The Washington Capitals have officially kicked off Training Camp 2023…so let’s talk about it!
Q1: Who is your dark horse to make the team out of training camp?
Kalilu: The Capitals made a slew of free agent signings that seem aimed for Hershey, but I raised an eyebrow at one in particular.
Matthew Phillips comes over from the Calgary Flames organization, where the undersized winger was one of the AHL’s top scorers these past two seasons. Flames fans were eager to see him get a shot on the NHL club, which head coach Daryl Sutter eventually let him have–the same way you’d let your little brother play with a disconnected controller after mom tells you it’s time to give him a turn.
He now joins the Caps organization after signing as a free agent, but what separates his contract from the other signees is that it’s a one-way deal instead of a two-way. It doesn’t have any effect on his waiver eligibility (EA Sports lied to a whole generation of fans such as myself), but it’s still worth noting. He’s also reuniting with his former AHL coach Mitch Love, who joined Spencer Carbery’s staff as an assistant. Perhaps most intriguing, Carbery himself helped recruit him to the team. The Caps have seen success in recent years from AHL fliers in Daniel Sprong and Sonny Milano, who were eventually called up to the main club and produced. I have a feeling they view Phillips as having potential to do something similar.
Rob: Depth guys having a strong camp and cracking the roster as a reward haven’t been much of a surprise under the last few coaches. What would be a surprise is a talented kid with a game that lacks polish and maturity making the team. To that end, I’m going with Miroshnichenko. He’s never played in North America, he’s had physical setbacks, and he’s loaded with skill. He wouldn’t make a team under Laviolette, but I’m ready to be surprised.
Luke: I agree with Kalilu, I think Phillips is a pretty strong dark horse to make the team. He’s way too good for the AHL and just needs a NHL chance, which won’t be easy on a team already trying to find room for other young talent. But to be different I’ll say Ethen Frank. He’s everything that Caps need: a young, right handed, speedy winger with a NHL shot. Goal scoring wasn’t easy for the Caps last season, so having someone else in the depth of the lineup that can hit 20+ goals will be a good asset to have while Max Pacioretty is healing up. The issue, like Phillips, is who will he replace? It won’t be easy but it’s called a dark horse for a reason.
Alex: Don’t look now, but I’ve heard pretty solid things about that guy Alex Ovechkin…not sure, but I think he has a strong chance of cracking the roster!
All jokes aside, I like Luke’s suggestion of Ethen Frank. He was very fun to watch in Hershey last season, and I think he has a lot to offer the Caps roster if given the chance. To toss another name out there, I could see Hendrix Lapierre making the surprise jump—I’m very curious about how he looks this training camp and preseason. I’m excited to see how Lapierre performs now that he has a full AHL season under his belt. I think the extra experience will help his game out in a big way, and I’m hoping to see him take a big step forward.
Becca: I’m going for a slightly lighter dark horse and picking Herndon’s own Joe Snively. Is it partly because I like seeing a good Virginia boy with a fun name on the roster? …maybe. But I also think Snively has come in with a burst of energy and had some good results every time he’s gotten a call-up. Would love to see him get a shot at the opening-night roster, and I think he’s in a good position to make the cut.
Q2: Which of the team’s prospects are you most excited to see get some preseason action?
Kalilu: I’ll answer any question that has the words “prospect” and “excited” in the same sentence with Ivan Miroshnichenko.
Rob: Miroshnichenko is a great choice, but I’m going with McMichael. He hasn’t been able to break through and make the lineup for a couple seasons now, but he’s always had people willing to blame the coach. Now he doesn’t have that excuse, he’s coming off a solid AHL playoffs, and it’s time to shit or get off the pot. He needs to show up with an assertive game and prove he can be a difference maker in an NHL top six.
JP: Is McMike even still a prospect at this point? And are we still excited by him? In general, people are putting an awful lot of faith in “[insert skill player] will be better under Carbery,” which is fine (and a new, young coach is exciting in and of itself, to be sure), McMichael among them, but I totally agree that he needs to take a big step forward this year. To answer the question, I’m interested in seeing Ethen Frank and Hendrix Lapierre. Really, just anyone who can show any promise of creating goals at the NHL level.
Luke: As others pointed out, Miroshnichenko will be the most fun to watch. To throw out a new name, I’ll say Andrew Cristall. The highly skilled, small winger has a ton of potential. It will all come down to his skating speed. There’s reports he has improved it over the short time since camp after the draft, but it still needs to work. Still, how he plays against some NHL players in the pre-season will be really fascinating to see. His WHL season starts soon so don’t expect him to play more than one or two games, so he’ll have to impress quickly.
Alex: For a lot of the same reasons I had for Hendrix Lapierre above, I’m going with Vincent Iorio. He made his NHL debut last season and spent three games with the Caps before returning to the Bears for his first AHL season, so I think seeing him play with and against seasoned NHL players this preseason will be interesting. Like Lapierre, I hope that the added experience will have improved his game significantly.
Becca: I could agree with Miroshnichenko or Cristall, but I’ll also add Suzdalev into the mix. His progression has been fun to watch and I’d love to see what he can do against NHL-ish competition.
Q3: You’re Spencer Carbery. What is your top priority this season?
Kalilu: Fixing the power play is the quickest way to raise the floor for this team. Once the Caps’ killer app, it’s been mired in mediocrity as the 14th-most effective unit since the 2020-21 season. Before John Carlson’s injury last year, it was operating at 20.8%, good enough to rank 20th. A lot of things would need to go right for the Capitals to post better possession numbers at even strength, but that becomes a lot easier to manage if the Caps can get back to being a legitimate threat on that front.
Kirk Mueller is responsible for the power play, but given Carbery’s success in that role with Toronto, I’d hope his fingerprints are all over that unit as well.
Rob: This team is going nowhere if Kuznetsov keeps playing the way he has basically since they won the Cup. They obviously can’t find a trade that makes them better, so the most important thing HCSC can do is get Kuznetsov playing quality hockey. If he can somehow get him back on track, playoffs could be in the picture. If not, I fear an ugly malaise of a season, at least among the top forwards.
JP: Two great answers already (and I’d add Anthony Mantha to the list of guys who Carbs needs to fix), but I’ll go with something a little more big picture: make Caps hockey fun again, for the players and the fans, and demonstrate that there’s a plan in place for how this team returns to contender status (which, of course, isn’t all on the coach). The last few years have been an absolute slog through big-name injuries and relatively mediocre, boring play, broken up only by the mercifully frequent Alex Ovechkin tallies and milestones. The five-year Cup honeymoon is officially over – it’s time to get back headed in the right direction.
Luke: My list of things that need to be fixed in order to be a playoff team is as follows: getting Kuznetsov and Mantha going, improving the power play, incorporating the young talent, and staying healthy. The first two have already been mentioned and the last one is out of Carbery’s hands, so I’ll say if I’m Carbery I’m focusing on a way to get kids into the lineup. It won’t be easy because there really aren’t many spots available if Protas and McMichael are taking full time spots. To me, Matthew Phillips, Ethen Frank and Joe Snively need to get more than just a couple games, but they all need waivers to be sent down to Hershey so it won’t be easy to find time for them. If I’m Carbery I’m starting to sit some vets on back to backs or if anyone seems even a little hurt, anything to get kids ice time because the Caps desperately need youth, speed and skill. That’s no easy order for a new head coach, but if this team is to succeed some tough decisions will need to be made.
Alex: Can I just copy-paste Kalilu’s response here? The Caps’ power play was once one of Washington’s biggest weapons, but it’s been pretty meh recently. After watching Carbery work magic with Toronto’s power play during his last coaching gig, I hope he can do the same with the Capitals. Fresh eyes are going to help regardless, but Carbery seems particularly well-suited to tackle this problem. I also think that getting the power play rolling more consistently will help with some overall energy for the team.