Ethen Frank did not make the Washington Capitals out of training camp, passed through NHL waivers, and appeared destined to spend the season in the AHL with his career stalled out.
But as he has done throughout his career, Frank did not give up and found another level in his game. He scored twice in Hershey’s opening night game and earned a recall to the NHL on October 17 after a Pierre-Luc Dubois injury. He briefly returned to Hershey for a one-game stint on October 25 against the Lehigh Valley Phantoms before being summoned back to DC after an injury to Dylan Strome on October 27.
Nearly five months later, Frank, now a fixture on the team, signed a two-year, $4 million extension with the Capitals, avoiding unrestricted free agency. The one-way deal will keep Frank with Washington through the 2027-28 season, and its value suggests the team expects him to remain in the NHL throughout.
“It was pretty emotional,” Frank said. “Really exciting, obviously. It means a lot to me and my family. We’re happy.”
According to Frank, the contract, which will pay him $1.5 million in salary and a $500K signing bonus in 2026-27, and $2 million in 2027-28, came together quickly.
“I think there might have been like two or three phone calls,” Frank said. “I’m glad it didn’t take a while because I’m probably one of the guys that’s kind of like a ball of anxiety when stuff like that’s going on. So I’m glad it didn’t take a long time. And I’m happy to be sticking around for sure.”
Not only did the deal tug at Frank’s heartstrings, but also at his head coach, Spencer Carbery’s.
“Yeah, what a story,” Carbery said. “What a story. Even this year, he didn’t make the team out of camp, which I can’t even wrap my head (around). I’m like, no, that was two years ago. No, that was actually this season, and (he) got through waivers, thankfully, and has come up and done such a fantastic job of earning an everyday spot in our lineup and thriving in that role.”
Frank has recorded 24 points (12g, 12a) in 54 NHL games this season, primarily skating on the team’s fourth line with Nic Dowd and Brandon Duhaime before Dowd’s trade last week to the Vegas Golden Knights.
Frank’s 12 goals are tied for the seventh-most on the Capitals and have come while being utilized mostly in a checking-line role. A top-line player who did not kill penalties with Hershey, Frank developed a more rugged and physical brand of hockey this season, making him an every-night player in the bottom six. His transformation has most notably made him more defensively responsible, and he has become a tenacious forechecker. Combined with some of the best skating in the NHL and a heavy, hard shot, Frank has earned the trust of Carbery to play every night, where he’s even receiving regular power-play time.
“I just think every year is just a little more belief in myself, especially from the support staff, from my family to teammates to coaches to anybody that I’ve worked with, has always had belief in me,” Frank said. “And so that kind of convinced me to believe in myself a little bit, too.”
Frank’s underdog status throughout his career and his struggles, at times, within the organization made the contract signing so powerful for Carbery. Undrafted, Frank signed an AHL contract with the Hershey Bears before finally earning his first NHL contract in 2023. After struggling through the 2023 Calder Cup playoffs, he was one of the team’s best players as Hershey repeated as champions in 2024, leading the AHL in goals that playoff year with 10.
“Those are people that you pull for,” Carbery said. “Anytime you see them get financially rewarded because they have grinded. He was a late bloomer in college, didn’t go to Michigan. He went to Western Michigan. So he’s taken the (long road) – that’s not a slight. You can tell through his entire career, starting in Hershey. He was scratched in Hershey in the American Hockey League. I remember going to a game in the playoffs (in 2023). I think he was a scratch. And so just to continue to have the mental fortitude to just keep pushing and pushing and pushing and be rewarded with a two-year deal of $4 million is pretty incredible.”
