Capitals wrap up 2022 NHL Draft with Day 2 haul of six players originally appeared on NBC Sports Washington
The Capitals made headlines with their first-round pick of Ivan Miroshnichenko on Thursday night at the 2022 NHL Draft in Montreal and then again Friday morning with a trade of goalie Vitek Vanecek that landed them the No. 37 pick.
That quickly turned into highly-regarded defenseman Ryan Chesley with Washington’s second-round selection Friday morning. After that, though, the Capitals still had five more picks left in the draft. These were the players they chose:
Round 3, Pick 70: Alexander Suzdalev, wing, Swedish Jr.
Suzdalev kept with the Capitals’ mantra of high upside in the draft, as the skilled forward drew praise for his offensive ability. He’s also got good size, at 6-foot-2 and 177 pounds.
He scored 15 goals and had 36 assists in 45 games for HV71’s J20 team of the Swedish Hockey League.
Round 3, pick 85: Ludwig Persson, wing, Swedish Jr.
Persson is known as a slick-skating forward with strong offensive upside at the NHL level. He’s 6-feet and 178 pounds.
For Frölunda HC J20 last season, he scored 61 points (25 goals, 36 assists). He is on loan for BIK Karlskoga for the 2022-23 season.
“When you play in the SHL, which is the top league in Sweden, which is one of the best leagues outside the National Hockey League, and you’re doing it as a young teenager, there’s something special about your game, NHL Network analyst Dave Reid said of Persson. “Forty-one games played for the [under-20] J-team in Frolunda, 61 points, 25 goals in that span. Extremely hard working, responsible two-way winger. His thing is all about scoring goals. He drives the net hard.”
Round 5, pick 149: Jake Karabela, center, Ontario Hockey League
Washington took its first center of the draft with their fifth round selection, as well as their first Canadian prospect.
A left-hand shot, Karabela scored 45 points in 68 games for the Guelph Storm of the OHL last season, his first in junior hockey.
“I remember watching Karabela, a bit of a surprise pick to play in the CHL Top Prospects game and the one thing that stuck out is that great skating ability,” Reid said. “Now you see some good hands, a little curl-and-drag, go to the top shelf, yeah I’ll be good in front of the net as well. But when you have the opportunity to play with a bunch of like-minded players sometimes it’s tough to find the ice in those high-leverage situations. Yet you have to fight through that. So it’s that great skating ability is the foundation. ”
Round 6, pick 181: Ryan Hofer, wing, Western Hockey League
Hofer was a bit of an older selection at 20 years old in the WHL. At 6-foot-3, he’s a project with good size. He scored 58 points (25 goals, 33 assists) with the Everett Silvertips in the 2021-22 season.
Round 7, pick 213: David Gucciardi, defenseman, NCAA
The Capitals ended their draft with another older selection, this time a defenseman from Michigan State.
The 19-year-old defender scored five goals and had six assists last year for the Spartans. He previously played two full seasons in the USHL.
