Welcome back.

It’s time to kick off Daily Faceoff’s second annual NHL Prospect Pool Breakdown, looking at the best all 32 teams have to offer. We’re highlighting the top 10 prospects for every franchise, their biggest strengths and weaknesses and so much more.

The criteria for being labeled a “prospect” are simple: players generally have to have played in 50 or fewer NHL games or spent more time outside of the NHL than in it last year. Skaters over 23 years old are not included, with goaltenders needing to be 25 or under.

Today, we’re looking at the Washington Capitals.

Eventually, the Washington Capitals will need to commit to a rebuild.

It’s not going to happen while Alex Ovechkin is chasing the all-time goals record, but it will need to eventually to help make up for all the patchwork done since the 2018 Stanley Cup to try and keep them competitive.

Right now, the Capitals’ pipeline is in an interesting spot. There’s some quality talent on the high-end of the spectrum, with Ryan Leonard truly being in the upper echelon of the prospect world. I really like Andrew Cristall, too. There’s some decent depth throughout, even after Hendrix Lapierre graduated out of prospect status after playing over 50 games this season. I also like Clay Stevenson and Hunter Shepard, two goaltenders who looked good in the minors last year.

But they don’t have the pieces in place to make a competitive run in the near future, and Caps fans know that. It will be a slow burn, but everyone’s in it to see if Ovi can do the unthinkable. A few of these top 10 prospects will probably be alongside him when he breaks Wayne Gretzky’s record, but once No. 8 moves on, the team will need to as well – and quickly.

Biggest Strengths

There’s a lot of skill up front. While Leonard’s not going to beat you with the craziest play you’ve ever seen, he’s got everything else to make himself one of the best forward prospects around. Cristall, however, will deke your pants off, and Ivan Miroshnichenko has a great set of hands too. And it doesn’t hurt that they’ve got one of the more creative defenders in the game in Cole Hutson, either.

Biggest Weaknesses

The Capitals have some decent defensive depth, but I’d like an offensive, right-handed blueliner to fit in the fray here. Hutson is a wizard with the puck, but he’ll be on the left side. They’ll eventually need someone to take over John Carlson’s role, and while the actual handedness doesn’t really matter as long as someone can actually do it, I’d feel more comfortable if they landed an impact defender with their first pick in 2025.

*Terik Parascak (Steven Ellis/Daily Faceoff)*

TOP 10 PROSPECTS

1. Ryan Leonard, RW, 19 (Boston College, NCAA)

Acquired: Drafted eighth overall, first round in 2023

Leonard was one of the top scorers in the NCAA this past season, and now he’s ready for more. On a dominant Boston College Eagles team that made it to the national championship game, the 19-year-old scored 31 goals and 60 points, tied for fourth in the NCAA in scoring. He was a few points behind Will Smith, who finished first in the nation with 71 points. Leonard, a USA Hockey National Team Development Program alum, has been a star at almost every international tournament he has played in, and was even part of the senior World Championship team in May. I believe he is NHL-ready, but the concept of having him chase a second consecutive gold at the World Juniors and go after a national college title was enough to keep the star prospect back at Boston College, and that’s OK.

2. Andrew Cristall, LW, 19 (Kelowna, WHL)

Acquired: Drafted 40th overall, second round in 2023

*Andrew Cristall (Steven Ellis/Daily Faceoff)*

When Cristall is on his game, he’s the best player on the ice, no matter the competition. His offensive game is as dynamic as a shooter and a set-up man. He puts his teammates in spots to score and always talks with them to get them on the right page. There’s a reason he had 71 assists this year: he knows where he wants the puck, and can slow the game down to a pace that lets him take over. Cristall’s hands are as close to “elite” as you’ll find outside of the NHL, too. He’s willing to get creative under pressure and can deke himself out of a five-man Radko Gudas roadblock. He’s not big at 5-foot-10, and he’s not a great skater, but if he can fix that part specifically, he might be fine in the NHL.

3. Ivan Miroshnichenko, LW, 20 (Hershey, AHL)

Acquired: Drafted 20th overall, first round in 2022

After everything he went with on the health front, it was great seeing Miroshnichenko have a successful first year in North America. He put up a modest six points in 21 NHL games with the Caps, but he also helped Hershey win its second consecutive Calder Cup championship with a solid 12 points in 20 postseason games. The fact he played so well down the stretch helped and should do a lot to boost his confidence heading into his second season in the United States. There’s still no rush to push up to the NHL, but I expect a lot of the same this year – about 20ish games with Washington to give him more of a challenge and then the rest of the year back in Hershey to maximize playing time.

4. Terik Parascak, RW, 18 (Prince George, WHL)

Acquired: Drafted 17th overall, first round in 2024

From playing prep hockey in his Draft+1 year to finishing eighth in WHL scoring as a rookie in 2023-24, Parascak was a revelation last season. He finished with 43 goals and 105 points while producing a two-point per-game pace throughout large portions of the season. Parascak kicked off the postseason with a hat trick in Game 1 – his second of the year after scoring four in just his third game of the season – and ended up with 14 points in 12 playoff games. Some scouts are worried his game isn’t rounded enough and that playing on an offensively dominant team has helped him significantly, and his skating is a real problem. But the Capitals must have loved him enough to make him a first-round pick, and with some real skating work, he could become a top-six offensive threat.

5. Cole Hutson, LHD, 18 (Boston University)

Acquired: Drafted 43rd overall, second round in 2024

*United States defenseman #23 Cole Hutson (Steven Ellis/Daily Faceoff)*

Hutson is one of the most entertaining defenders to watch. He was named top defenseman at the U-18s after leading all blueliners in points, which helped him become the all-time USNTDP scoring leader in his position. He’s defensively flawed, can get too fancy with the puck at the wrong times, and isn’t particularly big. But the upside here is still huge. Like his older brother Lane, Cole has a tremendous hockey IQ and can elude attackers as well as anyone. I feel like his shot has improved over the past two years, mostly in terms of accuracy and overall power, but it’s still a work in progress. Will Cole crush critics like Lane has the past few years? Time to wait and see, but Cole is already slightly bigger.

6. Ryan Chesley, RHD, 20 (University of Minnesota, NCAA)

Acquired: Drafted 37th overall, second round in 2022

I thought Chesley played some of his best hockey at the World Juniors, putting up four points in seven games en route to a gold medal with USA. He only had eight points in 39 games with the Golden Gophers, where he serves in more of a shutdown role. But he’s good at that, and I think he has a better shot than he might get credit for – nearly half his points in his draft season were goals. But that’s just not his game, and if he’s going to make the Capitals, it’s for how confident he is patrolling his own zone. He’s the team’s best transition defender by a good bit, and while I’d like to see him carry the puck more, he’s in a good spot in his development right now.

7. Vincent Iorio, RHD, 21 (Hershey, AHL)

Acquired: Drafted 55th overall, second round in 2021

Iorio, meanwhile, is probably the strongest of all the defenders, physically. He had 14 points in 60 AHL Games last year – eight fewer than his 2022-23 production – but he worked on being more consistent in his own zone and not pinching too much, keeping the pace of things much slower. And I think that suits him well – keep the pace down, and he will thrive. Being 6-foot-3 allows him to use a long reach to win puck races and he hits hard, too. I can see him pushing for some bottom-pairing action over the next two years.

8. Leon Muggli, LHD, 18 (EV Zug, NL)

Acquired: Drafted 52nd overall, second round in 2024

*Leon Muggli (Steven Ellis/Daily Faceoff)*

Muggli had a solid year in the top Swiss league. There were points at the World Juniors where Muggli was outmatched by drafted competition, but I felt like he got better as the tournament wore on and he wasn’t worried about making mistakes – allowing him to play to his strengths. I think he’s got the brains to have a good NHL career, but mostly as a bottom-pairing defender. And that’s fine, you need guys like that. The fact he has come so far over the past two years is a good sign. Look for him to have a big year in the National League in 2024-25.

9. Alexander Suzdalev, LW, 20 (Hershey, AHL)

Acquired: Drafted 70th overall, third round in 2022

After an excellent 2022-23 season that saw him put up 86 points alongside Connor Bedard in Regina, Suzdalev had a bit more of a difficult season last year. He had 25 points in 30 games with Saskatoon while also registering three points with Mora in the Allsvenskan in Sweden. Undoubtedly, he’s exceptionally skilled and capable of pulling off some highlight-reel moves. But he doesn’t drive the play and consistency can be a big issue. If the plan indeed is for him to spend 2024-25 in Hershey, I hope they push him to be more engaged with the play each time he’s on the ice to make himself more of a dangerous player. I like him, I’m just not sure he’s an NHLer without some real work.

10. Ilya Protas, LW, 18 (Windsor, OHL)

Acquired: Drafted 75th overall, third round in 2024

At 6-foot-3, Protas is easy to see out there. He’s got a good shot and is a nice all-around threat who can find ways to make himself useful even when he can’t score. But bigger players need to be able to skate, and Protas is clunky and slow. It hurts his own-zone play and might prevent him from being a 200-foot player in the NHL, but he’s good enough with the puck to make himself useful. His footwork needs to take a big step forward to push him far, but he can work on that with the Spitfires this season.

Other prospects: Zac Funk, LW (21), Pierrick Dube, RW (23), Bogdan Trineyev, RW (22), Ryan Hofer, C (22), Ludwig Persson, LW (20), Eriks Mateiko, LW (18), Miroslav Satan Jr., C (18), Petr Sikora, C (18), Brett Hyland, LW (21), Patrick Thomas, C (19), Haakon Hanelt, C (21), David Gucciardi, LHD (18), Brent Johnson, RHD (21), Joaquim Lemay, LHD (22), Cameron Allen, RHD (19), Nicholas Kempf, G (18), Antoine Keller, G (19), Chase Clark, G (22)