The Washington Capitals announced on Saturday, they have signed defenseman Cam Allen to a three-year, entry-level contract.

Allen’s contract carries an average annual value of $886,667. Allen was a 2023 fifth-round selection, 136th overall pick. The 19-year-old right-handed blueliner spent this past season with the Guelph Storm of the Ontario Hockey league, where he missed the first half of the season recovering from injury. He’d go on to record two goals and seven assists in 25 games.

Dating back to 2022-23, Allen recorded 25 points in 62 games with the Storm and his OHL career has included winning the Emms Family Award as the OHL’s Top First-Year Player and being named to the OHL First All-Rookie Team.

Allen has represented his country on the international stage, playing for Team Canada at the 2022 Hlinka Gretzky Cup, tying for the tournament lead in assists while helping Canada win the gold medal. Allen also was named captain of Canada’s 2023 Under-18 team, where he tallied four assists, helping his team win a bronze medal.

Before the 2023 draft, Allen was ranked 12th among North American defensemen and Daily Faceoff’s prospect analyst Steven Ellis was quite surprised to see how far Allen fell down the draft rankings. Ellis had this to say before the Capitals made their selection – “Early on, Allen was projected to be a top five prospect and the first defenseman taken. Fast forward to June, and he’s looking more like a third-round pick at this point. Allen wasn’t able to build upon a successful rookie campaign with Guelph, with many of his defensive inconsistencies getting exposed this season. The good news: he still played close to 30 minutes a night often, and still was capable of some great evenings.”

Allen is projected to return to Guelph next season and could be in the running for a spot on the Hershey Bears’ blueline as early as 2025-26.