The Capitals enter somewhat unfamiliar territory on Wednesday night.
For the first time since 2007, Washington holds a top-10 pick in the NHL Draft. Having made the playoffs in 14 of the past 16 seasons, the Capitals are used to picking in the 20s most years, not at No. 8 — Washington’s first selection this year.
Assistant general manager Ross Mahoney has been with the organization for 25 seasons. He’s the team’s draft architect and was a scout for 16 seasons before being promoted to AGM nine years ago. Mahoney played a significant role in selecting Karl Alzner in 2007, Washington’s last top-10 choice.
This past Thursday, Mahoney met with local media via Zoom and offered insight into the team’s draft philosophy entering Wednesday night. And in a draft class considered one of the strongest in recent memory, the Capitals are keeping all options open.
“We’re trying to take the best player that’s available to us and, hopefully, make the right pick,” Mahoney said.
The top of this year’s class is littered with forward talent, highlighted by centers Connor Bedard and Adam Fantilli. Forwards Leo Carlsson, Matvei Michkov, Will Smith, Zach Benson, Ryan Leonard and Oliver Moore round out the next tier of prospects. There’s a legitimate possibility the first eight-plus picks are all forwards.
Improving the Capitals’ top-six forwards remains a priority for GM Brian MacLellan, but Mahoney emphasized the team’s desire to take the best player available at No. 8, regardless of position.
“We’ve always tried to take the best player that’s available to us,” he said. “To pass on one player for another player let’s say because of a positional need, you may regret that later. You pass on a defenseman, and you took a forward because you thought needed some forwards, that could be tough.”
Mahoney also emphasized that while it’s vital for the Capitals to hit on their first-round pick, there’s a legit chance whomever they select will still be three-plus years away from actually suiting up in Washington. Because so, he downplayed the idea of shying away from taking a prospect due to their current contract situation.
“As far as the contract talk, that really doesn’t play a lot into our thoughts,” he said. “We’ve always been very, very patient with our prospects. I think it’s the right way to go. There’s no sense to rush them into the NHL.”
“Some of our guys that have come and made an impact quicker in the NHL have been players that were probably elite players, like the Alex Ovechkins and the Nick Backstroms,” Mahoney continued. “But some of those European players that we’ve drafted also, they’ve played with men in the elite leagues over there for two or three years already. That transition for them is probably a little bit quicker, but even those players — Alex didn’t play until he was 20. A lot of our better European players haven’t played until they’re 20, 21, 22. I think it’s part of our team philosophy of taking our time.”
Mahoney said the Capitals have interviewed close to 70 prospects during the pre-draft process. He was non-committal on whether the team had the chance to speak with Michkov, a top-five talent in this year’s class but has reportedly been difficult to get in contact with during the pre-draft process due to the situation in Russia and his current KHL contract.
Of course, no team wants to be picking early in the draft. “Obviously, you’d like the last pick in the first round,” Mahoney said. But the Capitals have an excellent opportunity to land a future difference-maker with the eighth overall pick something the entire staff is thrilled about.
“I know the guys are excited, the scouts are very excited to be able to, now that we’ve actually got pick at 8, to be able to call a player’s name that we will think will be a very good player for the Capitals in the future,” Mahoney said.
