On opening night, Washington’s expected full-strength lineup — including defenseman Joel Edmundson, who was out with an injury, and goaltender Darcy Kuemper, who missed the game after the birth of his first child the night before — had an average age of 29.65 years. Just over two months later, the average age of the group that was set to dress against the Islanders, including McMichael, was 28.
The Capitals remain one of the older teams in the NHL, but the youth movement is starting to arrive.
“I think our young guys are pushing the envelope,” Washington Coach Spencer Carbery said Wednesday. “What I mean by that is there’s a mind-set to just come into the NHL and just play games, gain experience, and [think], ‘My time will come.’ And you’re seeing right now … they’re not just happy to be here. They want to make a difference. They want to have a positive impact on the game and help the team win.”
It isn’t just the former first-round picks who are contributing so far this year. Protas, who was drafted 91st overall in 2019, didn’t dress for the first game of the season. When the Capitals needed to call up a backup to goalie Charlie Lindgren, because Kuemper was unavailable, Protas was the expendable option who didn’t require waivers to be sent down to the AHL, allowing Washington to clear the necessary salary cap space.
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If not for an illness that felled Connor McMichael shortly before puck drop on Wednesday, the Washington Capitals would have had three of their last four first-round draft picks in the lineup against [the New York Islanders](https://www.washingtonpost.com/sports/2023/12/20/capitals-islanders-dylan-strome/?itid=lk_inline_manual_2).
Winger Ivan Miroshnichenko, [the 20th pick in the 2022 draft](https://www.washingtonpost.com/sports/2022/07/07/capitals-draft-ivan-miroshnichenko/?itid=lk_inline_manual_4), made his NHL debut that night. Center Hendrix Lapierre, [the 22nd pick in 2020](https://www.washingtonpost.com/sports/2020/10/06/hendrix-lapierre-capitals-nhl-draft/?itid=lk_inline_manual_4), played his 12th game of the season with the Capitals after being recalled from the American Hockey League on Wednesday morning — and turned in his second two-point game of the year, with a goal and an assist in the overtime win. And though McMichael, [the 25th pick in 2019](https://www.washingtonpost.com/sports/capitals/as-jack-hughes-kappo-kakko-go-1-2-in-nhl-draft-caps-take-connor-mcmichael-at-no-25/2019/06/21/f57a1f02-9467-11e9-aadb-74e6b2b46f6a_story.html?itid=lk_inline_manual_4), was a late scratch from the lineup, he’s been one of Washington’s most consistent forwards across the balance of the season. McMichael’s 13 points (six goals, seven assists) rank him seventh on the team in scoring, and [the line he centers](https://www.washingtonpost.com/sports/2023/12/04/capitals-anthony-mantha-connor-mcmichael-aliaksei-protas/?itid=lk_inline_manual_4) with Anthony Mantha and Aliaksei Protas has been one of the Capitals’ best.
On opening night, Washington’s expected full-strength lineup — including defenseman Joel Edmundson, who was out with an injury, and goaltender Darcy Kuemper, who missed the game after the birth of his first child the night before — had an average age of 29.65 years. Just over two months later, the average age of the group that was set to dress against the Islanders, including McMichael, was 28.
The Capitals remain one of the older teams in the NHL, but the youth movement is starting to arrive.
“I think our young guys are pushing the envelope,” Washington Coach Spencer Carbery said Wednesday. “What I mean by that is there’s a mind-set to just come into the NHL and just play games, gain experience, and [think], ‘My time will come.’ And you’re seeing right now … they’re not just happy to be here. They want to make a difference. They want to have a positive impact on the game and help the team win.”
It isn’t just the former first-round picks who are contributing so far this year. Protas, who was drafted 91st overall in 2019, didn’t dress for the first game of the season. When the Capitals needed to call up a backup to goalie Charlie Lindgren, because Kuemper was unavailable, Protas was the expendable option who didn’t require waivers to be sent down to the AHL, allowing Washington to clear the necessary salary cap space.
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Lavi punches a wall lmao
I’m impressed with McMicheal this year, he really elevates Manthas game