A look at the top prospects of Washington Capitals of the National Hockey League –NHL Special
Washington Capitals have consistently been doing well in the regular season and had been finishing first in their Southeast division of the Eastern Conference for last four years until last year. These also included first places finishes in 2009-2010 and
2010-2011 season.
Despite doing so well in the regular season and consistently reaching the playoffs of Stanley Cup every year, they have not been able to reach the finals of conference or Stanley Cup finals a single time.
They lost to Philadelphia Flyers in a very close fight, 4-3 in Quarter-finals of 2007-2008 season, semi-finals to Pittsburgh Penguins again by same score, 4-3 in 2008-2009 season, once again by the same score line, 4-3 to Montreal Canadiens in quarter-finals
of 2009-2010 and last season they lost to New York Rangers in semi-finals by 4-3.
These high finishes in regular season but close losses at the end suggest that there is something missing at the end, which is most probably heaviness of the old legs that they have got in their team. They desperately need some fresh legs and new players
that can uplift their team and they have got few prospects in following names.
1. Filip Forsberg
A first round selectee in the recently held 2012 NHL draft, Filip Forsberg is one of the best young players in the hockey right now.
The Swedish right winger is playing for some junior hockey sides in his native country but he has shown his worth by helping team Sweden in winning the World Junior Hockey Championships in 2012 held in Canada.
The Östervåla, Sweden, born player will spend next season with Leksand IF in Sweden but can be expected to join Capitals in 2013-2014 season.
2. Tom Wilson
Tom Wilson, a Canadian hockey player who currently plays with Plymouth Whalers in OHL, was drafted 16th overall in the recently held 2012 NHL draft.
18-year-old forward, who plays as a right winger, has already impressed everyone as he won gold medal with Team Ontario at the 2011 Under-17 Hockey challenge.
Toronto Ontario resident had an average 2010-2011 season with Plymouth as it was his first season but showed some better performance in second season by nine goals, 18 assists, and 27 total points in 49 games and interestingly had 141 Penalty in Minutes
(PIMs).
3. Evgeny Kuznetsov
The young Russian forward, who has already had a much decorated trophy cabinet by winning World Junior Championships in 2011 and being a member of Russian international team that won World Championships in 2012, Kuznetsov is one of the most promising 20-year-old
players.
Playing in Kontinental Hockey League (KHL) for Traktor Chelyabinsk, Kuznetsov was selected 26th overall in the first round of 2010 NHL draft and he is predicted to be one of the best players for Capitals in coming years but unfortunately for them
that he will spend two more years in Russian but whenever he comes back, he is going to be a very important player for Washington.
4. Philipp Grubauer
The German goaltender was selected 112th overall in the fourth round of the 2010 NHL draft and played for South Carolina Stingrays in ECHL in last season but he will play for Hershey Bears in AHL next season.
20-year-old had an excellent goal against average of 2.22 last season and expected to be a part of Washington Capitals in coming years with his performance consistently improving.
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