Capitals Make Four Selections in 2017 NHL Draft

ARLINGTON, Va. - The Washington Capitals selected defenseman Tobias Geisser (120th overall), defenseman Sebastian Walfridsson (151st overall), defenseman Benton Maass (182nd overall) and left wing Kristian Roykas Marthinsen (213th) on the second day of the 2017 NHL Draft, held Saturday at United Center in Chicago, Ill.

Geisser, 18, was ranked 30th overall among European skaters by NHL Central Scouting. The 6'4", 200-pound defenseman made his National League (Swiss) debut in 2016-17 and recorded one assist in 14 games with EV Zug. Geisser also registered 10 points (3g, 7a) in 34 games with EV Zug's minor-league affiliate last season, EV Zug Academy. The Stans, Switzerland native represented Switzerland at the 2017 IIHF World U18 Championship, the 2016 Ivan Hlinka Memorial Cup and the 2016 U20 4 Nations Tournament. This is the third consecutive season the Capitals have selected a Swiss-born player in the NHL Draft (2016: Damien Riat, 2015: Jonas Siegenthaler).

Walfridsson, 18, was ranked 116th overall among European skaters by NHL Central Scouting. The 6'0", 194-pound defenseman recorded seven points (2g, 5a) in 38 games with Modo Jr. (Sweden-Jr.) last season. Other notable Modo Jr. players to be selected in the NHL Draft include Peter Forsberg, Markus Naslund, Daniel Sedin, Henrik Sedin and Victor Hedman. Walfridsson represented Sweden at the 2017 IIHF U18 World Championship, the 2016 Ivan Hlinka Memorial Cup and the 2016 Five Nations Tournament. He also made his HockeyAllsvenskan (Sweden-2) debut in 2016-17, appearing in three games with Modo Hockey.

Maass, 18, was ranked 159th overall among North American skaters by NHL Central Scouting. The 6'1", 185-pound defenseman registered 29 points (6g, 23a) in 25 games with Elk River High School (Minnesota) last season. In addition, Maass recorded 16 points (7g, 9a) in 26 games with the Fairbanks Ice Dogs (NAHL) in 2016-17. This is the second consecutive season the Capitals have selected a player from the NAHL (2016: Dmitriy Zaitsev, Wilkes-Barre/Scranton). Maass has committed to play at the University of New Hampshire (NCAA) during the 2017-18 season.

Marthinsen, 17, registered 18 points (13g, 5a) in 19 games with Almtuna's junior team (Sweden) during the 2016-17 season and recorded 17 points (10g, 7a) in 28 games with Almtuna's U18 team last season. The 6'0", 185-pound left wing played one game with Almtuna in 2016-17, scoring a goal in his HockeyAllsvenskan (Sweden-2) debut.
Vogel's Take: Caps Bring Home Four Players from 2017 NHL Draft

NHL.com Prospect Pages
Geisser:
http://www.nhl.com/ice/draftprospectdetail.htm?dpid=107336
Walfridsson:
http://www.nhl.com/ice/draftprospectdetail.htm?dpid=107955
Maass:
http://www.nhl.com/ice/draftprospectdetail.htm?dpid=110293
Marthinsen:
http://www.nhl.com/ice/draftprospectdetail.htm?dpid=108569