September 28 vs. Detroit Red Wings at Capital One Arena
Time: 7 p.m.
TV: Monumental Network, NHL Network
Radio: 106.7 The FAN, Capitals Radio 24/7
Detroit Red Wings (1-0-0)
Washington Capitals (0-0-1)
The Caps kick off a set of home-and-home preseason games with the Detroit Red Wings on Thursday night at Capital One Arena. The two teams will tangle again in Motown on Saturday night, a game that will bring Washington to the midway point of its six-game exhibition slate.
Washington started off its preseason with a 4-3 shootout loss to the Sabres this past Sunday in the District. While a third of the Caps’ camp roster was playing that game on Sunday afternoon, the rest of the camp roster was engaged in a scrimmage at MedStar Capitals Iceplex. During that scrimmage, Caps defenseman Joel Edmundson suffered an upper body injury.
Wednesday, the Caps announced that Edmundson has undergone a procedure to stabilize a fracture in his hand. Washington expects to be without the veteran defenseman for 4-6 weeks.
Edmundson’s absence creates an opportunity for a young Caps defender to fill in; the veteran blueliner was penciled into the left side of Washington’s third defensive pairing. There are four in-house candidates to fill that void, and all four could be in the lineup on Thursday against the Red Wings.
Of the quartet, Alex Alexeyev has the most NHL experience. He logged 32 games as a rookie with the Caps last season, and the 23-year-old first-rounder from 2018 has skated in 33 career NHL games. Alexeyev also played a fair amount with Trevor van Riemsdyk last season, and the Caps had Edmundson working alongside van Riemsdyk before the former’s injury. It wouldn’t be much of a stretch to see Alexeyev paired with van Riemsdyk, but there are other players vying for that opportunity as well.
Alexeyev stayed in the area over the offseason, adding some upper body muscle mass that should aid his cause.
“Even skating, skating got better too,” says Alexeyev of his offseason work. “I’ve been working with a skating coach, and that helped a lot, too.”
Lucas Johansen was Washington’s first-round choice (28th overall) in the 2016 NHL Draft. As he heads into his seventh pro season, the 25-year-old Johansen has amassed just three NHL games; injuries and the pandemic have combined to limit him to 116 regular season AHL games in the last four seasons. He skated in 119 AHL contests in his first two pro seasons.
Coming off a strong showing in the 2023 Calder Cup Playoffs, Johansen has likely never had a better opportunity to nail down a roster spot in any of his previous training camps here.
“Absolutely, yeah,” concurs Johansen. “It’s been seven now – even more training camps – but seven years pro now, going on. I’ve had a lot of good experience, especially last year with the playoff run there. I think my game is at a great level right now, and I want to just keep building on that and make the team.”
Also 25, Haman Aktell was a Nashville draft choice (fourth round, 108th overall in 2016) who has played the entirety of his career to date in his native Sweden. He has spent each of the last three seasons in Sweden’s highest pro league, skating for Vaxjo HC, the league champions last season. Haman Aktell led the squad’s defensemen in scoring with 36 points (nine goals, 27 assists) in 51 games, and finished second overall on the team in scoring, two points behind the team leader. At 6-foot-3, 220 pounds, Haman Aktell has size and reach similar to that of Edmundson.
“Last season, I [recorded] a lot of points and stuff like that, that I haven’t done before,” says Haman Aktell. “I think my defensive game is pretty good, so I think it’s the right time to come over here and fight for a job.”
Because van Riemsdyk has the ability to play on the left side as well, right-handed sophomore pro Vincent Iorio also factors into the competition. Iorio showed well in his first pro season at AHL Hershey last season, helping the Bears to a Calder Cup championship. He also got into three games with the Caps, picking up his first NHL point with an assist on an Alex Ovechkin goal in San Jose last March.
In Washington’s preseason opener against Buffalo this past Sunday, Iorio logged a team-high 24:36 in ice time.
“[I want] to push for a spot [in Washington], definitely,” says Iorio. “I’ve been working really hard this summer. Although it was short, I did put in the work.
“I think last year speaks for itself, too – for myself, for Hendrix [Lapierre] and for Henry [Rybinski]. We all learned a lot, and I think as a rookie it’s huge to have that season and to go on that deep run, because not many young players are able to experience that. I’m just very grateful, and we’ll see how things turn out here, but I’m going to continue to work.”
For many seasons in the Alex Ovechkin era, job opportunities and even temporary openings like the one created by the Edmundson absence were few and far between. The Caps had a stable roster and were one of the League’s healthiest teams for a few seasons running in the previous decade. Legitimate training camp battles for roster berths and lineup spots were rare in those days, but a four-player chase for a blueline berth definitely should add some intrigue to these last five exhibition tilts, starting Thursday against the Wings.
“I think the fire is already there,” says Iorio. “We’re all competing for a spot. We’re all very good hockey players. Hardy, I haven’t seen him too much, but he seems like a very smooth skater, very poised with the puck. And I know what Jojo is like; Jojo is a fantastic player as well, and same with Al.
“For me, I’ve just got to continue to play my game, and push the pace.”
Following Wednesday’s twin practice sessions, Caps’ coach Spencer Carbery outlined what he wanted to see in terms of separation from whomever wins that competition for the spot created by Edmundson’s absence.
“What I think is the most important thing for any one of those guys to be in the opening night lineup,” begins Carbery, “is reliability. And that word is maybe overused. You’ve got to be reliable in all situations, whether that’s breaking the puck out, whether that’s defending the rush, defending in low coverage – give us and show that you can give reliable minutes against NHL competition.
“And if you do that, what happens is you earn trust from the coaches, you earn trust from your teammates, and you get a little bit more, and a little bit more, and a little bit more. And then you get to play back-to-back games, and then you play your third in a row, and it just snowballs from there.
“That – I think – is the most important thing, is getting out of games clean as a defenseman and moving onto the next one. When I say ‘clean,’ it means you were solid with your breakouts, you defended well, there weren’t any isolated situations where you got beat one-on-one, your puck decisions were good from the offensive blueline through the neutral zone. I know it might not be the [sexiest] answer, but that’s how I find you earn more opportunity from a coach, especially as a young defenseman.”
When the Wings hit town on Thursday night, there’s at least a possibility that all four of the aforementioned blueline candidates will be in the lineup. All four skated in the same group on Wednesday, but there were eight defensemen in the group, and only six will suit up against Detroit.
