The Washington Capitals made their final round of training camp roster cuts on Sunday morning.
After wrapping up their preseason schedule with a 5-1 victory over the Philadelphia Flyers on Saturday night, the Capitals cut 19 players, effectively setting their Opening Night roster ahead of their first regular-season game against the Carolina Hurricanes on October 2.
Capitals’ final cuts
Loaned to Hershey
| Player | Pos. |
|---|---|
| Eriks Mateiko | F |
| Andrew Cristall | F |
| Theodor Niederbach | F |
| Terik Parascak | F |
| Lynden Lakovic | F |
| Alex Suzdalev | F |
| Peter Sikora | F |
| Tyler Kopff | F |
| Cam Allen | D |
| David Gucciardi | D |
| Leon Muggli | D |
| Ryan Chesley | D |
Assigned to Hershey
| Player | Pos. |
|---|---|
| Jon McDonald* | D |
*On an AHL contract.
Placed on waivers for purpose of loan to Hershey
| Player | Pos. |
|---|---|
| Jonny Brodzinski | F |
| Spencer Smallman | F |
| Louie Belpedio | D |
| Clay Stevenson | G |
Released from PTO and reporting to Hershey
| Player | Pos. |
|---|---|
| Cal Petersen | G |
Returned to junior team
| Player | Pos. |
|---|---|
| Max Schaefer | F |
Four of the 19 players — goaltender Clay Stevenson, forwards Jonny Brodzinski and Spencer Smallman, and defenseman Louie Belpedio — were placed on NHL waivers as the Capitals try to sneak them through to the AHL’s Hershey Bears.
The two most in danger of being claimed are Stevenson and Brodzinski. The Capitals will know whether they still have both players in their organization on Monday at 2 pm — the conclusion of the NHL’s 24-hour waiver period.
Teams must set their 23-man opening day rosters by 5 pm ET on Monday, September 28. The Capitals now have 24 players on their roster, although defenseman Rasmus Sandin will likely be placed on long-term injured reserve as he continues to rehab from knee surgery.
The Capitals had a scheduled off day on Sunday. They will next hit the ice on Monday in Annapolis, Maryland, at Navy’s McMullen Hockey Arena, as the team wraps up some team-building activities to end September.
Capitals projected Opening Night roster
Forwards
| No. | Player |
|---|---|
| 72 | Anthony Beauvillier |
| 80 | Pierre-Luc Dubois |
| 53 | Ethen Frank |
| 22 | Boone Jenner |
| 25 | Jordan Kyrou |
| 9 | Ryan Leonard |
| 63 | Ivan Miroshnichenko |
| 8 | Alex Ovechkin |
| 21 | Aliaksei Protas |
| 62 | Ilya Protas |
| 34 | Justin Sourdif |
| 17 | Dylan Strome |
| 89 | Alex Tuch |
| 43 | Tom Wilson |
Defensemen
| No. | Player |
|---|---|
| 6 | Jakob Chychrun |
| 73 | Vincent Desharnais |
| 42 | Martin Fehervary |
| 44 | Cole Hutson |
| 27 | Timothy Liljegren |
| 52 | Dylan McIlrath |
| 3 | Matt Roy |
| 38 | Rasmus Sandin* |
Goaltenders
| No. | Player |
|---|---|
| 79 | Charlie Lindgren |
| 48 | Logan Thompson |
*Expected to be added to Injured Reserve to start the season
