2 Washington Capitals Prospects Who Could Get Called Up This Season

As the season gets underway, players will begin to suffer injuries as they sacrifice their bodies for the sake of their team, not to mention the ever-present concern of a positive Covid diagnosis. Eventually, there will be players who will need to miss games, and others will need to be called in to replace them in the lineup. Here are two such prospects who could see some playing time on the Washington Capitals this season.

Lucas Johansen

This spot could easily go to Garrett Pilon and he'd be well deserving of it, but it just seems like Lucas Johansen won't be held out of the NHL for much longer. The younger brother of Nashville Predators' forward Ryan Johansen, Lucas is a defenceman who was a 1st-round pick of the Capitals back in 2016, taken 28th overall. Despite his extended development time, Johansen has yet to make his NHL debut, in part because despite his offensive production he struggles to keep the puck out of his own net. Johansen has had difficulty maintaining a positive +/- in the AHL when playing more than 10 games in a season, and that is primarily what's been keeping him out of the Capitals' NHL lineup. That element of his game seems to have come around this year. 17 games into the season, Johansen has a rating of +9 with the AHL's Hershey Bears to go along with 3 goals and 6 points. When it comes to defencemen, their point production is not the only factor involved in getting called up to the NHL, and Johansen seems to have finally rounded out the other parts of his game. If the Caps need help on the blueline, Johansen is a good bet to take on that job.

Lucas Johansen scored his second career AHL goal Friday. It was a beauty. https://t.co/UtRB4mHqjm pic.twitter.com/38e7D52gmZ

— RMNB (@russianmachine) November 4, 2017

Joe Snively

After three remarkably consistent years at Yale University (39, 36, and 36 points in 33, 31, and 33 games) Joe Snively was signed to a 2-year ELC with the Washington Capitals in the summer of 2019. A Virginia native, Snively played two seasons with the Hershey Bears and earned himself another 1-year contract last summer. A shining example of a journeyman prospect, Snively is again rewarding the Caps' interest in him, sitting at 7 goals and 17 points in 17 games and leading the Bears in scoring. For reference, he had 6 goals and 17 points in 30 games last season, which means he's essentially doubled his scoring pace this year. At 25-years old, Snively is getting to the point where he's going to be playing his best hockey in the next few seasons, and if he can get a look on the Capitals' roster this season there's a good chance he'll get another contract extension next summer; one that might keep him in the NHL going forward. Snively also shares the same dentist as some guy named Alex Ovechkin, which gives him a personal connection to the greatest player ever to wear a Caps' jersey. If he keeps putting the puck in the net for Hershey, Snively might be setting up Ovi for one-timers in a few months' time.

Photo credit: Geoff Burke-USA TODAY Sports