Prospect Info: Caps Prospects General Discussion Thread - 2024-25

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Scott Wheeler notes on Caps' prospects at WJC. Putting them here vs the WJC thread to enable finding later.

TLDR:
Satan bad.
Sikora ok.
Hutson good, future star
Leonard good but undisciplined
Mateiko good, break-out player, solid, future NHLer
Muggli skilled but choked in pressure.


Miroslav Satan: Not a fan. Gets pushed around way too much for a big man. I don’t view him as an NHL prospect.

Petr Sikora: Played with pace and jump. Middle drive. Big goals against Canada and USA when the chips were on the table. He became public enemy No. 1 after drawing penalties in both of those games. More talented than I thought. Good hands. Strong tournament. I haven’t been sure what to make of Sikora but he was on the puck a lot this week, found ways to contribute offensively and made some important plays. I don’t think he was impactful as Stancl or Sale but he was good for them when they needed guys to step up up front.

Cole Hutson: One of the top players in the tournament and a real candidate for MVP. Outstanding with the puck all tournament making things happen with his feet and creating the inches of space he needs to execute. Great release. Wicked wrister multiple times. Head coach David Carle played him with Buium for the second half of the gold medal game to try to create more offense and he delivered one last time in a big moment. He looked like a star-level prospect to me. Very impressive and defended really well all tournament long too.

Ryan Leonard: Leonard was named the tournament MVP. He had a team-leading nine shots in the opener against Germany and a high-volume shot generator the rest of the way. His battle level and engine are always revved. Plays at the net. Such a strong, sturdy skater driving down ice and past D. Took a beating in some of the games sticking his nose in every scrum and attacking into contact. Play selection isn’t always great. He was probably owed more (I counted three posts) and was a top forward for the Americans, as expected. His discipline issues kept him off my all-star ballot, though. Way too many unnecessary minor penalties. He needs to find that balance in big moments. It’ll be a learning curve. He nearly cost them several times with his antics.

Eriks Mateiko: Mateiko was one of the standouts of the tournament, scoring half of Latvia’s 10 goals (five in five games). Big kid whose skating and coordination have continued to smooth out. He’s made so much progress in the last three years, that it looks average now and above-average for 6-foot-5/6. Competitive. Some skill. Pucks are coming off harder. Protects it well. Plays in the guts of the ice and excels on the wall. Calm in big moments. Looked like a future NHLer.
[Schmoe Note: Wheeler had voted for Mateiko for the tournament all-star team.]

Leon Muggli: Muggli led the Swiss in average ice time (20:17) but struggled with the role at times, turning pucks over and not executing like they needed him to in some of the games. Skating looked sharper. Comfortable skating pucks and navigating the ice at this level. Decision-making was suspect when things picked up or caved in, though. He fought it at times. Considering his pro experience, I wanted to see him look a little more polished than he did. This was a weak Swiss group, though.
 
January 2023 Caps ranked 25th organizationally among prospect pools
September 2023 Caps ranked 22nd organizationally among prospect pools
January 2024 20th
Can’t find one for this fall
 
Parascek seems to have hit a mini slump and is now on pace for a worse season than last year.

Any one with insight?
 
I think Leonard looked fantastic this tournament but yeah, he did take some unneeded penalties. I think it’s a case of a guy trying to do too much and getting burned for it. I think it’ll be great for him to join the Caps, where he doesn’t have to be “the guy” for a while as he finds his place in the league and has good leadership.
 
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Leonard did take some "unneeded" penalties but the refereeing was garbage. I get that that his antics propably played a part in it that he didn't draw calls despite being mugged in front of the net but he didn't draw any other calls, either. Trip, hook, slash and nothing gets called? Frustrating? Well i mean, d'oh.

NHL refereeing isn't perfect but they aren't as bad as IIHF refs. He's going to struggle to draw roughing calls after the refs grow tired of the antics in the NHL but the NHL refs still call slashing, hooking, tripping and those calls pretty fairly. Late in this tournament there were literally nothing that would have drawn a call for him and he STILL won the MVP and was great in the Playoff rounds. Talk about too good for Juniors.
 
Parascek seems to have hit a mini slump and is now on pace for a worse season than last year.

Any one with insight?
I don't watch WHL hockey regularly, but he's on a much weaker team year over year.

Gone from last year: Funk (1st in goals, points), Becher (4th in goals, 4th in points), Hudson Thornton (top scoring D, 5th in points overall), and they've only had 7 games out of Dezainde (6th in points).

Last year, the team had Zac Funk* (now in Hershey) putting up a 67 / 123 campaign followed closely by Riley Heidt* (117 points) while Parascak was 3rd in points. This year, Parascak is leading the team in points and is close to the team goal lead (17 versus 22).

It's worth pointing out that Riley Heidt's scoring is also down. He's on pace to score 95 points in 60 games after putting up 117 last year (in 66 games).

*Funk and Heidt were the 2nd and 3rd highest point producers in the entire WHL last year. Parascak was 8th while Becher was 13th.
 
I think Leonard looked fantastic this tournament but yeah, he did take some unneeded penalties. I think it’s a case of a guy trying to do too much and getting burned for it. I think it’ll be great for him to join the Caps, where he doesn’t have to be “the guy” for a while as he finds his place in the league and has good leadership.
Fortunately, he can control himself (most of the time). The last time he put his team on the PK was that weak call at the beginning of the game against Czechia. I think he realized he has zero leeway and had enough self-control to alter his behavior/play. Carle commented on it after the Czechia game.
 
I assume so. The rumors have him going to Lethbridge, but Bill Peters is the coach there, so I'm hoping for anywhere else.
And Lethbridge just traded for Price (Cristall's teammate in Kelowna), so hopefully it's unlikely that Cristall is going there, thankfully.
 
January 2023 Caps ranked 25th organizationally among prospect pools
https://www.nytimes.com/athletic/3923067/2023/01/09/nhl-prospect-rankings-2023/ September 2023 Caps ranked 22nd organizationally among prospect pools
https://www.nytimes.com/athletic/4778405/2023/08/22/nhl-pipeline-rankings-2023-prospects/ January 2024 20th
Should be around top 5 now based on development. Leonard, Hutson, Parascak, Cristall, Mateiko, Protas, Chesley and Sikora (Miro depending if he is counted as graduated or not yet). Found this from before the season that had Caps at 13th.

 
I think Leonard looked fantastic this tournament but yeah, he did take some unneeded penalties. I think it’s a case of a guy trying to do too much and getting burned for it. I think it’ll be great for him to join the Caps, where he doesn’t have to be “the guy” for a while as he finds his place in the league and has good leadership.

Scott Wheeler is a tool. Left Leonard off, ok buddy.
 
One potential factor is that Cristall may have an NTC. I wonder if he wants to stay in Kelowna and just come to DC/Hershey in March. But if he's open to moving, he could essentially pick his destination.
 
Scott Wheeler is a tool. Left Leonard off, ok buddy.
Let the hate begin! Bring it on!

Should be around top 5 now based on development. Leonard, Hutson, Parascak, Cristall, Mateiko, Protas, Chesley and Sikora (Miro depending if he is counted as graduated or not yet). Found this from before the season that had Caps at 13th.

I doubt the Athletic will have the prospect pool top 10. But that does seem about right. 10-12.
 
Former 1st rounder for the Panthers. Caps signed him for depth/Hershey two seasons ago. Left for Sweden after winning the first Calder Cup but Washington sent him a qualifying offer to retain his rights.

 
Former 1st rounder for the Panthers. Caps signed him for depth/Hershey two seasons ago. Left for Sweden after winning the first Calder Cup but Washington sent him a qualifying offer to retain his rights.

Damn….he’s 27 now…time flies!
 
January 2023 Caps ranked 25th organizationally among prospect pools
September 2023 Caps ranked 22nd organizationally among prospect pools
January 2024 20th
Can’t find one for this fall
He just started the 2025 version today with Florida at 32. Caps (hopefully) won't be coming out for another two or three weeks.
 
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