Washington Capitals’ Draft Strategy and Player Considerations for the 2024 NHL Draft

Washington Capitals’ Draft Strategy and Player Considerations for the 2024 NHL Draft

on today’s show what is the capital’s best option at number 17 in this year’s draft and Brian mullen’s July 1st plans next on this edition of lock on capitals your locked on capitals your daily podcast on the Washington Capitals part of the locked on podcast Network your team every day well hello and welcome into this edition of lockon capitals I’m so glad you decided to join me today as always this podcast is free and available on all the major platforms including the SiriusXM app and on YouTube and I want to thank you for making this your first listen each and every day my name is Dan homy I’ve covered the capitals for the last three seasons for lockdown and various other outlets before that I’m also the host of the weekly show called the capitals minute cast available wherever you find your podcasts you can find me on Twitter it’s dcaps 218 you can find the show on Twitter it’s lockon caps and the best way that you can help grow the show is to subscribe to lockon capitals on YouTube and comment anything down below in this edition of lock on capitals we talk about how the first round of the draft is tomorrow and what is the capitals best option at number 17 I know that earlier I mentioned that eigor shernoff was my pick in the lock on mock draft but what are some of the other intriguing options I’ll talk about that a little bit later I’ll talk about Brian McCullen’s plans for July 1st and what his thoughts are on the draft and then in the final segment I will talk about Charlie lingren achievements and the many things that he’s accomplished in his short time playing with the capitals but just to get it going here talking about the draft it’s tomorrow Friday depending on when you’re listening and or watching this and talking about what the capitals plans are for the 2024 draft the capitals are gearing up for the 2024 NHL draft with a clear plan for their 17th overall pick according to the athletic Scott wheeler the team is eyeing a defenseman or Center as their top priorities for this year’s draft and I have heard more Rumblings out there about the fact that the capitals might be looking for a big defenseman that I think they see that as a position of need in the long term and uh they see that some of the players on the team uh might be moving on TVR and Jensen come to mind uh we know that John Carlson plays a big role on this team but we need to kind of have our eyes set to the Future as well talking about poten potential draft picks sources indicate that the team is leaning towards selecting a defenseman aiming to diversify the roster which has seen an influx of Wingers in recent Seasons promising prospects such as Czech defenseman Adam Urich and Norwegian blue liner Stan Solberg are on the radar with a centerman while a centerman is not ruled out the team’s preference seems to be leaning towards bolstering their defense and this is all long term you know you take a look at it there are prospects in the pipeline you take a look at Chesley you take a look at arario um that there are other players bigger names that I mentioned there that uh could figure into the capitals long-term plans but it’s always good to have your eyes kind of fixed to the Future and the next wave of great Capitals players the one thing that I think is important is when it is your turn to draft is that you draft you draft according to the best player available you don’t necessarily try to draft for a specific position I think that often times people say well they want a defenseman they want a centerman but I think at the end of the day you got to go with the best player that’s available talking about the capitals draft position for 20124 the capitals have solidified their draft position and are set to take the 17th overall selection in this draft which will take place in Vegas of course we know the team’s first round exit at the hands of the Rangers led to the the 17th pick the first selection following the draft lottery so it is interesting to see uh what direction uh that the capitals will end up going in and who they will ultimately end up picking in the draft uh there are some intriguing names like I spoke about there earlier Adam Ur and styan Solberg so definitely you know names to keep your eye on and you know there might be crazy things that happen you know you hear about things people trading up and all these different kind of scenarios how it all plays out that will be interesting the capitals have the opportunity to put their plans into action when they convene at the sever of course in Las Vegas Friday and Saturday so Friday it’s going to be big those are the big names that will be announced and uh it’s going to be interesting to see in which direction the capital’s going I know historically they have done big things uh Ross Mahoney and his crew are very dialed in and always make great decisions or bad good selections uh shall we say at the positions or the slots that are available um you know you take a look historically here I I don’t ever see like well that was a miss or that was a Miss I think all things considered uh Mahoney has done a really good job but talking about my thoughts on who they should pick I still stand Pat with the idea they should be going with eigor shernoff um he possesses the potential to become a formidable power forward in the future and I think that that’s what the capitals are looking for is a guy uh that um is good with the puck uh he is a good skater when he wants to be there’s things that he needs to work on but I think just taking a look at the total package that I think eigor sheresa fits that sh shernoff is 6 fo2 192 pound Winger who has been impressing in the KHL in D Moscow despite not topping scoring charts he has shown that he can hold his own against experienced players in the league demonstrating his physicality and scoring skill shern Sha’s strengths lie in his skating abilities physical presence and The Knack for finding scoring opportunities check check check those are all the things that the capitals are looking for I know that there’s these these Talking Heads and these pundits that think which direction the capital should go in I think pound-for-pound that eigor shernoff uh is a good option I understand the capitals also have option later in the draft but I’m talking in particular here about number 17 uh while he has shown promise there are areas of improvement such as working on his shot passing and offensive abilities with further development he has the potential to excel consistently at higher levels if you have not seen the footage of him uh he is quite stunning I think that he is a little bit raw uh often times people talk about shernoff as a power forward player I don’t think that he necessarily has all the attributes of a true power forward yet but I think he can grow into it he’s still a young man and you take a look at the direction the capitals are going in with Leonard uh and Crystal it could be quite the dynamic team in the future especially if they add a guy like shernoff to the mix considering his playing style and potential fit shernoff could be an exciting addition to the capitals his power forward attributes and raw potential make him a promising Prospect for the team offering a complimentary asset alongside established players like oh I don’t know Alex oetkin overall I believe that chernes Shop’s unique skill set and potential make him a strong candidate for the capitals in the upcoming draft and I do I think that he is the best option um it’s going to be remain to be seen who’s available he could get selected before or something could present itself like hey we don’t know didn’t know this player was going to be available we saw that happen with even Mir nenko we saw that happen with Andrew Crystal that sometimes you’re like wow I wasn’t expecting this player to be available then those plans can change so interesting times for the capitals as this team has their eye set to the Future uh but one of the things that we know is the prospects and the prospect pool is getting that much better you saw what a lot of the young players did uh with the Hershey Bears in particular the last two seasons back-to- back cder Cup winners that is definitely a a you know a mark of which direction this team is going in when your young players are accomplishing great things like winning backto back cder Cup champions that shows that you are drafting well and that you are sitting in a good position for the future uh so exciting uh times for the capitals it remains to be seen exactly who they select but of course uh keep it locked to locked on capitals as I will have you guys covered the entire way all right so coming up here after the break we will talk about Brian mullen’s plans on July 1 does he have any big trades up his sleeve all discuss Straight Ahead passion drive and patience the formula for winning championships is also what keeps your rid or die alive eBay Motors has everything you need to 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you the can’t miss analysis opinions and news streaming 247 on YouTube or the free Amazon Fire TV channels app part of the locked on podcast Network your team every day all right welcome back into this edition of lockon capitals part of the lockon podcast Network your team every day so Brian mclen made a big splash and traded Pier lukee DUIs to this team or I should say Darcy keer went out to the Kings the capitals got Pier Luke Dubois in a big move uh that has had kind of mixed reviews uh initially I thought you know I’m not hearing really great things about him I hear that he’s not good in the locker room I heard that he had a rough season last season with the Kings but then I take a look at the back of his hockey card and historically he has been a great player and many people already have him SC sketched out for being at the on the top line with Alex oetkin at the center position and hopefully there’s chemistry between DuBois and Alex oetkin again I think Dylan strum could battle him for that but I think that it could even get a bit more interesting as it does appear that Brian mlen is leaning towards being active on July 1 for free agency and uh you take a look at the players that are available he was talking with Mike vogle I watched the video today and he said we have our eyes on a couple players we’ve made offers on a couple players not offers but you know kind of Kick the tires to see what’s going um but uh that there are some you know conversations that have taken place um between a couple players and if they can come to terms with a deal then it’ll get done that kind of thing but if you take a look at it and the names that are out there I think the capitals could stand to be in a much better position uh after July 1st heading into the 2024 NHL draft the capitals are strategically positioning themselves to be proactive in roster improvements as explained by GM Brian mclen after the recent acquisition of plld for Darcy kamper mlen emphasized the team’s continued efforts to fortify their lineup through free agency and potential drafts uh talking about roster improvements mlen emphasized that the team is actively seeking opportunities to enhance their defensive composition uh as well as bolster their forward lines with impending a changes in the roster due to unrestricted and restricted free agents including the uncertainty surrounding TJ oshi’s future the capitals are poised to address these potential gaps and what direction the team is going to go in I’ve talked about that on the show that if there’s one thing that I wish Oshi would do is if he thinks he’s not going to be able to come back then let us know for sure right now but I think that it’s still a bit of a work in progress what has been said about TJ oosi is that he wants some assuredness some promises that he is going to be good to go that he should be able to play a virtually painless season I don’t think he wants to put himself through what he’s been through historically um so I think that he’s looking for some sort of guarantee from a specialist or a surgeon but if he knows sooner than later that would help the capitals talking about defensive optimization furthermore mlen acknowledge the possibility of revising the team’s defensive unit to optimize its performance he highlighted their availability resource and express confidence in the team’s ability to make strategic moves supported by their draft capital and expected salary cap flexibility so there is some options uh we we saw what happened last summer it was patch ready it was Joel Edmonson two moves that didn’t really Garner a huge response from capitals fans or just in general it didn’t generate a whole lot as far as production is concerned I think that he is going to be a bit more aggressive because he saw how the capital struggled I think he saw in what department or position that the capital struggled in and I think that he will address that uh one of the other things that was mentioned is it seems that Charlie lingren and Hunter Shepherd are on a lock as number one and number two well I wouldn’t say that that is a for sure thing as one of the things that Mike Fogle brought up that with Brian mclen and he said that I’ll see what all options are he doesn’t rule out the possibility that the capitals don’t go out and get an established net minder a veteran maybe on a good deal uh that you know Charlie lingren we know that he is ostensibly going to be the number one and Hunter Shepard has shown glimpses of greatness but maybe there’s some question about the number two what Brian mclen did say is that he is going to give Charlie lingren the start of the season and see what he does with it but I don’t think that he is going to go too far into the season if for some reason Charlie lingren doesn’t get off to the start uh that we saw him last season uh so a lot of questions I think there might be some surprises uh some things I didn’t anticipate even though I had heard it from other people covering the sport is the the potential that the capitals might in fact be in the market for a veteran net minder again I I don’t really see that happening I do as a matter fact seeing it being Charlie lingren and Hunter Shepard or Kay Stevenson if he battles for the position but interesting times to be a capitals fan is this lineup could potentially get quite a bit different on July 1 so talking about the draft strategy while reaffirming confidence in their Prospect pool mlen indicated the team’s Readiness to retain their 17th overall selection provided that no significant opportunities arise acknowledging the potential for unpredictability in the dynamic environment of the upcoming draft in Las Vegas again must CV watching the draft of course subscribe to lockon capitals on YouTube or your podcatcher of choice and I will be covering that um but it is going to be interesting to see what the capitals do at the draft I’ll also have you guys covered on July 1st during free agency to see how crazy Brian mlen gets and when I say crazy I guess what I mean to say is how how much for this the fenes does he intend to swing does he intend to make small moves like he did last summer or does he try to go all out and get a J gensel uh or some upper echelon player like that exciting times for the capitals and it’s going to be interesting to see how it all unfolds all right so coming up here Straight Ahead we’ll talk about Charlie lingren achievement he had a really great season for the capitals last season and it didn’t get go unnoticed I’ll discuss straight ahead I love sports I love them so so much I never want them to stop but as the playoffs wind down we get fewer games and the sports aren’t sportsing like I want them to but FanDuel lets me keep the sports going whenever I want all I have to do is open up the app and dream up bets anytime I’m in the mood and sports isn’t done in case you guys didn’t know Major League Baseball is still going and there’s the hometown gats to bet on so I don’t want to hear any excuses about there’s nothing to bet on and fanuel makes it so easy this summer FanDuel is hooking up all customers with a boost or bonus daily that’s right there’s something for everyone every day all summer long so head over to fanduel.com locked on and start making the most of your summer FanDuel official sports betting partner of Major League Baseball all right welcome back into this edition of locked on capitals part of the locked on podcast Network your team every day Charlie lingren killed it last season he played so well that he bumped Darcy keer out of the starting spot Darcy keer subsequently got booted out of town in a trade for pier Luke DuBois and impressed the whole season that he played he was impressive and it didn’t go unnoticed he was up for some awards and uh let’s talk about that in this segment Charlie lingren has made a significant stride in his hockey career and has gained the recognition for his exceptional performance during this past season the 30-year-old play secured him the 12th Place finish in the heart Trophy voting an Accolade presented annually to the NHL’s Most Valuable Player as determined by the professional hockey Riders Association his notable achievements also include receiving a third place vote for the vzna that’s quite a thing an honor bestowed upon the NHL’s top goenda voted on by the league general managers third not too bad for a guy that just a couple years ago was a relative unknown in the National Hockey League talking about lingren performance this past season throughout the season lingren demonstrated remarkable skill and versatility transitioning from a backup to a Bonafide starter for the Caps his quick reflexes Adept Puck tracking an Innovative style of play allowed him to excel in his new role displacing Darcy keer as the team’s primary wasn’t sketched out that way Darcy camper the guy that won the Stanley Cup not so long ago having appeared in 50 games lingren boasted an impressive 2516 and seven record and a 911 save percentage and a 2.67 goals against which contributed to the capital successful return to the post season notably from January 16th onward lingren LED all NHL goal tenders and saves uh 836 and minutes played in the regular season so the accomplishments just keep rolling for this guy that played so well he earned the right to be the number one in net for the capitals next season quite a bit of questions surrounding Charlie lingren as next season is the last season on his current contract he’s making uh one $1.1 million so he is not getting paid a substantial amount of money but what is one of the things that we know is that if he doesn’t back get an extension that he is going to get a raise of course he played that well uh and if he doesn’t get a raise he will seek Green Pastures there is no doubt so it depends on how what Brian mlen plans on doing does he plan on giving him a big extension considering that the pipeline for the capitals is fully stocked the cabinets are stocked uh you take a look at it Hunter Shepard clay Stevenson Garen Mitchell Bor uh Garen Borland uh you take a look at Antoine Keller there are unlimited potential opportunities I understand that they’re not all necessarily NHL ready right now but in the future they are so uh interesting thing for the capitals and GM Bron mlen how he wants to proceed with uh Charlie lingren I guess it depends on what kind of season he has in this last remaining year uh will it take all the way till the end of the season in order to get that extension um I think that if the capital see that he is on the verge of having another breakout season they do the right thing and re up reup him to a New Deal uh because as much as I talked about the capital’s goal tending pipeline uh being full uh from here to the Mississippi River not all of it is NHL ready Talent so sometimes it’s easier to go on the sure thing and the sure thing is Charlie lingren talking about future considerations here as he enters his final year of his contract at 1.1 mil lingren outstanding performance May warrant considerations for an extension particularly after assuming the role of the capitals primary net minder taking a look at it while lingren confirmed as the team starting goal tender the capitals May seek to bolster their goal tending depth in the off seon by either acquiring an experienced gold tender or promoting Hershey Bears net minder Hunter Shepard to serve as the backup Kay Stevenson may also buy for NHL time although he is likely to benefit for more regular starts in Hershey so Charlie lingren knocking it out of the park like I’ve talked about on the show for the longest time the capitals have a long history of having really great net minders right now is no exception either uh and a lot of times are homegrown Talent um and it was interesting that they decided to to reel in Darcy camper a couple years ago when they had potential talent in house I think that the capitals at that time and Brian mlen were so at the end of the rope with Sam sonof and vanich and when he didn’t give either one of those guys qualifying offers he was looking for that Absolutely Fresh Start so you know you take Darcy camper from Colorado and then you take uh Charlie lingren to this team it was just a total change you know and I think that all that was just like a knee-jerk reaction a response to the poor season that the capitals had had in net for some time so uh it’s right now is the capitals are in an excellent position uh kind of reminds me back to the HBY guau era where there’s a one and a 1A and you know you take a look at Charlie linger and Hunter Shepard there’s not a great disparity between either one of them I would have zero problem at some point if Hunter Shepard was the number one and Clay Stevenson number two uh but I think that right now they’re trying to maximize what they have they are trying to maximize uh in a lot of different areas we’re talking the blue lines we’re talking forwards and inet because this team wants to get back into competitive hockey and they want to make the most of the Alex oetkin era so a lot of that starts with solid net minding you can have the greatest goal scores you can have good blue liners but if you have a goalie that can’t stop a puck well that is going to deflate your tires quicker than anything capitals are lucky they got guys like lingren and Shephard in house not to mention Stevenson but if they do happen to go out and kind of a crazy move in my estimation by picking up a veteran uh I hope it’s the right decision and I think it could do nothing but help bolster this team listen once again I want to thank you for joining me on this edition of lockdown capitals your only daily yearr podcast covering the Washington Capitals and I want to thank all of you that listen on the audio side and watch this on YouTube you are ultimately what makes this show successful when you’re done here head on over to locked On’s 247 streaming Channel available on the free Amazon Fire TV channels app and on YouTube all right once again I want to thank you for joining me on this edition of lockon capitals part of the locked on podcast Network your team every day my name is Dan Hy and I’ll talk to you again next time

The Washington Capitals have a clear plan for their 17th overall pick in the 2024 NHL Draft. They are aiming to select a defenseman or center to diversify their roster, with prospects like Adam Jiricek and Stian Solberg in consideration. The draft event will take place in Vegas in June. Igor Chernyshov is a strong candidate for the 17th pick, possessing the potential to become a significant power forward for the Capitals. The team is strategically positioning themselves for proactive roster improvements, especially regarding defensive optimization and the potential unpredictability of the upcoming draft. Charlie Lindgren, the team’s primary goaltender, has shown outstanding performance and may be considered for a contract extension after assuming the starting role.

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