2025 Draft Recap: Washington Capitals
An elite winger was the last thing their pipeline needed, but the Caps went out and got one anyway
NASHVILLE (The Draft Analyst) — You wouldn’t be wrong in calling the 2024–25 Washington Capitals a mostly fortuitous bunch, all things considered. This was a team that had walked the rebuilding tightrope the season prior before shedding their good-luck-with-thatstanding and claiming the best record in the Eastern Conference. How they got there wasn’t rocket science — owner Ted Leonsis gave first-year general manager Chris Patrick a blank check to acquire big names, cap flexibility be damned, making promotions from within virtually impossible.
Still, the Capitals restoring their reputation as contenders after a two-year downturn didn’t preclude their scouts from targeting high-impact prospects for what is now four consecutive drafts. Although this strategy has yet to bear fruit at the most important level — and no Capital draftee since 2020 appeared in more than 27 NHL games last season — there is no denying Washington’s ownership of a vastly improved prospect reserve, which at press time includes the league’s deepest collection of blue-chip-caliber wingers.
Getting to this ideal sweet spot along any organization’s timeline usually requires more draft-day luck than patience, but it’s still an achievement worth bragging about. Show me a GM competing for a Cup while icing a deep pipeline, and I’ll show you a guy with a trump card to save his job for another year or two. Of course, finishing the job is another story, but neither building through the draft nor sealing the deal is foreign to Washington, which owns the second-most wins in the NHL since breaking out in 2007–08 and won the 2018 Stanley Cup with over a dozen homegrown regulars. Last season, five of their top seven scorers were original draft picks. Granted, three were 30-somethings — Alex Ovechkin (2004 draft), John Carlson (2008), and Tom Wilson (2012) — but the point stands: the Caps, sans a brief slump during the Dead Puck era, have been historically solid at drafting and development.
A deeper look into Washington’s draft habits doesn’t uncover a process at odds with establishment practices. They certainly have their preferences — like raiding the WHL and Central Europe for over a decade, or going five consecutive drafts without selecting a center above the fourth round. But if we can identify a single overarching characteristic of the average Washington draft class, it’s profoundly clear that a skill component was a requirement for nearly all Capitals draft picks, one way or another. This dates all the way back to the early 2000s, first under chief-scout-turned-assistant GM Ross Mahoney and into current amateur scouting director Steve Bowman’s tenure. Each began to hit the bullseye with regularity and, in turn, brought a championship to the nation’s capital.
Keeping things in perspective, however, requires mentioning that the Capitals are only two years removed from finishing with a losing record, have won only one playoff series since 2018, and have yet to receive anything substantial from their draft classes this decade. Additionally, their AHL affiliate in Hershey unsurprisingly remained in the league’s elite tier thanks to their usual lot of career minor-leaguers, but you have to think Washington’s player development side is banging on the table for the Bears to transition to a younger, prospect-centric lineup. The Caps’ aforementioned wing depth should keep the pipeline active between Europe and North America, but it’s only fair to question which top-end prospects will eventually get squeezed out due to such limited space. For now, it’s a nice problem for a contender to have.
“We always take the best player available. I know that question comes up all the time, but we really do. If you went by position, I think you run that risk — saying ‘let’s take a defenseman this year’ knowing we’re a little light on defense, and then a forward goes and ends up becoming a much better player, and you’re probably kicking yourself afterward.”
Capitals’ Assistant GM Ross Mahoney on drafting for positional need.
2025 Draft Pick Review
1st Round, 27th overall — Lynden Lakovic, LW (Moose Jaw Warriors, WHL) —
Lakovic joins WHL-brethren Terik Parascak (17th overall in 2024) and Andrew Cristall (40th in 2023) to make it three straight blue-chip wingers from the Dub, with each possessing game-breaking ability and top-of-the-charts scoring potential. The major difference is in Lakovic’s size, which has been advantageous during board play and puck protection for the 6-foot-4, 200-pounder but also used as a reason to knock Lakovic for not being as menacing as team’s apparently wanted. I’m not saying that’s the only explanaition for why he dropped all the way to 27th overall, but Mahoney made it sound like Lakovic has to work on using his frame as an intimidation tool, or something along those lines. Personally, I think this subtle criticism is more selfish than concerning, as Lakovic was a captain and top scorer on a weak team who couldn’t afford to get himself drawn into physical confrontations and heated individual battles. Lakovic looked and played like a top-15-caliber prospect and I think teams will regret passing on him.
2nd Round, 37th overall — Milton Gastrin, C (MoDo J20, Nationell)
The Capitals grabbed first-round quality early in the second round by taking the versatile Gastrin, who passed the test of assuming MoDo J20’s top line after star pivot Lucas Pettersson moved up the SHL and Allsvaneskan. Although the junior squad would miss the playoffs, Gastrin ranked high among the leading Nationell scorers and top faceoff men in addition to anchoring Sweden’s second line at most under-18 tournaments. Why a tough, in-the-trenches center with the necessary skill component and line-driving traits was allowed to drop out of the first round likely goes unanswered, at least within public forums. Nonetheless, Washington needed a quality center and got one in Gastrin, who was selected with the second-rounder the Capitals acquired from Boston in the massive three-team trade involving defenseman Dmitry Orolov at the 2023 trade deadline.
3rd Round, 96th overall — Maxim Schafer, LW (Eisbaren Berlin, DEL)
I had my eye on Schafer before he scored a couple of goals at the under-18 world championships because he reminded me of Hershey regular Bogdan Trineyev, a lanky but engaged winger like the German-born Schafer who showed he can hang against older competition. The Capitals originally owned the 93rd pick (Carolina’s from the Evgeny Kuznetsov trade) but opted to slide down three spots to 96 with Ottawa, which sent an extra 2026 seventh-rounder Washington’s way. This is where it gets a little fuzzy, however, as best-players-available at 93 included sniper Cameron Schmidt (who went 94th to Dallas), playmaker Adam Benak (102nd to Minnesota), and dynamic Finnish overager Benjamin Rautianen (108th to Tampa Bay). Knowing what we know now, you can say the Capitals drifted slightly from their BPA policy to take a bigger forward with a skill set more intriguing than it is elite. Nonetheless, he not only added another big body to the pipeline, but also helped Washington add another prospect to their Central European mafia.
5th Round, 155th overall — Jackson Crowder, C (Chicago Steel, USHL)
Taking on a long-term project at center is never a bad idea when the big club’s top two pivots are in their prime, and Crowder offered more than a few glimpses into potentially developing into a menace at the NCAA level. His midseason move from the USHL’s Sioux City Musketeers to the Chicago Steel after a promising showing at the All-American Prospects Game enabled him to take on a bigger role, and his numbers jumped from 10 points in 31 games to 14 in 25, albeit with a lowly team that wasn’t making the playoffs. Still, Crowder has the ability to intimidate with his size and played the role of a key contributor, which is what Ohio State should be expecting once he wraps up his USHL career after next season. There will be knocks on his skating but you’ll see Crowder make his money below the dots in either end.
6th Round, 180th overall — Aron Dahlqvist, LHD (Brynas, SHL)
I like to kid around and call Dahlqvist “A-A-Ron” but his performance at each of the three levels — junior, elite league, and international — was no laughing matter. He is a serious competitor who was given critical shutdown tasks and executed them with maturity and violence when appropriate. Each of his club teams were competitive and counted on Dahlqvist to kill penalties and line up for defensive-zone draws. He’ll be a serious candidate for full-time SHL duty in the wake of Theo Lindstein’s expected move to North America, plus challenge hard for a world junior slot on Team Sweden. Great pick for the late sixth round. Remember that this was the throw-in pick in acquiring defenseman Declan Chisholm from Minnesota for minor-league “offenseman” Chase Priskie and a 2025 fourth-rounder that the Wild used on rugged forward Carter Klippenstein at 123rd overall.
Odd and Ends
· We can finally empty that clown car of a trade involving Dmitry Orlov from three trade deadlines ago. The final roll-up now reads Orlov and center Garnet Hathaway from Washington to Boston, while the Caps came away with 22 games of pending-UFA Craig Smith and three of the Bruins’ high-round picks — a 2023 first-rounder pick (that became Easton Cowan at 28th overall) that was immediately flipped to Toronto with defender Erik Gustafsson for defenseman Rasmus Sandin; a 2024 third-round pick that was used to take winger Eriks Mateiko at 90th overall, and the 2025 second-round pick that secured Milton Gastrin at 37th overall. There’s more to this one, as Minnesota was used as a third party to assume a quarter of Orlov’s remaining annual cap hit at a cost of sending Boston the rights to then-27-year-old Russian center Andrei Svetlakov (a 2017 sixth-rounder). The Wild in addition received the B’s 2023 fifth-rounder, which Minnesota moved days later to Columbus for rental winger Gustav Nyquist. The Blue Jackets drafted Swedish goalie Melvin Strahl at 156th overall in 2023.
· Remember that 2025 second-rounder the Capitals acquired from Colorado at the 2023 trade deadline for Lars Eller? Well you should, because it’s the one Washington later flipped to Calgary at the 2024 draft for a full season — and only one season — of bottom-six winger Andrew Mangiapane, who just signed with the Oilers for two seasons. As for the pick, the Flames took lanky Swedish dual-threat center Theo Stockselius at 54th overall.
· Washington’s own 2025 second-rounder (59th overall) that was sent to Pittsburgh last March for pending-UFA winger Anthony Beauvillier (whom the Caps just extended for two years) was used as a sweetener in a draft-day trade with Los Angeles. Pittsburgh sent the 31st (originally Edmonton’s) and 59th picks to the Kings for 24th overall, which the Pens used to take center Sean Horcoff. Los Angeles grabbed righty defenseman Henry Brzustewicz and winger Vojtech Cihar at 31st and 59th, respectively.
· Another draft-pick trade related to a 2025 Capitals’ regular involved a pair of Washington’s third-rounders that were sent to Vegas for eventual Caps’ starting goalie Logan Thompson. The 2024 third-rounder (originally from Toronto via Chicago in the Joel Edmundson deal) was used by the Golden Knights on goalie Pavel Moysevich at 83rd overall in 2024, but they packaged the 2025 third-round pick (91st overall) and a late 2025 fifth to Pittsburgh so they could take QMJHL center Mateo Nobert at 85th overall. The Penguins at 91 took physical defender Brady Peddle and Soo winger Jordan Charron at 154.
· As mentioned earlier, the Capitals took the 2025 third-rounder they got from the Hurricanes in the Evgeny Kuznetsov deal and traded it down three spots with Ottawa, going from 93 to 96 for an extra seventh in 2027. The Senators drafted big-bodied high-school winger Blake Vanek (Thomas’ son) while the Caps at 96 took German flanker Maxim Schaefer. For those keeping score at home, Washington currently owns each of its next three first-rounders but is short two picks in both 2026 (a second and a third) and 2027 (third and sixth). In a way, you can say the Caps replaced that 2027 sixth with two sevenths.
· GM Chris Patrick kept with Washington draft-day tradition by acquiring a roster player at the draft for a pick. Going to the Caps was 25-year-old bottom-pairing defenseman Declan Chisholm and a 2025 sixth-rounder (180th overall on defender A-A-Ron Dahlqvist), and back to Minnesota was AHL scoring defender Chase Priskie (a 2016 Caps’ draft pick) and a 2025 fourth-rounder which the Wild used to draft physical-but-versatile forward Carter Klippenstein at 123.
· The Capitals once possessed Chicago’s 2025 fifth-rounder, which was first acquired by the Toronto Maple Leafs in the Edmundson deal before Washington sent it to the Penguins (along with a 2027 third-rounder) for Eller last November. Anyway, the buck stopped at Pittsburgh, which drafted impressive Portland Winterhawk center Ryan Miller the Younger at 130th overall.
· Going back and looking for any gaps in trades involving present-for-future picks can be a fun exercise because you rarely see that wide of a spread. But Washington’s decision to trade a 2025 sixth-rounder to Vegas for a 2024 seventh is looking somewhat disadvantageous at the present time. The deal was made at the 2024 draft and it allowed the Caps to draft Miroslav Satan the Younger at 212th overall, but the pick that went to the Golden Knights slotted in at 1-8-7 (“…on an undercover…”), which is almost a full round higher than where Washington decided to slide in. Vegas took physical Swedish overager defenseman Gustav Sjoqvist, who should have been drafted last year in his first look. It’s one year later and in no way am I swapping Sjoqvist for Satan, although we have plenty of time before we truly know.
· The same doesn’t nearly apply to Washington’s 2025 seventh-rounder, which was shipped to San Jose on Draft Day ‘23 for San Jose’s 2023 seventh at 206th overall. The Capitals used the pick on goalie Antoine Keller, and one year later that same 2025 seventh was traded again. It was at the 2024 trade deadline when it said goodbye to Silicon Valley and hello to Summer Snow-Plow Training, as the Sharks shipped the pick to Buffalo for goalie Devin Cooley (who played a few games for San Jose and just signed with Calgary to possibly back up Dustin Wolf) at the 2024 trade deadline. The Sabres closed the loop for good by taking playmaking center Ryan Rucisnki at 219th overall.
· The Capitals set a footnote-of-a-franchise record by taking a winger in the first round for a fourth consecutive draft. But they had used at least four straight first-round picks on winger twice before — first from 1994 to 1996 on (yikes) Alexander Kharlamov, Miika Elomo, Brad Church, Jaroslav Svejkovsky, and Alexandre Volchkov, and again from 2012 to 2014 on (ahhhh) Tom Wilson, Filip Forsberg, Andre Burakovsky, and Jakub Vrana
Final Assessment: Above Average
Kudos to Capitals scouts for sticking with the program and taking appropriate swings at the appropriate locations. There are two first-round-quality forwards in Lakovic and Gastrin and there were many players taken both before and immediately after who simply don’t have as high a ceiling. The Schafer pick was a slight wander off course, but they are taking a calculated gamble on a likely middle-six AHL winger at worst. Crowder and Dahlqvist are both potential steals, as they are among the more likeable of all the prospects taken in the final three rounds. Again, nobody can screw with Washington’s prospect depth at the wing position, while center ice got a much-needed talent injection.