2019 Washington Capitals Draft Guide

The Washington Capitals hold five picks in the 2019 NHL Draft, which begins on Friday, June 21 at Rogers Arena in Vancouver and will be televised on NBCSN at 8 p.m. ET. Rounds 2-7 will take place on Saturday and will be televised on NHL Network at 1 p.m. ET. Last year, the team made seven selections, including defenseman Alexander Alexeyev with the 31st overall selection. For more information on the 2019 NHL Draft, visit
WashCaps.com/NHLDraft
.

CAPITALS 2019 DRAFT PICKS
Round 1 - 25
Round 2 - 56
Round 4 - 118
Round 5 - 129 (acquired from Buffalo)
Round 7 - 211
FIRST-ROUND DRAFT ORDER
1. New Jersey Devils
2. New York Rangers
3. Chicago Blackhawks
4. Colorado Avalanche (from OTT)
5. Los Angeles Kings
6. Detroit Red Wings
7. Buffalo Sabres
8. Edmonton Oilers
9. Anaheim Ducks
10. Vancouver Canucks
11. Philadelphia Flyers
12. Minnesota Wild
13. Florida Panthers
14. Arizona Coyotes
15. Montreal Canadiens
16. Colorado Avalanche
17. Vegas Golden Knights
18. Dallas Stars
19. Ottawa Senators (from CBJ)
20. New York Rangers (from WPG)
21. Pittsburgh Penguins
22. Los Angeles Kings (from TOR)
23. New York Islanders
24. Nashville Predators
25. WASHINGTON CAPITALS
26. Calgary Flames
27. Tampa Bay Lightning
28. Carolina Hurricanes
29. Anaheim Ducks (from SJ via BUF)
30. Boston Bruins
31. Buffalo Sabres (from STL)
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CAPITALS DRAFT NOTES
Homegrown- Sixteen players who played for the Capitals in 2018-19 were originally drafted by Washington (Nicklas Backstrom, Madison Bowey, Travis Boyd, Andre Burakovsky, John Carlson, Christian Djoos, Braden Holtby, Evgeny Kuznetsov, Tyler Lewington, Dmitry Orlov, Alex Ovechkin, Jonas Siegenthaler, Chandler Stephenson, Jakub Vrana, Nathan Walker and Tom Wilson), the 12th most in the NHL. Those 16 players played a combined 905 games, the second most games played by homegrown players of any team last season (Detroit: 995 games between 18 players). Capitals draftees accounted for 66.1% of the team's goals, 67.2% of the team's assists and 66.8% of the team's points from last season.
25 Alive- The Capitals hold the 25th overall pick, the first time in franchise history Washington has held this pick in the first round (drafted Eric Lavigne in the second round with the 25th overall pick in the 1991 NHL Draft). In the last eight NHL Drafts, the 25th overall pick has played a combined 553 NHL games, with Boston's David Pastrnak leading the way with 284 points (132g, 152a) in 320 career games.
Last Time in Vancouver -The NHL Draft returns to Vancouver for the first time since 2006, when the Capitals selected Nicklas Backstrom with the fourth overall pick. Alex Ovechkin, who had been selected with the first overall pick in 2004, took the stage to announce the Capitals selection of Backstrom. Since then, the duo has combined for 2,084 points (889g, 1195a) in 1,979 games. Ovechkin, who ranks first in franchise history in points (1,211) and Backstrom, who ranks second (873), are the only active teammates to rank as their franchise's all-time top two scorers (excluding the second-year Vegas Golden Knights).
Top of Their Class- Alex Ovechkin ranks first among players drafted in 2004 in goals (658), points (1,211) and games played (1,084). Nicklas Backstrom ranks first among players drafted in 2006 in assists (642) and points (873). Braden Holtby ranks first among goaltenders drafted in 2008 in games played (420), wins (257), goals against average (2.47) and save percentage (.918). Holtby was the 10th goaltender selected in the 2008 NHL Draft and has just 13 fewer career wins than the nine goaltenders drafted before him combined (270).
First for a Reason- Twelve players who played for the Capitals in 2019 playoffs were drafted in the first round in their respective drafts (Nicklas Backstrom, Andre Burakovsky, John Carlson, Brett Connolly, Lars Eller, Evgeny Kuznetsov, Matt Niskanen, Brooks Orpik, T.J. Oshie, Alex Ovechkin, Jakub Vrana and Tom Wilson), tied with the Winnipeg Jets and the Toronto Maple Leafs for the most among teams that qualified for the playoffs.
Picking Right- From 2002 to 2014, the Capitals have had 17 of their 20 first round draft picks play at least 150 games in the NHL, including each of their last six first round picks from 2009 to 2014, despite having an average draft position of 19th overall during that span.
Quantity and Quality- Since 2006, 30 of Washington's draft picks have appeared in at least one game for the Capitals and have combined to play in 5,941 games for Washington.
Making an Impact- The Capitals 2004 NHL Draft class has combined to play in 2,618 NHL games (Alex Ovechkin: 1,084 games; Mike Green: 830; Jeff Schultz: 409; Sami Lepisto: 176; Andrew Gordon: 55; Chris Bourque: 51; Travis Morin: 13), ranking first in the NHL. In addition, Washington's 2006 Draft class ranks third in games played (2,181 games; Nicklas Backstrom: 895 games; Mathieu Perreault: 578; Semyon Varlamov: 448; Michal Neuvirth: 257; Oskar Osala: 3) and its 2009 Draft class ranks seventh in games played (1,582 games; Marcus Johansson: 588 games; Cody Eakin: 537; Dmitry Orlov: 447; Patrick Wey: 9; Garrett Mitchell: 1).
Homegrown Goaltending- During the last nine seasons (2010-19), goaltenders drafted by Washington have accounted for 359 of the team's 408 wins (88.0%). Braden Holtby (2008), who was drafted by the Capitals in the fourth round, has the most wins in the NHL over the last five seasons (2014-19: 197). In the AHL with the Hershey Bears, goaltender Vitek Vanecek, who was named to the AHL All-Star Classic, set a career high in wins (21-10-8) and recorded a 2.62 goals-against average and a .907 save percentage in 38 games this season. In addition, Vanecek posted a 2.25 goals-against average and a .935 save percentage in four playoff games. Ilya Samsonov, who posted an unbeaten streak in 11 straight games (10-0-1) from Jan. 12 - Feb. 7, finished the season with a 2.70 goals-against average and a .898 save percentage in 37 games.
Early Returns- Alexander Alexeyev, Washington's first-round pick in the 2018 NHL Draft, registered 43 points (10g, 33a) in 49 games with the Red Deer Rebels in the Western Hockey League (WHL) in 2018-19. The 6'4", 199-pound defensemen also represented Russia in the 2019 World Junior Championship, recording six points (2g, 4a) in seven games en route to winning a bronze medal. Martin Fehervary, the Capitals' second-round pick in the 2018 NHL Draft, registered seven points (1g, 6a) in 45 games with HV71 (Sweden) in 2018-19. The 6'2", 198-pound defenseman captained Slovakia in five games during the World Junior Championship, registering five points (1g, 4a) and was named as a top three player on his team for the tournament, and followed that with an appearance at the World Championship, recording an assist in seven games. Washington's other 2018 second-round pick, Kody Clark, set a personal junior career high of 46 points (17g, 29a) in 57 games with the Ottawa 67's in the Ontario Hockey League (OHL) last season. Clark added another 14 points (5g, 9a) in 18 playoff games. Despite missing 30 games due to injury, Riley Sutter, the Capitals' 2018 third-round draft pick, registered 41 points (14g, 27a) in 38 games with the Everett Silvertips in the WHL. Sutter added an assist in three playoff games. Mitchell Gibson, Washington's fourth-round pick in 2018, recorded a 3.50 goals against average and a .890 save percentage in 43 games with the Central Illinois Flying Aces (USHL) and was named the "Goaltender of the Week" in Week 24 of the season. Alex Kannok-Leipert, the Capitals' sixth-round pick in 2018, recorded 19 points (5g, 14a) in 67 games with the Vancouver Giants in the WHL and added another 11 points (2g, 9a) in 21 playoff games. Eric Florchuk, the Capitals' seventh-round pick in 2018, set a personal junior career high with 50 points (21g, 29a) in 68 games with the Saskatoon Blades in the WHL.
European Union- The Capitals have drafted a player from Europe in 11 consecutive drafts and have drafted 25 European players during that span. Washington has drafted a European player in the first round 10 times in the last 13 drafts.
Bringing Home the Hardware- Players drafted by Washington have been selected to the NHL All-Star Game 40 times while playing for the Capitals and have won the following individual awards:
Conn Smythe Trophy- Alex Ovechkin (2017-18)
Hart Trophy- Alex Ovechkin (2007-08, 2008-09, 2012-13)
Ted Lindsay/Lester B. Pearson Award- Alex Ovechkin (2007-08, 2008-09, 2009-10)
Art Ross Trophy- Alex Ovechkin (2007-08)
Maurice "Rocket" Richard Trophy- Alex Ovechkin (2007-08, 2008-09, 2012-13, 2013-14, 2014-15, 2015-16, 2017-18, 2018-19)
Vezina Trophy- Braden Holtby (2015-16), Olie Kolzig (1999-00), Jim Carey (1995-96)
William M. Jennings Trophy- Braden Holtby/Philipp Grubauer (2016-17)
Calder Memorial Trophy- Alex Ovechkin (2005-06)
King Clancy Memorial Trophy- Olie Kolzig (2005-06)
Hockey Hall of Fame- Scott Stevens (2007), Mike Gartner (2001)