Throughout the offseason, we’ll be tackling some questions about all things Capitals. First up, a look at who might be next to take a page out of Protas and McMichael’s book from last season.
Q: Last season we saw Aliaksei Protas and Connor McMichael take huge leaps forward; which (if any) of the Caps’ younger players do you think could be in line to take a similar leap in 2025-26?
J.P.: The hope (within the organization at least) would be that it’s Hendrix Lapierre. It feels like a make-or-break campaign for the 2020 first-rounder, and if he can hold down the third-line center role (which he notably could not do last fall, necessitating the trade for Lars Eller), that helps to plug one of the only obvious holes in the current roster.
And if it does happen, McMichael’s path could be the road map – both McMike and Lappy made brief cameos prior to a bigger NHL role in their 21-year-old season (8-14-22 in 51 games for Lapierre in 2023-24, 9-9-18 in 68 games for McMichael in 2021-22) before heading back to Hershey for most of their 22-year-old seasons. McMichael reemerged in 2023-24 to post an 18-15-33 line in 80 games for the Caps and then really broke out this past season to the tune of 26-31-57. Something similar to that 2023-24 season (18-15-33) doesn’t seem outlandish for Lapierre this coming year, but 26-31-57 is a bit too optimistic for me. So I don’t think there’s a “2024-25 Pro/McMike” in the cards for Lapierre, but something more in line with “2023-24 Pro-McMike” (Protas went 6-23-29, so the “average” of the two would be 12-19-31) seems very reasonable and would keep Lapierre’s development on track. One important thing to keep in mind, though, is that both McMichael and Protas came up as centers but have since found success on the wing; if Lapierre continues to develop as a center, we should probably consider that in our expectations and comparisons.
Greg: JP is right that the hope should be Hendrix Lapierre, especially if that lets McMichael keep a top-6 winger role for the Caps next year.
That said, there’s another obvious contender here, namely the guy who led the Caps last year in individual expected goals/60 and generated the second-most rush chances per 60, yet unfortunately shot 0.00% for the Caps last year. That is, of course, Ivan Miroschnichenko. Miroshnichenko still has a high pedigree, led the Hershey Bears last year in goals, and is still only 21 years old. Additionally, you’d think a 3rd-line wing spot would be easier to hold down than the 3C spot, and Miroshnichenko still has plenty of room to grow (keep in mind, he lost a significant amount of time dealing with Hodgkin’s lymphoma).
What’s the ceiling for Miroshnichenko? Well, he’s been described as someone who is “an elite skater, hits like a truck, and has an unbelievable shot”…so I’d imagine the ceiling is pretty dang high, and I could easily see him taking a massive step up this year.
Rob: I think Ryan Leonard is going to look a lot more comfortable coming into next season after getting introduced to NHL hockey last spring. He had decent underlying numbers but also looked like he was rushing or otherwise lacking poise when he got dangerous chances, and obviously was not able to beat any NHL goalies. I think he’s going to grow tremendously off that experience, have a great off-season, and come in not just as the shiny new guy but as a key offensive producer. I won’t be surprised if he manages to lock down a top six forward spot, which would give the team a lot more flexibility as they try to find the third line solution.
Luke: I can’t really throw any new names out there that haven’t been mentioned already. Hendrix Lapierre is the most likely to follow Connor McMichael and Aliaksei Protas due to his age, plus Lapierre has had a very similar route that McMichael has taken. That being said, even if he does work out at 3C (and I truly hope he does), he won’t pop off like McMichael or Protas because they received top six minutes last year, Lapierre will not this upcoming season. If Lapierre does receive those big minutes it’s either because we had some brutal injuries to the top six centers (bad) or he somehow forces his way into the top six (good).
Ryan Leonard is a good candidate as he should be used all over the top nine and could end up sticking in the top six. If he does, he could really go off with a center like Ryan Strome or Pierre-Luc Dubois passing him the puck. Like Greg mentioned, Miroshnichenko, could also be that candidate to go off this season but that would mean Lapierre fails at 3C and McMichael is put there, which would not be the best thing. If Miroshnichenko sticks in the AHL this season mainly, that would be a good thing because it means the Caps are healthy and playing well. It won’t hurt for him to cook one more season in the AHL either.