Heading into the 2022 NHL Draft in Montreal and the unofficial start of the offseason, the Caps were aiming to change up the goaltending situation on their NHL roster and to bring as much high-end talent into the organization as possible with the six picks they held at the outset of the draft on Thursday. Despite the obstacle of picking in the back half of every round, the Caps' hockey ops brass believes it has succeeded in adding some quality talent to the prospect cupboard here in Montreal.

The Caps also made their first varsity roster move of the offseason on Friday morning ahead of the second day of the draft, dealing goaltender Vitek Vanecek to the New Jersey Devils along with a second-round pick for New Jersey's second- and third-round picks in this year's draft.
"We've been trying to change our goaltending up a little bit," says Caps general manager Brian MacLellan of the trade. "This is the first step in doing that. We've still got some work to do to fill out our goaltending duo, and some further decisions to make as we go forward here."
MacLellan also indicated that the Caps will be looking to both the trade and free agent markets as they seek a goaltender to go along with incumbent Ilya Samsonov, who is a restricted free agent.

"I think we're open to all avenues," says MacLellan. "The goaltending market is changing as we go here - day by day - so you try and stay in things that you feel you're attracted to and might be a good fit. We get free agency coming up on Wednesday, so we'll be involved in all of the discussions about goalies."
The goalie market was pulsing in Montreal, with four NHL netminders changing their mailing address via the trade route, including Vanecek, a Caps second-rounder (39th overall) in the 2014 NHL Draft. The Caps briefly lost Vanecek to the nascent Seattle Kraken in last summer's expansion draft, but they reacquired him a week later for a second-round pick.
Vanecek spent each of his two NHL seasons in Washington, splitting the goaltending chores with Samsonov. Vanecek won 20 games in each of his two seasons with the Caps, posting a 41-22-10 record with a 2.68 GAA and a .908 save pct.
Neither netminder established himself as the clear-cut No. 1 during those two seasons, and the Caps are aiming to make an upgrade at the position in what promises to be a competitive goalie market when the NHL's free agent shopping season opens for business on Wednesday.
"I think if you line it up and you look," begins MacLellan of the goalie market, "and you pay attention to what teams are thinking, it's a little chaotic and scrambly. So you've got to be constantly monitoring it to see what's happening."
Now, on to the draft recap.

Choosing at No. 20 for the first time in franchise history in the 2022 NHL Draft in Montreal, the Caps landed Russian left wing Ivan Miroshnichenko in Thursday's first round. Miroshnichenko is a player who would likely not been available at No. 20 under normal circumstances. During the 2021-22 season, Miroshnichenko was diagnosed with Hodgkin's Lymphoma. His subsequent course of treatment limited him to just 31 games with Omskie Krylya of Rus-VL, Russia's highest minor league where he played with and against men in his draft year as a 17-year-old.
Miroshnichenko put up 10 goals and 16 points in those 31 games, an excellent showing for a player of that age in that league.
"It's just a tremendous feeling," said the Russian winger via a translator after being selected. "It's such a great organization and there are so many great players - Russian players - that play for the organization. So to join them is a tremendous honor."
The Caps interviewed Miroshnichenko at the team's Montreal hotel headquarters on Wednesday, and they went into the draft with the hope that he might be available at No. 20 because of uncertainty over his health.

"We had the medical reports from his doctors," says MacLellan. "We had our doctors examine it, and went and worked with our trainer [Jason Serbus]. We asked a lot of questions, got a certain level of comfort from where he's at and where he's come from, and there's still some risk left in it. But we felt the upside was worth the risk taken there."
"We're looking at a player that we had quite high on our list," says Caps assistant GM Ross Mahoney. "And to be able to get him at 20, we thought that was really, really good. Almost a little bit like [the 2020 Draft] with Hendrix Lapierre, who we had rated very high and ended up trading up a couple of spots to get him at 22, so almost the same type of scenario. But we ended up getting a guy that we had rated quite high on our list."
On day two of the draft on Friday, the Caps made the Vanecek trade shortly before the draft got underway, moving up nine slots in the second round and adding an additional third-round pick to give them four of the top 85 picks in the draft. Essentially, the Caps' objectives dovetailed to where they were able to move Vanecek while also moving up nine slots in the second round, enabling them to take defenseman Ryan Chesley from the U.S. National Development Team Program with the 37th overall choice.

"With Ryan Chesley," begins Mahoney, "and where we were picking originally going into today, I was like, 'I don't know if this is going to work out.' You're crossing your fingers and hoping that he's going to be there, but I'm not so sure he would have been. So after the trade took place and we were picking up higher, I thought there was probably three guys that were going to be there in those four picks or five picks. And he was there, and we were really, really happy to get him."
"We targeted him, Chesley," says MacLellan. "We thought we would have to move up to get him because he wouldn't be around [at No. 46], so we incorporated that into the Vanecek trade."

The deal with the Devils also increased the Caps' complement of picks from six to seven, and by the end of Friday afternoon they had made seven selections, doing so for the first time since 2018.
Here's a deeper look at the seven newest members of the Capitals organization.
Ivan Miroshnichenko - LW - shoots right - 6-foot-1, 185 pounds
Omsk Krylia, Russia-2 - Feb. 4, 2004 - First round, No. 20 overall
Miroshnichenko was ranked No. 12 in the annual Red Line Report draft guide, with the following comment: "Sniping bulldozer would be #2 if not for Hodgkins"and comparing him to Andrei Svechnikov.
Red Line's more in depth take on Miroshnichenko reads as follows: Would be our #2 overall prospect on merit alone, but that must be tempered by his Hodgkin's Lymphoma diagnosis - health is a serious concern. Skill-wise, he's an absolute stud sniper and a constantly dangerous beast. Powerful specimen who plays much bigger/stronger than listed size. Bulldozes his way through traffic. Team captain at all international U-17 and U-18 events. Terrific playmaker who sees the ice beautifully. Lurks dangerously and pounces on loose pucks. Can stickhandle in a phone booth. Long, powerful stride with good straight line speed, but even better east-west lateral moves. Also one of the 2-3 best finishers in this year's class. Gets heavy shots away like lightning with power and accuracy. Deadly 1-timers from the circle on the PP. Makes sharp, sudden cuts off the wall to attack the slot. Great package of power and finesse - makes plays under pressure. Star qualities.
McKeen's Hockey had him ranked at No. 19, concluding their scouting report with the following line: The draft's ultimate wild card this year, an NHL team would be crazy to let him fall too far because the potential for him to develop into an impact player is just too high.
TSN ranked Miroshnichenko at No. 19, listing Filip Forsberg as a similar player and projecting him as a top line scoring winger.
"We always give all the information we have to our medical staff," says Mahoney. "And they advise us and give us their thoughts and what they feel, so like I said, we were really happy to get him."
Miroshnichenko is believed to be under contract for one more year in Russia. He is expected to be at Washington's summer development camp at some point next week, but he will return to Russia where he will play the 2022-23 season.
"The plan is for me to stay here for a little bit here, as I have a development camp coming up here," says Miroshnichenko via a translator. "And then the plan is for me to rejoin my team in Omsk."
Ryan Chesley - D - shoots right - 6-foot-0, 201 pounds
NTDP, USA U-18 - Feb. 7, 2004 - Second round, No. 37 overall
Red Line ranked Chesley at No. 40, projecting him as a "physical, defense-first, shutdown rearguard" and comparing his style to that of Carolina's Brady Skjei.
Red Line's deeper dive on Chesley reads as follows: Solid blue-liner plays a quiet, understated game. Always in control and in full command of the game in the defensive end. Plays it smart and rugged around the corners, mixing it up physically and winning most of the 1-on-1 battles. Easily ties up forwards in front of the net without taking penalties. Very reliable and consistent defender with a long, athletic frame and the ability to accelerate in just a few powerful steps. Gets back quickly on retrievals and is able to elude forechecking pressure. Moves pucks north quickly and with authority in transition. Breaks up rushes with an active stick, and uses sharp footwork to mirror and contain speedy, elusive forwards in coverage down low. Makes some good pinches, but there's room for him to pick his spots better. Has some offensive tools, but generally is not forceful or aggressive at the offensive end.
McKeen's has Chesley ranked at No. 34, and their report on him reads in part: An absolute ox on the ice, it is rare to see him lose a one-on-one battle, be it in the corners or near the net. His terrific four-way mobility allows him to play aggressively too, because he recovers so well. A truly suffocating player at the junior level, scouts expect this to continue as he rises through the ranks, from the University of Minnesota to the NHL.
TSN had Chesley at No. 25, projecting him as a "No. 3/No. 4 defensive defenceman" and listing Brett Pesce as a similar player.
Chesley played high school hockey at Shattuck St. Mary's before going on to the US NTDP for the last two seasons. A native of St. Paul, Minn., he is committed to the Minnesota Golden Gophers, where he will fill out a hat trick of elite and iconic amateur hockey programs.
"Obviously he really wants to be a hockey player," says Mahoney of Chesley. "You leave home at a very young age to go to Shattuck, and to do the under-18 and under-17 program. It's good for him too, to be to be involved in these three really, really good programs.
"Obviously, we all know what Shattuck has done and the players they've produced and also at the [NTDP] team, and it was another good draft for the under 18 team today. And Minnesota has always been a perennial kind of powerhouse in the NCAA."
While most scouting reports focus on Chesley's defensive prowess, the Caps believe there may be some untapped offensive talent in his game as well.
"I think his offensive abilities are probably a little bit underrated," says Mahoney of Chesley. "He can really skate, he competes, he is really strong for his size and for his age. He never played the power play for the US Under-18 [team] -- first power play for sure - and it's a very hard power play to get on. And yet I think he might have scored more goals than any defenseman in the history of the program, and then in goals per game he might have been in the top six. And here you're talking about the Justin Faulks and the Jack Johnsons and those kind of guys, so I think there's a lot more offense there than maybe he was allowed to show."
"I would say I'm a two-way, puck moving defenseman who has the ability to shutdown any player at any time," says Chesley. "I like players like Ryan McDonagh, Jaccob Slavin and Charlie McAvoy.
"John Carlson, too," he added after a slight prompt from a reporter. "A really good one."

Alexander Suzdalev - LW - shoots right - 6-foot-2, 177 pounds
HV 71 JR., Sweden-Jr. - March 5, 2004 - Third round, No. 70 overall
Red Line has Suzdalev at No. 81, projecting him as a "wildly talented enigma, 2nd line scorer or bust"and comparing him to Joel Armia.
Red Line's deeper dive on Suzdalev is as follows: Big, rangy winger is a marvelous skater with a wide stance for great balance. Very swift with a long ice-eating stride, and can change direction on a dime. Has tons of skill and is very strong offensively. He's also powerfully built and can either beat the defence with speed, or just bulldoze his way through would-be checkers. Has a live, athletic body and attacks the slot with abandon. Unloads heavy blasts at full throttle steaming down the wing. Controls even hard passes in his skates without breaking stride. Tends to overplay the puck and hang onto it forever. Needs to find a balance between his own skills and the rest of team - doesn't understand team concepts. Not strong defensively and needs to take responsibilities in own end more seriously. The obvious talent and skills make for a huge offensive upside, but lack of drive makes him a big question mark.
McKeen's has Suzdalev at No. 119, noting that he is "one of the most creative and 'fun' players available this year." Suzdalev has executed "the Michigan," a lacrosse-style goal in which the shooter scores from behind the opposition net by scooping the puck onto his blade and shoveling it into the top of the cage.
TSN ranked Suzdalev at No. 89.
Suzdalev was born in Russia but was raised in Sweden where his father Anatoly was a professional bandy player. (Caps fans take note, ex-Caps defenseman Jack Hillen was a huge fan of bandy and spent his offseasons playing the game during his NHL career.)
"I think he's got some untapped potential also," says Mahoney of Suzdalev. "He ended up playing on the Swedish under-18 team for the first time in November, and was again on the team in the championships in May. Matti Lamberg and Mats Weiderstal and Peter Ihnacak - our European scouts - really spoke highly of him and the rest of the guys had a good opportunity to see him in those tournaments also.
"He's a really good skater and that comes from the bandy with the father; you've got to be able to skate to play bandy. He can score and he can make plays. At the under-18s at the end of the year and the world championship, he didn't get a lot of ice time. But they also had the [Jonathan] Lekkerimakis and the [Liam] Ohgrens and these kind of guys that obviously went a lot higher in the draft. I think we got a really good gem where we picked him also."
Ludwig Persson - LW - shoots left - 6-foot-0, 180 pounds
Frolunda JR., Sweden-Jr. - Oct. 8, 2003 - Third round, No. 85 overall
Red Line Report ranked Persson at No. 206.
McKeen's Hockey ranked Persson at No. 88, and their scouting report on him reads in part: "Despite being 6-foot, 179-pounds, he makes a scrawny impression, and his solid skating definitely stands to benefit from more leg strength. His offensive and defensive games are sound and show few glaring weaknesses, yet he does have one very shiny strength, namely his wrist shot. Persson scores goal- scorers' goals from all around the slot and faceoff circles. His slinging motion gains fantastic torque. That deadly shot is accompanied by some slick playmaking."
With an October 2003 birthdate, Persson is one of the oldest first-time eligible players in the 2022 NHL Draft; he missed the cutoff for last year's draft by about three weeks. Persson saw action in the Swedish pro league in each of the last two seasons, totaling 23 games at that level. He also finished second in the Swedish Jr. League with 61 points (25 goals, 36 assists) in 41 games in 2021-22.
"Late birthdate," says Mahoney of Persson. "I think sometimes those guys get lost a little bit in the shuffle. Good skater, he's got good hands. Once again, the European scouts liked him, so we were happy to get him there also."
Jake Karabela - C - shoots left - 5-foot-10, 172 pounds
Guelph, OHL - March 7, 2004 - Fifth round, No. 149 overall
Red Line Report ranked Karabela at No. 123 with the comment: "Highly intelligent & can skate. Looks like a checking centre."
McKeen's Hockey ranked Karabela at No. 84. Their report on him reads in part: In a nutshell, Karabela looks like the perfect bottom six player at the NHL level who can slide up and down the lineup as needed due to his work ethic, speed, and IQ. However, what if the offensive skills improve? What if Karabela improves his confidence at carrying the puck at full speed and who becomes a primary play driver because of it? What if Karabela works to improve his shot and becomes a better scoring option in the slot who can capitalize on his hard work more often? To us, there is some hidden offensive potential, giving him both a high floor and a possible higher ceiling.
TSN ranked Karabela at No. 76.
"He's like a 5-10 and a half, 175-pound guy that can really skate and is really smart," says Mahoney of Karabela. "Good penalty killer and unselfish; I think he had a lot more assists than he had goals. But I think at that point in the draft when you can get someone who can skate and think the game really well, it's a real bonus."
Ryan Hofer - C - shoots left - 6-foot-3, 181 pounds
Everett, WHL - May 10, 2002 - Sixth round, No. 181 overall
Hofer was not ranked by Red Line Report, McKeen's or TSN. He went undrafted in each of the last two drafts before emerging as an important piece for the Everett Silvertips in his age 19 season, and he may be a late bloomer with some offensive upside. He surged offensively and had a 25-goal campaign in 2021-22 - his first full season in the WHL - tacking on six goals and 10 points in half a dozen playoff games. Hofer's brother Joel is a goaltender who was a fourth-round choice (107th overall) of the St. Louis Blues in the 2018 NHL Draft. Joel Hofer made his NHL debut with the Blues this past season, getting into two games.
"He's been through the draft before," notes Mahoney of Ryan Hofer. "He's 6-foot-3, 180 pounds, a hard-working, honest player. He's not fun to play against; he really competes. I would classify him as a late bloomer. And the Western [scouts] like Darrell Baumgartner and Evan Marble really kind of keyed on him and really thought he improved a lot this year."
Hofer is old enough to turn pro in 2022-23, but Mahoney noted that it may also be beneficial for him to play his over-age season in the WHL.
"That's kind of up for discussion," says Mahoney. "We'll see how he does here in the next little bit and decide what's best for him, whether it's to go back [to the WHL]. He did produce this year, quite a bit. But I think it wouldn't hurt him to go back and play as a 20-year-old and have an even more productive year offensively.
"When you look at when he was younger, 16 or 17, he wasn't playing as much maybe or at as high a level as some of the other kids in this year's draft."
David Gucciardi - D - shoots left - 6-foot-1, 185 pounds
Michigan State, Big 10 - Oct. 9, 2002 - Seventh round, No. 213 overall
Red Line Report ranked Gucciardi at No. 176.
McKeen's Hockey ranked Gucciardi at No. 178, and their report on him reads in part: Our 111th ranked prospect for the 2021 draft just finished his freshman year at Michigan State and he was one of the most impactful freshman defenders in the NCAA this year. He was one of Michigan State's main powerplay quarterbacks and finished inside the top 20 of U20 defenseman scoring, while playing 17+ minutes a night on most occasions. He showed that he can use his plus mobility and big shot to quarterback the powerplay and he continued to be a factor physically in the defensive end. There are still some things to shore up in the defensive end, we continue to like his potential as a two-way defender because of his combination of physicality, mobility, and offensive skill set.
"David was on our radar last year also," says Mahoney. "We just took some other players ahead of him. Once again, kind of like Ryan Hofer, a bit of a late bloomer but a good skating defenseman. He's got a bit of offensive skill. [Caps scouts] A.J. Toews and Rich Alger and Jeremy Browning were tracking him all year. He had a very good year."