The NHL Draft starts today at 3pm – I think I previously said it was Friday and I was wrong. Very wrong.
The Washington Capitals are set to pick at the #23 spot, and in a very deep draft year, they could land a solid prospect. They have 8 picks total in the draft, including 2 in the fifth round.
So what do they need?
Courtesy: Yahoo Sports
The Caps need some security in the forward position. The core of the Caps, led by Alex Ovechkin, Nick Backstrom and Mike Green needs more help in a defensive-forward position. Not since Sergei Fedorov have the Caps had a solid two-way foward who could consistenly play well at both ends of the ice. Brooks Laich is the closest thing the Caps have at the moment, and while he is definitely a great player in that role, his injuries that kept him out this season seemed to be the achilles heel of the Caps line up.
To build for the future, I think the Capitals need to get a player like Laich or Ryan Callahan of the Rangers. So, in light of that, if he’s available come pick #23 I’d like to see the Caps take forward Zach Nastasiuk of the Owen Sound Attack.
Natasiuk is a grinder. He’ll go into the dirty areas and win battles, something the Caps desperately need. He’s not flashy nor does he put up a ton of points, but he’ll work his way around the ice and he makes the best of every shift.
In 62 games, he scored 20 goals, 20 assists for 40 points and only 32 PIMs. Again those aren’t huge numbers, but that’s not his game. If you look at this playoff performance, than you can see what kind of player he can be.
In 12 playoff games, Natasiuk scored 4 goals, 7 assists for 11 points with 0 PIMs. That’s almost a point-per-game when it matters most.
He’s an excellent player in his own end. A responsible player that the Caps need. Remember, Tom Wilson is going to be playing more next season and he’s going to be a great power forward, and Evgeni Kutznetsov will be joining the Capitals either next season or in 2015. Kutz will eventually alleviate the pressure off of Ovechkin, much like Semin did. The need for a two-way forward of the future is crucial especially if, and this is just an if, Brooks Laich’s injury is a recurring thing.
The idea that GMGM will trade up in the draft isn’t out of the question either. He still has the rights to UFA Mike Ribeiro and could use him as trade bait. Obviously, Ribeiro himself isn’t enough to secure a higher pick, but it’s a nice start. You never know what can happen at the draft.
The Capitals, of course still need that elusive secondary scoring. Martin Erat should return and help that if he can shake off the demons of this past season. If Ribeiro is back that should make a solid second line pairing with Troy Brouwer possibly on the other side. If Ribeiro doesn’t return, and this is where it gets interesting, there is a strong possibilty that the Caps make a run at newly bought-out Vincent Lecavalier.
The Lightning had no choice but to buy out Vinny under the new cap rescrictions. He’ll probably return one day to finish out his career, but for at least the next two or three seasons, he’ll spending time elsewhere. If the Caps are serious about going after Vinny then they could very well trade Ribeiro’s rights (along with other pieces of course) before or during the draft to make a move up and secure a better prospect. It’s all speculative, but that’s what makes this fun, eh?
The NHL Draft starts today at 3pm in New Jersey.
More to come…
