Top prospects for Washington Capitals

NHL.com is providing in-depth roster, prospect and fantasy analysis for each of its 32 teams from Aug. 1-Sept. 1. Today, the top five prospects for the Washington Capitals, according to NHL.com.

1. Ilya Protas, F

How acquired: Selected with No. 75 pick in 2024 NHL Draft

2025-26 season: Washington (NHL): 4 GP, 1-3-4; Hershey (AHL): 69 GP, 29-37-66

Protas is penciled in as the Capitals' third-line center, according to general manager Chris Patrick, after the 20-year-old impressed as a first-year pro in the American Hockey League and during a four-game NHL stint at the end of last season. Protas won the Dudley "Red" Garrett Memorial Award as AHL rookie of the year after leading the league's rookies and all Hershey players in points.

"I just have a hard time seeing at least to start the season who (else) goes into that spot based on what he did at the end of the season and what he did last year in Hershey," Patrick said.

Nicknamed "Little Pro," he's now listed at 6-foot-6, 225 pounds, which is up from 6-5, 198 last offseason. It matches the height of older brother, Capitals forward Aliaksei (6-6, 250), but he's still 25 pounds lighter -- for now.

Projected NHL arrival: This season

2. Cole Hutson, D

How acquired: Selected with No. 43 pick in 2024 NHL Draft

2025-26 season: Washington (NHL): 14 GP, 3-7-10; Boston University (NCAA): 35 GP, 10-22-32

Like Ilya Protas, Hutson set himself up to begin this season with Washington with his play during his initial NHL stint at the end of last season after turning pro following his sophomore season at Boston University. The 20-year-old had six power-play points (one goal, five assists), tops among Capitals defensemen and NHL rookie defenseman from the time he made his debut March 18. Like his older brother, Montreal Canadiens defenseman Lane Hutson, Cole overcomes his lack of size (5-11, 175) with his offensive skill, skating and intelligence.

"I thought our team offensively and on the power play had a different energy and more of a dynamic level of offense once he got into the lineup," Patrick said. "It's a hard position as a young player, and there's going to be growing pains, there's going to be mistakes, but we feel like we have a good defense core around him to help him with that stuff."

Projected NHL arrival: This season

3. Andrew Cristall, F

How acquired: Selected with No. 40 pick in 2023 NHL Draft

2025-26 season: Hershey (AHL): 72 GP, 20-40-60

After Cristall led AHL rookies in assists and was third in points last season, he probably would be in good position to earn an NHL spot during training camp if not for Washington's increased forward depth following the offseason additions of Alex Tuch, Jordan Kyrou and Boone Jenner. The 21-year-old has worked to improve his skating and demonstrated he can produce offensively despite his size (5-10, 167) at every level so far.

"A guy that's really aware of what his strengths are and what his perceived limitations are and he's working really hard on his limitations, and he plays to his strengths," Patrick said.

Projected NHL arrival: This season

4. Lynden Lakovic, F

How acquired: Selected with No. 27 pick in 2025 NHL Draft

2025-26 season: Moose Jaw (WHL): 22 GP, 18-11-29

Lakovic looked close to being NHL ready in his first training camp before his development was sidetracked by a shoulder injury with Moose Jaw in December that required season-ending surgery. The Capitals held him out of contact during development camp June 30-July 3 as a precaution, but Patrick said Lakovic "should be fully good to go" during training camp.

Lakovic turns 20 on Dec. 12, so he is eligible to play in the AHL this season, which will help his progression.

"He's got the size (6-4, 190), the skating ability, so going back to (junior) for another year, I don't know how much he would get out of it," Patrick said. "If he's a guy that needed to put on weight or if he was smaller or something, maybe, but all those boxes are checked for him. So it'll be a real good test for him, and I know he's raring to go."

Projected NHL arrival: Next season

5. Terik Parascak, F

How acquired: Selected with No. 17 pick in 2024 NHL Draft

2025-26 season: Hershey (AHL): 1 GP, 0-0-0; Prince George (WHL): 61 GP, 33-46-79

Parascak (6-0, 173) also will benefit from playing in Hershey this season. The 20-year-old led Prince George in goals and points during the regular season and thrived in the Western Hockey League playoffs with 17 points (seven goals, 10 assists) in 12 games.

"I think he'll actually have a better chance in Hershey to work on his strength and his skating than maybe he had with the schedule that he kept in (junior), just with where he was playing and the travel was just really hard," Patrick said. "So he'll get to work on those things, and we've added a lot of good veteran players for Hershey, so I think that'll help him."

Projected NHL arrival: Next season