure,” Kampf said. “I’m still in process of getting the visa, so I don’t know what’s the status right now.”
Kampf sat out against the Calgary Flames due to visa issues and may miss Wednesday night’s road contest against the Philadelphia Flyers. The Caps play the Flyers and then travel to take on the red-hot Buffalo Sabres in the back half of a back-to-back on Thursday.
The Czech forward is expected to come in and take on some of the duties that Nic Dowd left behind when the Capitals dealt the veteran pivot to the Vegas Golden Knights. Kampf is an excellent faceoff man, winning 52.7 percent of his draws this year, and regularly plays on the penalty kill, averaging 1:32 of shorthanded ice time per game.
“I would say this is my role in my NHL career,” Kampf said. “I am doing this, like, whole time when I’m here. So, yeah, I’m trying to be good on PK, good on D-zone draws, and this stuff, for sure.”
Once Kampf is declared good to go, he’ll likely jump right onto the Capitals’ fourth line in between wingers Brandon Duhaime and Ethen Frank. In 38 games for the Canucks this season, he has recorded six points (2g, 4a).
The Capitals’ other deadline add, defenseman Timothy Liljegren, is not facing the same issues and is a good bet to get a sweater from head coach Spencer Carbery against the Flyers. The right-shot defenseman sat out against Calgary so that he could get a good look at the team’s system from the press box.
