The Washington Capitals are projected to be the biggest team in the NHL this season. And Tom Wilson immediately noticed the size difference during the first day of training camp on Thursday.
“Yeah, I mean, it’s honestly almost a bit laughable when you get on the ice,” Wilson said to Monumental Sports Network’s Tarik El-Bashir and Al Koken. “You’re like, wow, these guys are huge. There’s not a lot of time and space. Most of the big guys can skate, too. Like, it’s not like you’re big and slow. You’re big and fast. So it’s exciting.”
Heading into their season opener against the defending champion Carolina Hurricanes, the Capitals’ roster may feature up to 10 different players who are 6-foot-4 or taller, including six forwards, three defensemen, and their starting goaltender.
The 10 Capitals players 6-foot-4 or taller
| Player | Position | Height |
|---|---|---|
| Vincent Desharnais | D | 6’7″ |
| Aliaksei Protas | F | 6’6″ |
| Ilya Protas | F | 6’6″ |
| Dylan McIlrath | D | 6’5″ |
| Pierre-Luc Dubois | F | 6’4″ |
| Dylan Strome | F | 6’4″ |
| Alex Tuch | F | 6’4″ |
| Tom Wilson | F | 6’4″ |
| Justin Holl | D | 6’4″ |
| Logan Thompson | G | 6’4″ |
The Capitals’ full 2026 training-camp roster actually lists 17 players at 6-foot-4 or taller overall, when including Capitals prospects and AHL players like Eriks Mateiko (6’6″), Clay Stevenson (6’5″), Ben Kraws (6’5″), Lynden Lakovic (6’4″), and Maxim Schafer (6’4″)
“I know it’s Day 1, but on paper, we’re big, fast. We’ve got skill. We’ve got a lot of different intangibles covered,” Wilson said. “At the end of the day, you’ve got to go out and win games. You’ve got to go out and get it done. It’s a tough league, but I think we’re really excited about it.”
Wilson also believes there’s a psychological advantage to just how imposing the team is.
“I said to Dubie today, like, there’s something about when you’re going in to play another team, and they’re looking at the lines and they’re like, ‘I don’t want to have to play against Dubie and Tom and Tuchy and the Pros and all those big bodies,'” Wilson explained. ‘Like, it’s going to be a tough night. If you can establish that reputation that it’s going to be a tough night with obviously the offense, I think you’re in a good spot. So I always want people to look across and be like, ‘Oh, do we have to play against those guys tonight?’ Instantly, you got a bit of an advantage. Then you try and just take advantage of it.”
Throughout the day, the team’s combination of size and speed came up often in player interviews:
Alex Tuch: “It’s the biggest team (I’ve ever been on). I don’t know if there’s ever been a bigger team. Maybe the old Flyers teams back in the day. But, yeah, the opposing team are not going to have a lot of time and space out there, that’s for sure. And I don’t think we’re giving up any speed either. I know that’s usually a bigger issue if the team’s too big. But I think we got some guys that can move out there too, and bringing a guy like Kyrou and you got Leonard, who are really good skaters, and obviously Hutson in the back end, some youth there. It’s great. I think we have a really deep team, diverse team, and we’re going to be — it’s not an easy thing to play against.”
Dylan Strome: “I think it’s not only size, but it’s the speed, too, that those guys all bring. Like for how big Tuch is and, you know, Kyrou is even pretty big. They can fly. So I think just overall our team’s speed got faster over the summer. And that’s only going to benefit, you know, all four lines. I think we have a team that can wear teams down. I heard Carbs talk about it in a podcast or interview that he did, where it’s not only about the size and being physical. It’s just about holding on to pucks and wearing teams down. And by the second and third period, we should have the puck way more often than the other team. And that’s obviously a positive for us.”
Logan Thompson: “Yeah, I mean, it’s exciting. We added a lot of size to our team this year, but with speed as well. So we have guys that are going to be big and physical and keeping guys to the outside for me and Chuck. I think we have a lot more speed than we did last year, and we’ll be able to hopefully score a lot more goals as well.”
Jakob Chychrun: “I think statistically it is the biggest (team), right? I saw that the other day. So I think the great thing is how big we are, but I think how fast we can be. I think we’ve got a lot of speed for how big we are, and you would think it’s going to be a pretty dangerous combination. So hopefully we can utilize that to our advantage, and it should be a fun thing to see.”
Alex Ovechkin: “Size matter right now. Obviously, you can see like a game is faster right now, and if you’re big and you can skate… I’m impressed the skill-wise (of the overall roster). The talent that we have, how I said, you know, it’s tremendous, and it’s going to be a hard decision for Carbs to manage the lines… I think the team has options and it’s a good thing.”
The Capitals have long prioritized size and physicality in their lineup. While under the stewardship of Brian MacLellan, who won a championship as a player with the Calgary Flames in 1989, the team used players like Ovechkin, Wilson, TJ Oshie, and Brooks Orpik to win the Stanley Cup in 2018. MacLellan outright said in 2021 that “size and skill is how you win, especially in the playoffs.”
Current Capitals GM Chris Patrick, who is 6-foot-5 himself, put together this tall team of tulip trees, but during his chat with reporters on Thursday, he admitted that it wasn’t necessarily intentional — at least this past summer.
“We didn’t say we want big wingers that can skate,” Capitals general manager Chris Patrick said. “The only position where we really did focus on size was with Desharnais signing. We wanted a big defensive D, you know, a guy that can complement our puck movers a little bit. But otherwise, you know, like, I mean, I don’t think there’s a secret. Like, we like size. Like, you know, we’ve always had bigger teams. But it just kind of worked out this way that the guys we got all have good size, and they can all also motor.”
After sporting a 700-pound line last season, the Capitals will be even bigger and more versatile this season, slotting guys where they can succeed.
“I mean, we look like a well-oiled machine right now,” Wilson said.
