After my recent 2019 draft grades and the start of Development Camp, I decided to take a look back at my work from this time last year and see if my thoughts on the Caps 2018 draft selections have changed.
By Chris Cerullo 4 months ago
The 2018 NHL Draft has concluded and the Washington Capitals ended up with seven players selected over seven full rounds of action. It’s time to evaluate how they did.
By Chris Cerullo 1 year ago
With their 31st overall pick at the 2018 NHL Draft, the Washington Capitals selected Russian defenseman Alexander Alexeyev.
Minutes later, Alexeyev received a FaceTime call from Capitals captain Alex Ovechkin, and we quickly learned that this kid has jokes, much like fellow-countryman Evgeny Kuznetsov.
The Washington Capitals have wrapped up the 2018 NHL Draft, selecting center Eric Florchuk from the Saskatoon Blades with the very last pick in the seventh and final round. In the nicest way possible, Mr. Florchuk is the NHL’s Mr. Irrelevant.
By Chris Cerullo 1 year ago
The Capitals were supposed to pick last in the sixth round, but made a trade to move up and take a player they really liked.
After dealing pick number 186 and a sixth round pick in 2019 to the Vancouver Canucks, the Capitals selected defenseman Alex Kannok-Leipert at pick number 161.
By Chris Cerullo 1 year ago
With the final pick of the fourth round (#124), the Capitals selected goaltender Mitchell Gibson. Gibson has spent his last two years of junior hockey in the North American Hockey League.
By Chris Cerullo 1 year ago
The Washington Capitals fourth selection of the 2018 NHL Draft was the final pick of the third round. With the 92nd overall pick, the Caps selected right wing Riley Sutter from the WHL Everett Silvertips.
By Chris Cerullo 1 year ago
The Washington Capitals just had two consecutive picks in the middle of the second round: the 46th overall selection which the Caps acquired from the Marcus Johansson trade and the 47th overall pick from the Colorado Avalanche that they received in the Philipp Grubauer/Brooks Orpik trade Friday.
The Capitals used pick number 46 to select Slovakian defenseman Martin Fehérváry from the SHL’s Husqvarna Vätterstad 1971. With pick number 47, they selected Kody Clark from the OHL’s Ottawa 67’s.
By Chris Cerullo 1 year ago
DALLAS — After a marathon day of picks during the first round of the 2018 NHL Draft, Washington Capitals general manager Brian MacLellan spoke to the media on the nearly deserted draft floor late Friday night.
The big takeaway: the Capitals are closing in on a deal with star defenseman John Carlson.
“We’re really close,” MacLellan said. “Hopefully, we can close the deal over the next 24 hours.”
There is a good reason for MacLellan’s urgency. Carlson would be able to speak to other teams starting noon Sunday.
By Chris Gordon 1 year ago
Like any good captain would, Alex Ovechkin was watching the NHL Draft live, Friday night.
Ovechkin posted an Instagram Story of NBCSN’s coverage of the draft using vertical video from his phone. Ovechkin added some narration and got excited when the Capitals selected Russian defenseman Alexander Alexeyev with the 31st pick of the 2018 NHL Draft.
