10) Ryan Chesley RHD
Age: 21
2024-2025 season (NCAA): 40GP, 8-12-20
2024-2025 season (AHL): 4GP, 1-2-3
Chesley finished his college career well, with 20 points in 40 games wearing the “C” for his team (although Chesley does not project to be an offensive defenseman). He then jumped into the AHL after his NCAA career wrapped and posted three points in four games with Hershey, which, even though that’s a very small sample size, was surprising to see him produce so quickly.
Chesley never built his offensive game like the Caps brass perhaps wanted him to, but he still looks like a reliable all-around defensemen. The question is, which pair will he end up on at the NHL level (if at all)? It’s very hard to predict defensive defensemen without analytics, but eye test-wise, Chesley has a great foundation. He’s got good size, skates incredibly well, is great in transition, has a bomb of a shot, and can get physical. There are a ton of top-four defensemen in the NHL boasting that same skillset, so it’ll be interesting to see what happens when he gets more professional games under his belt. It wouldn’t be surprising to see Chesley end up being a good, reliable third-pairing defensemen (although of course we hope the ceiling is higher than that for him).
9) Ilya Protas C/W
Age: 19
2024-2025 season (OHL): 61GP, 50-74-124
The Protas brothers must have had a bet going this past season or something, because both brothers went nuclear with their respective teams. We of course know what Aliaksei Protas did in the NHL (and we’ll talk about that later in this list) but Ilya Protas racked up the second-most points (124) and second-highest points-per-game rate (2.03) in the OHL before adding another 25 points in 12 playoff games. If you count only 18-year-old seasons, Ilya’s was the second best in the OHL in the last 20 years, behind only Patrick Kane. If you want to include under-18 players as well, then he had the sixth best OHL season the last 20 years. That’s impressive stuff. That’s better than Wyatt Johnston, Marco Rossi, Mitch Marner, Dylan Strome, Bryan Little, Tyler Toffoli, Taylor Hall, Matthew Tkachuk and more.
It will be interesting to see where Ilya plays this upcoming season. Since he was taken in the import draft, he is not held to the CHL rules, therefore he can play wherever he and the team wants him to. There is speculation he could play for Hershey but can also go back to the OHL; if the Bears plan on using him in the bottom-six with the occasional healthy scratch, like they usually do with their rookies, it will probably be better to go back to the OHL and get big minutes. Either way, if Protas can continue this trajectory he’s on, the Caps might have a legit 1C prospect on their hands – but it’s a bit too early to tell. At the very least it looks like we might have another Aliaksei Protas on our hands and that’s not a bad thing.
8) Andrew Cristall LW/RW
Age: 20
2024-2025 season (WHL): 57GP, 48-84-132
In terms of pure skill and upside, Cristall could be number one on this list, and it may be confusing to see him only at eighth…but remember, these lists combine both potential AND experience, and players in front of him have more professional experience and have done well there.
The small winger is an elite dual-threat player that can thread pucks through multiple defenders or find a soft area and rip one timers top corners. He had an incredible year in the WHL, leading the league both in points (132) and points per game (2.32), then added 41 points in 19 playoff games. He was a machine who looked like he improved his biggest weakness: speed. Still not a burner but enough to get the job done.
It will be interesting to see where he ends up this upcoming season. It’s most likely going to be the Hershey Bears, but he was the last to be cut from the Caps last year so he could certainly fight for a spot in the NHL; unfortunately, as is the case with Ivan Miroshnichenko, there simply aren’t many winger positions, if any at all. If he doesn’t make the Caps’ roster, Hershey should be the perfect next step for him as he’ll play bigger, faster players and showcase how he adapts. This kid has superstar potential; it’s just a matter of implementing it at the pro level.
7) Justin Sourdif RW/C
Age: 23
2024-2025 season (NHL): 1GP, 1-0-1
2024-2025 season (AHL): 43GP, 16-18-34
The Caps paid what may seem like a somewhat steep price for Sourdif given he has just four NHL games under his belt and good but not elite results in the AHL. Clearly the front office saw something in Sourdif that was worth paying a second and sixth round pick, a pricing usually saved for good middle six help. Sourdif is a fast, tough customer who plays in your face but also has a good skillset at both shooting and passing and may be able to unlock the next level given the right opportunity.
As of now, the guess is Sourdif is here to replace Taylor Raddysh, who left in free agency, so he’ll slide in next to Nic Dowd and Brandon Duhaime. Together they should make a very formidable line of speed, physicality with some skill. What will be interesting to keep an eye on is to see if Sourdif ever shifts to center, a position he plays as well, as he could be a potential replacement for Nic Dowd down the road.
6) Hendrix Lapierre C
Age: 23
2024-2025 season (NHL): 27GP, 0-8-8
2024-2025 season (AHL): 32GP, 7-25-32
After a promising first stint in the NHL in the 2023-24 season as a 21-year-old (22 points in 51 games), Lapierre struggled last season, eventually losing the third-line center position to Lars Eller, who the Caps had to trade for. Lapierre went back down to the AHL and did very well there, cementing himself as a first-line center in that league, but the time is now for him to earn an NHL spot and hold onto it because runway is running out.
The good news is Lapierre has taken a very similar route to McMichael, who also had an up and down career in the NHL before finally breaking out last season at the age of 23. Guess what? Lapierre is about to enter his 23-year-old season. Now, he probably won’t get top-six time like McMichael did last year, so a nearly 60-point season would be a tall ask from Lapierre. If he can be an impactful third-line center, though, that would be huge for the Caps because 1) they’d have a young cost-controlled player for years to come, 2) they can keep McMichael at wing, and 3) the Caps won’t have to spend assets to get a 3C. Lapierre is very skilled, has high-end vision and passing, and can skate well too. He has what it takes to stick in the NHL, he just has to do it now.