Ivan Miroshnichenko will need a strong camp to earn a spot on the Washington Capitals to start the season.
In Sunday’s preseason opener, a 3-2 shootout loss to the Boston Bruins, the Russian forward did as much as he could to make a good impression on head coach Spencer Carbery and Capitals management. Not only did Miro score and collect the primary assist on a Jonny Brodzinski goal, but he was also all over the game sheet in other ways, too.
On a roster that featured offensive stars Tom Wilson, Alex Tuch, Jakob Chychrun, and Cole Hutson, Miroshnichenko had a game high in shots (6) and individual shot attempts (11). He also drew two penalties, leading all Capitals players, and threw three hits in 13:52 of ice time. He was the only player on either team to record more than one point.
Miroshnichenko’s lone goal came 5:34 into the third period, giving the Capitals a 2-1 lead.
Ivan Miroshnichenko goal (via @capitals/X)
After some physicality near the corner, Miroshnichenko emerged with the puck and took it hard to the net. The 2022 first-round pick then muscled his way into the crease, where he had an Ovechkian bump with Bruins goaltender Michael DiPietro and cleaned him out, before his skate — with no kicking motion — knocked the puck into the twine as he fell over.
“I don’t see puck there and yeah, happy score every time,” Miroshnichenko said smiling postgame.
Ivan Miroshnichenko primary assist (via @capitals/X)
Miro first got on the scoresheet with 11:12 remaining in the first period. After a five-on-three power play ended, Miroshnichenko sent a heads-up, cross-ice feed to Brodzinski, who sent a one-timer from the left circle past DiPietro.
“Yeah, I see jersey there, and I think good pass, but it’s every guy who battle for this puck,” Miroshnichenko said. “It’s goal, it’s not just my goal.”
Postgame, Capitals head coach Spencer Carbery was asked about his young star’s performance.
“I thought he was solid, liked his physicality,” Carbery said. “Obviously, the huge hit down in our corner, you know, sets up (his goal). Like looked good, okay on the power play at times, made a few plays. So I thought he was solid, and we’ll see what the film tells us.”
Carbery’s effusiveness mostly ended there as he seemed disappointed by the team’s overall effort.
“It was a tough game to evaluate, I’ll be honest with you,” he explained. “Like, we did not have the puck much, no O-zone time. It was just really, really sloppy. So it’s going to be a tough one to evaluate individually because it just was such a struggle for us for most of the night. But we’ll try to pick some little things out of it. But obviously the goal that gets us on the board early, Miro, great pass. Brodz with the finish. So some positives there for sure.”
Miroshnichenko needs to impress in the preseason as he can no longer be assigned to Hershey without passing through NHL waivers — a dangerous proposition considering the young Russian is one of the team’s top offensive prospects, a former first-round pick, and a consistent high-end producer in the AHL. The prospect winger is in a battle with Brodzinski, Josh Dunne, Bogdan Trineyev, and Andrew Cristall for the team’s 13th and potentially 14th forward spot on the Capitals’ 23-man, opening-night roster.
The 22-year-old forward has already played parts of three seasons in the NHL in a reserve role, posting 13 points (5g, 8a) in 52 games. Those injury callups, however, have not yet carved out a full-time roster spot for himself.
Miroshnichenko has steadily grown into one of Hershey’s more productive forwards over his three seasons in the AHL. He won the Calder Cup as a rookie in 2024, then led the Bears with 23 goals in 2024-25. His scoring rate improved again last season, when he recorded 14 goals and 34 points in 41 games. Overall, Miroshnichenko has 46 goals and 101 points in 141 career AHL games.
“Yeah, I feel good,” Miroshnichenko said. “I think everybody feel great and glad to be back for hockey. Chill out five months, and yeah, I think I feel great.”
