The Washington Capitals took the ice with five Russians against the Nashville Predators on Wednesday.
With three Capitals’ defensemen out of the lineup due to COVID-19 protocol, general manager Brian MacLellan summoned six-foot-four rearguard, Alexander Alexeyev, from Hershey.
At puck drop, Alexeyev, 22, officially became the sixth Capitals rookie to make their NHL debut this season and the tenth overall to play, a staggering number caused by the pandemic and a rash of injuries that have plagued the team through the first three months of the season.
Alexeyev is the 10th rookie to play for Washington this season. Nine of the 10 rookies to play for the team were drafted by Washington.
— CapitalsPR (@CapitalsPR) December 29, 2021
According to the Capitals’ PR, Washington (9) and San Jose (11) are the only teams in the league to have at least nine rookies record a point this season. Those Capitals’ youngsters have tallied 32 points this season (15g, 17a) — fifth-best in the NHL.
Alexeyev joined fellow countrymen Alex Ovechkin, Evgeny Kuznetsov, Dmitry Orlov, and Ilya Samsonov out on the ice.
During warmups, Alexeyev was treated with the rookie treatment and did several solo laps around the ice before the rest of the team joined him.
— Washington Capitals (@Capitals) December 30, 2021
Take a lAAp, @Alexeyev04‼️#ALLCAPS pic.twitter.com/2dnu2kBCyo
— Washington Capitals (@Capitals) December 29, 2021
Rookie lap for Alexeyev. #ALLCAPS pic.twitter.com/hy1nGtk5Na
— Sammi Silber (@sammi_silber) December 29, 2021
Alexeyev, a 2018 first-round pick, began his professional career in the Capitals organization during the 2019-20 season after graduating from the junior Red Deer Rebels. The defenseman scored 21 points in 58 games during his first season with the AHL’s Hershey Bears. With the pandemic pushing back the start of the 2020-21 season, the Capitals loaned Alexeyev to KHL Salavat Yulaev Ufa where he tallied 16 points (8g, 8a) in 55 games. During parts of three seasons in the AHL, Alexeyev has 34 points (6g, 28a) in 94 games.
Alex Alexeyev to @RealSmokinAl on his NHL debut: "Thank you very much. It's actually been a really exciting game. A lot of battle, a lot of moments. We're going to take our case to success which is play fast and shoot the pucks." #TakeOurCaseToSuccess
— Ian Oland (@ianoland) December 30, 2021
