Ivan Miroshnichenko is headed into what is likely the most important training camp of his young NHL career.
The 2022 first-round pick is no longer on his entry-level contract with the Washington Capitals after signing a two-year, $1.85 million extension last October. With that comes added jeopardy later this fall at training camp, as Miroshnichenko is no longer exempt from waivers if he does not make the Caps and they want to send him down to the AHL’s Hershey Bears.
As the Capitals saw firsthand with Vincent Iorio early last season, risking a previous high draft pick on waivers does not tend to end well. Miroshnichenko, who has produced at the AHL level, has not yet received an extended look in the NHL on a scoring line, which presents a perfect project for a weaker claiming team with less depth than the Caps.
Miroshnichenko had trouble cracking the club’s lineup last year, and all the Capitals have done since then is add even more firepower up front through trades and free agency, acquiring Jordan Kyrou, Alex Tuch, and Boone Jenner. He has also seemingly been lapped by teenage centerman Ilya Protas, who the Caps expect to make their roster out of camp.
Despite that, general manager Chris Patrick recently stated that he believes Miroshnichenko is coming to camp with something to prove and a roster spot to win.
“I want to see him have a really good camp and try to push for a regular spot in the lineup,” Patrick said late last month. “But having these guys around makes everybody have to push to be better and to compete for their spot, not just the younger guys, but everybody, right? Like, Carbs has options now.
“If a line’s not going, they’re not going to get as much ice time as another line. And that’s what the guys want, right? They want the group to be accountable. They want the group to play to its best level all the time. I think we’ve hopefully got ourselves in a position to do that.”
Miroshnichenko played in 13 games for head coach Spencer Carbery this past season, recording 3 points (2g, 1a). Over the past three campaigns, he has appeared in 52 NHL career games, notching 13 points (5g, 8a). He is also not the only Caps player likely on the bubble of the eventual Opening Night roster that would need to be placed on waivers to go to Hershey.
Waivers-eligible Capitals players likely on the roster bubble
- Ethen Frank, F
- Ivan Miroshnichenko, F
- Bogdan Trineyev, F
- Jonny Brodzinski, F
- Josh Dunne, F
- Justin Holl, D
- Dylan McIlrath, D
- Clay Stevenson, G
Outside of Miroshnichenko, the most at-risk players are likely Frank, Trineyev, and Stevenson. The two right-shot wingers now find themselves battling with Miroshnichenko, Kyrou, Tuch, Jenner, Alex Ovechkin, Aliaksei Protas, Tom Wilson, Ryan Leonard, and Anthony Beauvillier for minutes on the wing, while Stevenson is behind both Logan Thompson and Charlie Lindgren in net.
Frank, one of the fastest players in the NHL, recorded 24 points (12g, 12a) in 62 games for the Capitals this past season. Trineyev, four years younger than Frank, made his NHL debut and featured in two total games. Stevenson, who teams were rumored to be interested in making a waiver claim on last year, went 3-1-0 in the NHL for the Caps with a 2.00 goals-against average and a .921 save percentage.
