We’ve counted down #25-11, and #10-6…now it’s time for the final five players under 25 in the Washington Capitals’ organization.
5) Martin Fehervary, D
Age: 24
2023-24 season (NHL): 66GP, 3-13-16
Marty technically shouldn’t be on this list since he turns 25 on October 6th, just two days before the season begins…but I want to cherish every possible second of our kids, so don’t tell my editor he’s staying on the list. [Editor’s note: Rule-breaking is frowned upon, Luke…but we’ll allow it this once because we want to cherish the time, too.]
At this point, there isn’t too much to say about Fehervary. We know exactly what he brings to the table: defensive ability, speed, and heavy hits. Before Matt Roy was signed this offseason, Fehervary was the most reliable defensemen the Caps had, and he still could be.
It will be interesting to see where he lines up this season, though, because the Caps left side is so stacked with Rasmus Sandin and the addition of Jakub Chychrun. Indications seem to be he’ll play with Matt Roy to at least start the season. That could be the new Dmitry Orlov-Matt Niskanen pairing we saw for so long. Their job will be going up against the other teams top players and shutting them down. Orlov certainly has more offensive pop than Marty, but the new pair’s focus will be on defense.
For Fehervary, then, it’s all about staying healthy. He already suffered an injury earlier in the offseason, and his last two seasons he’s been a bit banged up, missing 15-16 games in each – which isn’t a ton, but for a 24-year-old you’d like to see him closer to 75 games a season, especially with his rough-and-tumble style of play. The good news is the Caps are stacked on the left side so if he goes out of the lineup, the team should be able to survive until he comes back.
4) Aliaksei Protas, C/W
Age: 23
2023-24 season (NHL): 78GP, 6-23-29
Like Fehervary, if you want someone steady and reliable, Protas is your guy. He is the Caps’ Swiss army knife. He can play any forward position from the first line to the fourth line, from the power play to the penalty kill, and from protecting a lead to wanting to try to tie things up. He can do it all. He had a career year last year, almost hitting 30 points while averaging the ninth-most time at 5v5 per game among Caps forwards, and 12th if you switch it to all situations. Protas should probably be getting more ice time than that, and hopefully will this season.
With a much stronger team around him this upcoming season, it will be interesting to see how Protas is deployed and if he can improve upon his career-best total in points. He’s certainly well positioned to do so, as he has drastically improved his speed and still has a top-tier hockey brain with a vision and passing ability. With the right players, he could blow away his 29 points from last season.
That said, there probably isn’t much more growing for Protas in his game. This upcoming season is probably the best we’ll see in terms of potential. He’s already proved to be worth his contract. Players like him are incredibly important to competitive teams – someone who can play anywhere at any point in a game, working their butts off to get the win for their team. His possession numbers are always really strong and he can even slightly improve the accuracy of his shot he could be in for a great year.
3) Connor McMichael, C/W
Age: 23
2023-24 season (NHL): 80GP, 18-15-33
McMichael centered that strong third line for the Caps last season with Protas and Anthony Mantha on his wings. It led to his career-best 33 points, even though the line didn’t stay together the whole season, (partly because Mantha was traded away before the deadline). McMichael was a bit spotty in his offensive output overall, but when he was on, he scored some beautiful goals, and last season was a good step forward for the young forward. He earned a two year extension this summer with an AAV of $2.1M, a well earned contract for the youngster.
It’s been noted that McMichael has always been better at center than wing, but looks like this upcoming season, at least to start, he will be playing wing. The good news for him is he will likely be playing wing in the top six, which he may prefer over playing center in the bottom six because top-six minutes, obviously, give him a much better chance to produce. But the season is long, injuries happen, and when they do, it’s a luxury to have a winger who can play center – so it’s a sure bet that he’ll be getting time in both positions.
Like Protas, this upcoming season is probably the season we’ll see the full potential of McMichael, and will probably establish what we’ll get going forward from the young pivot. He has a strong offensive toolkit that contains good vision, hands, and passing, but his best attribute will always be his shot. If he can get his shot off even a fraction of a second earlier, he could easily be a 25-goal scorer in the NHL. Right now, that extra second is costing him as it gives time to defenders to get a stick on the puck or allow goalies to adjust.
2) Rasmus Sandin, D
Age: 24
2023-24 season (NHL): 68GP, 3-20-23
Sandin would probably be the first to admit that his first full year with the Caps was not a good one. It was an odd year for the Caps last season as many know, and some players just couldn’t get going one way or another. Sandin certainly falls into that category. The Caps must know that he’s due for a bounceback because they signed him to a four-year deal with a $4.6M AAV, which is not an insignificant investment.
Like Fehervary, it will be interesting to see where Sandin slots now that Chychrun is also on the team. Early indications show that Chychrun will probably get a chance with John Carlson and Fehervary will play with Roy. That will leave Sandin playing on the bottom pair with either Trevor van Riemsdyk, Ethan Bear or Alexander Alexeyev. But like it was stated earlier, there’s a very high chance that the defense will be mixed and matched through out the season because it’s so strong. It’s a great problem to have.
Sandin has high-end offensive ability. With the right minutes at even strength and on the power play, he could certainly be a 50+ point blueliner. The question is how many minutes will he get on the Caps with the aforementioned deep left side as well the addition of Chychrun, another high-end offensive blueliner with a higher ceiling. Still, if the Caps can get a consistent 40ish point campaign from Sandin with good offensive impacts, that’s all they really need. The concern is Sandin’s size and ability to defend in the tough areas. He’ll need to lean into his strengths of skating and passing to outweigh his net front weakness.
1) Ryan Leonard, RW
Age: 19
2023-24 season (NCAA): 41GP, 31-29-60
This list was set up weighing NHL readiness over potential, and there’s little doubt of all the players on this list, Leonard could go into the NHL this season and still be the best under-25 player. It’s a shame his team did not win the national championship last spring, otherwise we could probably pencil him into the top-nine for opening night right now. He shredded the NCAA last season with his two top-tier linemates in Will Smith and Gabe Perreault, but there’s plenty of evidence to suggest he was the play-driver of that line, which is saying something.
Expect him to dominate once again in the NCAA this year with returning linemate Perreault and new center James Hagens, who is a potential first-overall pick in next summer’s draft. Also, expect him to go for repeat gold in the World Juniors in December. The good news is we should see Leonard in Washington this spring for, hopefully, a Capitals playoff push. He’ll be a great “trade deadline” acquisition.
Leonard has legit top-six, maybe even top-line ability with his speed, power, physicality, and shot. The only thing missing from his game is playmaking, but he showed some great flashes of that improving last season. We’ll see how far he has come this upcoming season. If he can keep growing that part of his game, there’s no doubt he can be an instant top-six addition with the top line calling his name down the road.