ARLINGTON, Va. – The Washington Capitals have re-assigned forward Alexander Suzdalev to the Hershey Bears of the American Hockey League (AHL), president and general manager Brian MacLellan announced today.
The Capitals selected Suzdalev, 20, with the 70th overall pick in the 2022 NHL Draft.
This season, Suzdalev recorded 25 points (9g, 16a) in 30 games with the Saskatoon Blades of the Western Hockey League (WHL) after joining the team on Jan. 4. The 6’2”, 180-pound forward ranked seventh on Saskatoon in points-per-game (0.83) during the regular season and seventh in postseason scoring with 13 points (4g, 9a) in 16 WHL playoff games. Suzdalev also appeared in 13 games with Mora IK of HockeyAllsvenskan (Sweden-2), registering three points (2g, 1a).
Suzdalev recorded 86 points (38g, 48a) in 66 games with the Regina Pats (WHL) during the 2022-23 season and was named to the CHL All-Rookie Team. Suzdalev led WHL rookies in goals, assists and points and ranked tied for 11th among all skaters in scoring. Suzdalev was named the WHL Rookie of the Month for the months of December and February, the only player to earn the honor twice during the 2022-23 season. Suzdalev added 10 points (7g, 3a) in seven playoff games with Regina, which ranked third on the team.
Suzdalev spent the 2021-22 season in Sweden, leading HV71’s junior team (Sweden-Jr.) in scoring with 51 points (15g, 36a) in 45 regular-season games. The Khabarovsk, Russia native, who competes with Sweden internationally, also appeared in four games with HV71’s U18 team, where he recorded eight points (3g, 5a), and skated in five games with HV71 (Sweden-2). In addition, Suzdalev won a gold medal with Team Sweden at the 2022 IIHF World U18 Championships.
