Terik Parascak, RW
- 6’0″ 179lbs
- 18yo, 5/28/06
- WHL: 68GP – 43G – 62A – 105PTS
We’ve already done an in-depth piece on Parascak, and while there were perhaps other players available with potentially high ceilings at that point, the more that’s learned about the kid, the more impressive he seems.
There are two factors that make him intriguing. First, his age; he was a 17-year-old throughout his entire WHL season and put up the points that he did. Second, this was his very first WHL season, which is very rare. Besides Parascak, of the 52 first-round WHL players in the last 10 drafts, only five did not play at least 20 games in the WHL the season before. Only two of them were forwards: Samuel Honzek and Brayden Tracey. Honzek played in his home country Slovakia and Tracey did play five WHL games the year before his draft but spent most of his season in the Alberta Elite Hockey League, which is more comparable to where Parascak was playing in Canadian Sport School Hockey League. Tracey never amounted to anything, but he also didn’t have close to as strong of a draft year as Parascak, putting up 81 points in 66 games.
The point is that it’s very rare for kids drafted in the WHL to not have played in the WHL the year before, or at least gotten into a significant chunk of games. Add this to his age you can start to see why the Caps are betting on his upside. As a 17-year-old, still getting acclimated to the WHL and playing against guys who are older and more experienced than he is, he still had the 2023-24 campaign that he did.
Cole Hutson, LHD
- 5’10” 165lbs
- 18yo, 6/28/06
- NTDP: 51GP – 15G – 26A – 51PTS
- USHL: 19GP – 3G – 9A – 12PTS
Back before the 2023 draft, we talked about potentially considering Andrew Cristall as the pick for their eighth overall pick…they of course did not, but the Caps ended up getting him early in the second round anyways. Cut to this year, where a similar suggestion was made regarding Cole Hutson with their 17th pick, and once again, the Caps grabbed him in the second round.
Like Cristall, Hutson has an extremely high ceilings as a small, skilled player – just on the blueline, instead. The Caps desperately needed an offensive defensemen in their system and they might have hit a home run with Cole. He smashed the NTDP record for points by defensemen with 119 in 112 games, which to put that in perspective, was better than Adam Fox’s 86 in 118 games and Quinn Hughes 77 in 122 games. It is worth noting the previous record was held by Cam York (103 points in 122 games), and York isn’t elite like Fox and Hughes, so don’t assume Cole will be the next elite number one defensemen simply by virtue of destroying that record.
The point is, Hutson is incredibly offensively gifted with his high hockey IQ, vision, hands, edges, passing and shooting. It’s a package that drives the opposition nuts in their own zone. He baits them in and if they bite he can make them look foolish as he drives in for a shot or a no look pass off to someone for a one timer into an open net.
His only real flaw is his size, which obviously limits him physically, but smaller defensemen can still make the impact felt if they have the brains, transitional skills, and offensive prowess Hutson has. Yes he’s not going to be able to move much in front of the net but his other skills allow him to limit the amount of times that happens. Also for his size you’d like to see more speed. He can still move but another gear would really up his game.
He’s off to Boston University next season where he’ll get some great coaching and experience (and play alongside his brother, Lane, a Montreal defensive prospect). It’s important to remember he literally turned 18 on draft day. He’s incredibly young with lots of room to grow. If he can keep carrying his IQ and offensive ability to the next level while also bulking up and getting a tad faster, there’s no reason not to see him as a top-three defensemen in the NHL like Fox or Hughes if everything hits.
Leon Muggli, LHD
- 6’1″ 176lbs
- 17yo, 7/9/06
- NL: 42GP – 3G – 9A – 12PTS
If you hear the sentence “he passed Roman Josi as the all-time NL point leader for U17 players” you can’t help but perk your ears up. It’s hard not to see the resemblance between the two players. They’re very smart defenders with similar size (Josi was 6’1″ 183lbs when drafted), good speed and mobility and the effort you want to see in all your players.
All of Leon’s tools are translatable to the NHL. He has a good floor of being at least a bottom pairing defender, but there is a lot of room to grow. If he can prove he has more to his offensive game, there’s a spot in the top four for him. How many people had Josi as being an elite number one defensemen in the NHL? Probably no one. Is he going to be the next Josi, probably not but what he does next year in the NL with more time will show a lot.
Ilya Protas, LW
- 6’4″ 196lbs
- 17yo, 7/18/06
- USHL: 61GP – 14G – 37A – 51PTS
With Ilya Protas, you’re getting almost the same game as big brother and current Washington Capital Aliaksei Protas. They’re both big bodies with great vision and passing ability that use their high IQ to impact the ice at both ends of the ice. Neither are great skaters but they use their brains and reach to make sure they aren’t out of position to get beat.
Aliaksei may have a higher ceiling because he played center, so he understands the game a bit more, but “Lil Pro” is a better skater (though still not more than average). Aliaksei has turned into a great top-nine NHL complementary player – if he has the work ethic of his brother, he should turn into at least a good bottom-six possession winger, which is a great add in the third round.
Eriks Mateiko, LW/RW
- 6’5″ 216lbs
- 18yo, 11/18/05
- QMJHL: 49GP – 23G – 20A – 43PTS
It’s interesting to see the Caps pick Ilya Protas, then 15 picks later pick a very similar player in Mateiko – another big body who has some playmaking skills. He definitely uses his body more than Protas, and is more in the vein of a power forward than Protas. He also has better skating mechanics and moves along the ice smoothly for his size.
The question with bigger players like Protas and Mateiko playing in juniors is whether they can translate it to the next level. But if Mateiko can keep improving his game, using his body properly, there’s no reason not to see him turn into a bottom-six NHLer. He looks like he certainly has the ability to turn into a very good fourth-line winger that can be a big impact player on defense and the penalty kill.
Nicholas Kempf, G
- 6’2″ 190lbs
- 18yo, 3/1/06
- NTDP: 37GP – 2.99GAA – .897sv%
- USHL: 18GP – 3.88GAA – .870sv%
The consensus on Kempf is that he has had an up-and-down season where he looked like maybe the best goalie in the draft at times and one of the worst at others. So…yeah. The Caps are the best in the business at drafting goalies so you just have to assume they know what they are doing. Hopefully they are getting the goalie that falls under the best goalie in the draft category.
Petr Sikora, C
- 6’0″ 174lbs
- 18yo, 1/2/06
- Czechia U20: 30GP -13G – 27A – 40PTS
- Czechia: 22GP – 1G – 2A – 3PTS
Of all the players that the Caps drafted this year, they didn’t grab anyone with a high motor…until they snagged Sikora. This guy works his ass off, and even with his size he won’t get beat. He’s great at protecting the puck along the boards and in open ice. If you want the puck from him you have to work twice as hard. He doesn’t have any real elite offensive tools – his shot is hard but not particularly accurate. The lack of offensive ability might limit his potential, but if it breaks right he could become a solid fourth line center at the NHL.
Miroslav Satan Jr., C
- 6’7″ 190lbs
- 18yo, 3/2/06
- Slovakia U20: 27 – 14G – 17A – 31PTS
There’s not much information on Satan Jr. outside of him being son of Miroslav Satan and he’s 6’7″. The chances of him being an impactful NHL player are low as a late seventh-round pick, but being 6’7″ is something you can’t teach and that’s a decent start. He’s very responsible at both ends of the ice but doesn’t show many skill sets so if he wants to go farther in the North America he’ll need to grow his game. It’s a long shot but worth a gamble in the seventh round.
Thanks to EliteProspect, The Athletic, Scouching, McKeen Hockey, NHL Draft Pros, Hockey Prospecting for scouting reports and profiles.