Camp Storylines
Roll Call- All four draft picks from the Capitals 2019 Draft will attend this year's development camp. The Capitals selected center Connor McMichael (25th overall), right wing Brett Leason (56th overall), center Aliaksei Protas (91st overall) and defenseman Martin Hugo Has (153rd overall) in the 2019 NHL Draft, held June 21st and 22nd at Rogers Arena in Vancouver.
Homecoming- The Capitals signed Joe Snively, a native of Herndon, Va., to an entry-level contract on March 18. Snively recorded 36 points (15g, 21a) in 33 games with Yale University in the ECAC and was named to the ECAC's First All-Star Team. He led Yale in points in all four years of his attendance and recorded 139 points (58g, 81a) in 129 career NCAA games. Snively also appeared in nine games for Hershey during the 2018-19 season, recording seven points (2g, 5a).
Model Behavior -Brett Leason, the Capitals 2019 second round draft pick (56th overall), was awarded the E.J. McGuire Award of Excellence this year, presented annually by the NHL to a prospect who best exemplifies commitment to excellence through strength of character, competitiveness and athleticism. The Calgary, Alta., native led the Prince Albert Raiders in the WHL in scoring in both the regular season (36g, 53a) and the playoffs (10g, 15a) to lead the Raiders to the franchise's first Western Hockey League championship since 1985-86. Leason also represented Team Canada this season at the 2019 World Junior Championships, recording five points (3g, 2a) in five games. "Brett Leason has displayed passion, perseverance and commitment to better himself and in doing so he's represented the core attributes of the E.J. McGuire award," said Dan Marr, Director of NHL Central Scouting. "He has showed strength of character by continuing to work hard to pursue his goals, utilize his skills and physical assets as well as improve his skating after going undrafted and being traded early in his WHL career."
Sophomore Class- All seven draft picks from the Capitals 2018 NHL Draft will attend this year's development camp. Alexander Alexeyev, Washington's first-round pick in the 2018 NHL Draft, registered 43 points (10g, 33a) in 49 games with the Red Deer Rebels in the Western Hockey League (WHL) in 2018-19. The 6'4", 201-pound defensemen also represented Russia in the 2019 World Junior Championship, recording six points (2g, 4a) in seven games en route to winning a bronze medal. Martin Fehervary, the Capitals' second-round pick, registered seven points (1g, 6a) in 45 games with HV71 (Sweden) in 2018-19. The 6'2", 195-pound defenseman captained Slovakia in five games during the World Junior Championship, registering five points (1g, 4a) and was named as a top three player on his team for the tournament, and followed that with an appearance at the World Championship, recording an assist in seven games. Washington's other 2018 second-round pick, Kody Clark, set a personal junior career high of 46 points (17g, 29a) in 57 games with the Ottawa 67's in the Ontario Hockey League (OHL) last season. Clark added another 14 points (5g, 9a) in 18 playoff games. Despite missing 30 games due to injury, Riley Sutter, the Capitals' third-round draft pick, registered 41 points (14g, 27a) in 38 games with the Everett Silvertips in the WHL. Sutter added an assist in three playoff games. Mitchell Gibson, Washington's fourth-round pick, recorded a 3.50 goals against average and a .890 save percentage in 43 games with the Central Illinois Flying Aces (USHL) and was named the "Goaltender of the Week" in Week 24 of the season. Alex Kannok-Leipert, the Capitals' sixth-round pick, recorded 19 points (5g, 14a) in 67 games with the Vancouver Giants in the WHL and added another 11 points (2g, 9a) in 21 playoff games. Eric Florchuk, the Capitals' seventh-round pick, set a personal junior career high with 50 points (21g, 29a) in 68 games with the Saskatoon Blades in the WHL.
Hobey Nominees- Both Joe Snively and Bobby Nardella, signed as a free agent from Notre Dame (Big Ten Conference), were nominated for the Hobey Baker Award, given to the NCAA's top player, this season. Nardella, who the Capitals signed to an entry level deal on April 5, recorded 34 points (8g, 26a) in 38 games and became the first defenseman in Notre Dame history to lead the school in points.
Homegrown- Sixteen players who played for the Capitals in 2018-19 were originally drafted by Washington (Nicklas Backstrom, Madison Bowey, Travis Boyd, Andre Burakovsky, John Carlson, Christian Djoos, Braden Holtby, Evgeny Kuznetsov, Tyler Lewington, Dmitry Orlov, Alex Ovechkin, Jonas Siegenthaler, Chandler Stephenson, Jakub Vrana, Nathan Walker and Tom Wilson), the 12th most in the NHL. They combined to play in 905 games, the second most games played by homegrown players of any team last season (Detroit: 995 games between 18 players). Capitals draftees accounted for 66.1% of the team's goals, 67.2% of the team's assists and 66.8% of the team's points from last season.
Age Differential- Martin Has, at age 18 (born Feb. 2, 2001), drafted by Washington in the fifth round, 153rd overall, in the 2019 NHL Draft, is the youngest player attending this year's development camp. Brian Pinho, at age 24 (born May 1, 1995), is the oldest.
Quick Studies -Jonas Siegenthaler attended last summer's development camp and appeared in 26 games with the Capitals in 2018-19, recording four assists. Siegenthaler made his NHL debut on Nov. 9, 2018 versus the Columbus Blue Jackets and recorded his first career point on Dec. 14, 2019 against the Carolina Hurricanes. In addition, Siegenthaler appeared in four postseason games. Fifteen players who attended the 2018 development camp played for Washington's AHL affiliate, the Hershey Bears, during the 2018-19 regular season (Kristofers Bindulis, Tobias Geisser, Shane Gersich, Connor Hobbs, Juuso Ikonen, Lucas Johansen, Axel Jonsson-Fjallby, Maximilian Kammerer, Beck Malenstyn, Mason Mitchell, Garrett Pilon, Brian Pinho, Ilya Samsonov, Jonas Siegenthaler, Steve Spinner).
