{"id":5205,"date":"2026-06-26T09:04:41","date_gmt":"2026-06-26T09:04:41","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/movinginsiderusa.com\/?p=5205"},"modified":"2026-06-26T09:04:41","modified_gmt":"2026-06-26T09:04:41","slug":"after-busy-week-of-trades-capitals-enter-draft-with-no-18-overall-pick","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/movinginsiderusa.com\/?p=5205","title":{"rendered":"After busy week of trades, Capitals enter draft with No. 18 overall pick"},"content":{"rendered":"

There will likely be more unexpected movement and decisions both before and during Friday\u2019s first round, but for the Capitals, one big shake-up has already happened. <\/strong><\/p>

Read more Ferrari\u2019s Hamilton faces Mercedes in Austria hoping to turn F1 win into a title shot<\/a><\/p>\n

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\"\"<\/figure>\n\n
Picking up Jordan Kyrou changes the Capitals’ draft prospects. (Jeff Roberson\/AP)<\/figcaption>\n<\/figure>\n

When Ross Mahoney met with the media at the beginning of the week, much of the conversation centered around the Washington Capitals\u2019 two first-round picks, No. 16 and No. 18, in the 2026 NHL draft.<\/p>\n

Two days later, the Capitals traded the No. 16 pick to St. Louis as part of the package to acquire winger Jordan Kyrou<\/a>. Mahoney, who has been Washington\u2019s assistant general manager in charge of the draft for more than a decade, is no stranger to how quickly plans can change at this time of year.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m going in there thinking we\u2019re picking 16 [and] 18, unless something does happen and we can move up or move back, depending on who\u2019s still on the board,\u201d Mahoney said. \u201cHonestly, it\u2019s part of the fun of it, the strategy of it. You kind of go through the hunt all year of trying to find good players before the draft, and then you have the strategy of the draft. Really enjoy both parts to it, and every draft seems to be unique.<\/p>\n

\u201cThere\u2019s always something that happens that\u2019s unexpected in the draft, so you have to be ready for it.\u201d<\/p>\n

There will likely be more unexpected movement and decisions both before and during Friday\u2019s first round, but for the Capitals, one big shake-up has already happened. With two picks, Mahoney was hoping Washington would be able to target both a center and a bigger defenseman; Cole Hutson looks poised to be a star for the Capitals, but they\u2019d like to add someone larger than Hutson\u2019s 5-foot-11 frame, if they could.<\/p>\n

But the first round of this year\u2019s draft isn\u2019t particularly deep on talent, as compared to previous years, and it\u2019s also heavy on wingers in the middle tiers of the pool. Washington has drafted a winger with its last four first-round picks \u2014 Ivan Miroshnichenko in 2022, Ryan Leonard in 2023, Terik Parascak in 2024 and Lynden Lakovic in 2025 \u2014 and hasn\u2019t drafted a defenseman in the first round since Alex Alexeyev in 2018.<\/p>\n

With just the one pick available now, the Capitals will likely take a classic best-player-available approach to their selection.<\/p>

Read more Third consecutive bullpen collapse leaves Nationals reeling and back at .500<\/a><\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019ve always tried to take the best player available in the draft. If we have too many good assets in one position, I think that\u2019s actually a good thing, as far as the general manager having some strengths that other teams might want,\u201d Mahoney said. \u201cIf a center was available, I think that would help. … We have a lot of wings, and there\u2019s always a need for a defenseman.\u201d<\/p>\n

Malte Gustafsson, a 6-4 left-shot defenseman, would fit the bill of a bigger, more traditional blue-liner to pair with an offensive dynamo like Hutson, but he\u2019s expected to be off the board by the early teens \u2014 well before Washington\u2019s remaining pick at No. 18. Ryan Lin is another defenseman in a similar tier, but he\u2019s just 5-11.<\/p>\n

One wild-card option on defense is Maksim Sokolovskii, the largest player in the class at 6-8 and a late riser in the rankings. The Athletic\u2019s draft analyst, Scott Wheeler, projected the Philadelphia Flyers to pick Sokolovskii at No. 21 in his latest mock draft<\/a>, but if the Capitals really want a big defenseman, they could take a swing on the unique Russian 17-year-old.<\/p>\n

Swedish center Alexander Command would presumably be high on Washington\u2019s list if he\u2019s available at No. 18, but he\u2019s expected to be off the board just a few picks before the Capitals make their choice.<\/p>\n

Wheeler\u2019s mock draft projected Washington to pick left winger Adam Novotny, who grew up in the Czech Republic but went to Canada last fall to play for the Peterborough Petes in the Ontario Hockey League.<\/p>\n

This will be the 29th draft Mahoney has worked on the Capitals\u2019 staff, so he\u2019s more than accustomed to sorting through the various options and gaming out who might be available for them. One curveball has already been thrown at him this week, and he\u2019s prepared for any others that will arise Friday and Saturday.<\/p>\n

\u201cI get surprised every year where all of a sudden it\u2019s like, \u2018Oh wow, so-and-so is still there and we have a chance to get him,\u2019\u201d Mahoney said. \u201cIt\u2019s going to be fun.\u201d<\/p>

Read more U.S. completes World Cup group stage. Now comes the hard part.<\/a><\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

There will likely be more unexpected movement and decisions both before and during Friday\u2019s first round, but for the Capitals, one big shake-up has already happened. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":5203,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-5205","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-interesting"],"yoast_head":"\nAfter busy week of trades, Capitals enter draft with No. 18 overall pick - Moving Insider USA<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/movinginsiderusa.com\/?p=5205\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"After busy week of trades, Capitals enter draft with No. 18 overall pick - 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