One of the most intriguing prospects at this year’s Capitals Development Camp is not one the team selected in any of their recent drafts.
Zac Funk, signed by Washington as a free agent from the WHL’s Prince George Cougars, produced the most offense of any prospect on the ice at MedStar Capitals Iceplex. Funk lit up the WHL tune of 123 points (67g, 56a) in 68 games, scoring nearly a goal per game.
“I started the season off really good and I tried to build on that,” Funk said to reporters on Tuesday. “Every game I wanted to score a goal. I just put on that mindset and kept pushing for the next milestone. I didn’t really realize until the end of the year I looked at my stats and saw how well I was doing. It was a nice testament to what I’ve put in.”
Funk became the first player in Cougars’ franchise history to hit the 60-goal mark. He led all three CHL leagues in goals and became the 10th skater since 2000 to score more than 65 goals in a single CHL season. The 20-year-old winger was named a finalist for WHL Player of the Year, selected to the WHL’s First All-Star Team, and named to the CHL’s First All-Star Team for his efforts.
The impressive, single-season totals were shocking to some. Funk only scored 26 goals and amassed 58 points during the 2022-23 campaign. He had recorded zero hat tricks in his junior career and then exploded with eight last year.
“Good situation,” Funk said of his drastic increase in production. “I worked harder. It was my last year of junior so I wanted to make something of myself and I worked harder in the offseason to get ready. Obviously, right place, right time. I had guys around me that were all looking for the same thing so we had a power play that worked and I benefitted from. I think everything just went well and we had a great team.”
Washington added one of Funk’s linemates from Prince George, Terik Parascak, with their first-round pick in the 2024 NHL Draft. Parascak, who signed his entry-level deal with Washington on Friday, was one of three Cougars to eclipse the 100-point mark last season and fed Funk for many of his goals.
“I was back in my hometown watching the draft and when I heard his name, I was pumped,” Funk said. “I was yelling and stuff. It’s very exciting to have a linemate come here.
“I think he’s got everything you need in a player. He can PK, he’s unbelievable on the power play, he works hard, and he does everything well. That’s what makes him the player he is.”
After his final year in junior was complete, Funk signed a tryout agreement with the AHL’s Hershey Bears where he got two weeks of firsthand experience of what is to come for him in professional hockey.
He served as a black ace during the team’s playoff run and was a healthy scratch for all three games of the Atlantic Division Finals against the Hartford Wolf Pack.
“It was good to see how they handle themselves on and off the ice,” Funk said. “Watching games you see the pace and the strength they have. You realize that you’re not the only one that wants to make it. There’s a lot of good players out there and a lot of work to be done.”
Funk’s likely destination next season will either be the Bears or the ECHL’s South Carolina Stingrays. He says he has received no word on what the organization’s exact plan is for him come fall.
“I have to earn everything I get here so I’m just learning and stuff,” Funk said. “We’ll see.”
After Development Camp, Funk will be back with the Capitals at Rookie Camp in September which will eventually transition into the team’s main Training Camp. He could receive his Capitals’ preseason debut if head coach Spencer Carbery inserts him into the lineup for any of the team’s six tune-up contests.
Hershey’s preseason preparations do not normally begin until October and it’s likely Funk joins back up with the Bears then to see where he fits in the back-to-back champion’s lineup.
