2023 Washington Capitals Development Camp Guide

The Washington Capitals will host their 2023 Prospect Development Camp Presented by Wawa from July 1 to July 5 at MedStar Capitals Iceplex. All on-ice sessions on July 1-3 and July 5 are free and open to the public. Medstar Capitals Iceplex will be closed to the public on Tuesday, July 4.

CLICK HERE TO DOWNLOAD THE FULL 2023 DEVELOPMENT CAMP GUIDE INCLUDING FULL ROSTER AND SCHEDULE INFORMATION

Capitals Development Camp is an annual, week-long summer session with on- and off-ice workouts designed to help Capitals prospects improve their games and allow the Capitals to evaluate their progress.

Attendees include Capitals prospects who are under contract and recent Capitals draft picks who have not been signed yet. In addition, several undrafted and free agent amateur players will be in attendance.

The Capitals Youth Hockey Development Department and Capitals Development Camp players will host an on-ice clinic for 60 local youth hockey players on Sunday, July 2 from 4 to 5 p.m. at MedStar Capitals Iceplex. The station-based clinic will focus on skill development through small area games for youth players ages 6-12.

Development Camp will conclude on Wednesday, July 5 with a 3-on-3 tournament from 9 a.m. to 10:30 a.m.

2023 Development Camp Schedule

Saturday, July 1

9:15 - 10:30 a.m.: Goalie ice (Caps rink); skating development (public rink)

12:45 - 1:45 p.m.: Goalie ice (Caps rink)

2 - 3:00 p.m.: Skill development (both rinks)

Post-skate: Media availability

Sunday, July 2

9 - 10 a.m.: Goalies & defensemen on ice (Caps rink); forwards (public rink)

11:15 a.m.: Media availability

2 - 3:30 p.m.: Transition & speed work (Caps rinks) - split groups

4 - 5 p.m.: Youth hockey clinic (Caps rink)

Monday, July 3

10:15 - 11 a.m.: Goalies & defensemen on ice (Caps rink); forwards (public rink)

Post-skate: Media availability

3:15 - 4:45 p.m.: Skill/goalie development (Caps rink); positional skating (public rink) - split groups

Tuesday, July 4 (MEDSTAR CAPITALS ICEPLEX CLOSED TO THE PUBLIC)

9:15 - 10 a.m.: On-Ice testing (Caps rink); goalies (Public rink)

10:15 - 11 a.m.: Forwards (public rink)

10:30 - 11:15 a.m.: Defensemen & goalies on ice (Caps rink)

12:15 p.m.: Media availability

Wednesday, July 5

8:30 - 9 a.m.: Goalies (public rink)

9 - 10:30 a.m.: 3-on-3 Tournament (Caps rink)

Post-skate: Media availability

CLICK HERE TO DOWNLOAD THE FULL 2023 DEVELOPMENT CAMP GUIDE INCLUDING FULL ROSTER AND SCHEDULE INFORMATION

2023 Capitals Development Camp Notes

Newest Editions- All six selections from the Capitals' 2023 NHL Draft class will attend this year's Development Camp. The Capitals selected right wing Ryan Leonard (first round, eighth overall), left wing Andrew Cristall (second round, 40th overall), center Patrick Thomas (fourth round, 104th overall), defenseman Cam Allen (fifth round, 136th overall), left wing Brett Hyland (seventh round, 200th overall) and goaltender Antoine Keller (seventh round, 206th overall).

Welcome Back- Fourteen of this year's development camp participants also attended camp last year: forwards Haakon Hanelt, Ryan Hofer, Jake Karabela, Oskar Magnusson, Ivan Miroshnichenko, Ludwig Persson and Alexander Suzdalev, defensemen Ryan Chesley, David Gucciardi, Brent Johnson and Joaquim Lemay and goaltenders Garin Bjorklund, Chase Clark and Mitchell Gibson.

First Rounders- Washington's two most recent first round draft picks will be at this year's development camp, Ryan Leonard (eighth overall, 2023) and Ivan Miroshnichenko (20th overall, 2022). Leonard is the Capitals' first top-10 pick since 2007, when they selected defenseman Karl Alzner fifth overall. Prior to 2007, the last two times the Capitals picked in the top 10 they selected Nicklas Backstrom (fourth overall in 2006) and Alex Ovechkin (first overall in 2004). Leonard, 18, spent the 2022-23 season with USA Hockey's National Team Development Program's Under-18 Team recording 94 points (51g, 43a) in 57 games. At the 2023 Under-18 World Championship, Leonard scored the gold-medal clinching goal in overtime for the United States against Sweden. Miroshnichenko recorded four points (3g, 1a) in 23 games with Avangard Omsk in the Kontinental Hockey League (KHL) last season, where he averaged 8:27 of ice time per game. The 6'1", 185-pound forward also recorded three assists in four games with Omskie Krylia in the Supreme Hockey League (Russia-2) and 14 points (10g, 4a) in 12 games with Omskie Yastreby in the Junior Hockey League (Russia-Jr.) in 2022-23. Miroshnichenko tallied seven points (2g, 5a) in 16 playoffs games with Omskie Yastreby, which ranked tied for eighth on the team.

Instant Chemistry- Cam Allen, the Capitals' fifth-round choice, 136th overall, in the 2023 NHL Draft, is teammates with 2022 draft pick Jake Karabela with the Guelph Storm of the Ontario Hockey League (OHL). In addition, Allen played with Washington's 2023 second-round pick, Andrew Cristall, with Team Canada at the 2022 Hlinka Gretzky Cup and the 2023 Under-18 World Championship, winning a gold medal and a bronze medal, respectively. Ryan Leonard, Washington's first-round pick in the 2023 NHL Draft, was teammates with 2022 second-round choice Ryan Chesley with USA Hockey's National Team Development Program's U-18 team.

Homecoming- Ashburn, Virginia native Ryan Leibold is attending the Capitals' 2023 Development Camp. The 5'10", 194-pound forward trained at MedStar Capitals Iceplex during his youth and was a participant in Washington's Little Caps program. Leibold signed an ECHL contract with the South Carolina Stingrays on March 28, where he recorded four points (1g, 3a) in nine games.

Calder Cup Champs- Seventeen players that appeared in games for the Hershey Bears in 2022-23 have participated in at least one Capitals development camp, including 11 that were dressed for Game 7 of the 2023 Calder Cup Finals: Joe Snively (2019), Aliaksei Protas (2019), Sam Anas (2013), Connor McMichael (2019), Garrett Pilon (2016, 2017, 2018, 2019), Beck Malenstyn (2016, 2017, 2018, 2019), Hendrix Lapierre (2022), Ethen Frank (2022), Lucas Johansen (2016, 2017, 2018), Riley Sutter (2018, 2019) and Vincent Iorio (2022).

Get Gibby With It- Goaltender Mitchell Gibson is participating in his fourth development camp with the Capitals (2018, 2019, 2022, 2023), the most of any of this year's attendees. Gibson signed an amateur tryout agreement (ATO) with Washington after his collegiate sea-son ended and served as the backup goaltender for the Capitals' game vs. the New York Rangers on April 2, before signing a one-year NHL entry-level contract for the 2023-24 season on April 7.

Making The Leap- 2022 development camp attendee Vincent Iorio appeared in three games with the Capitals in 2022-23, making his NHL debut on March 4 against the San Jose Sharks. Iorio recorded an assist on an Alex Ovechkin goal in his first game, becoming the 10th defenseman in franchise history to record a point in his NHL debut and the fifth skater to have his first career point be an assist on an Ovechkin goal.

Taking The Next Step- Ethen Frank attended last year's development camp and went on to recorded 49 points (30g, 19a) in 57 regular-season games with the Hershey Bears of the American Hockey League (AHL) during the 2022-23 season. Frank led Hershey in goals, power-play goals (9) and shots (186) and ranked third in points. Frank, who led AHL rookies in goals and ranked fourth among first-year players in points, became the fifth player in Hershey franchise history to be named to the AHL All-Rookie Team. The 5'11", 185-pound forward added six points (2g, 4a) in 16 playoff games, helping the Bears to the Calder Cup championship.