Capitals 2025 NHL Draft Primer: Which Prospects Could Go 27th, Trade Watch & Everything To Know
Here's everything to know as the Washington Capitals enter a busy draft weekend.
The Washington Capitals are in for a busy weekend, as they and 31 other teams make moves at the 2025 NHL Draft.
It’s the league’s first decentralized draft (excluding the remote draft due to COVID-19). All of the prospects will be in Los Angeles, California, while teams will remain back in their home cities to make their selections.
Washington owns five selections in this year’s draft, with the 27th, 37th, 73rd, 123rd and 155th overall picks. The Capitals don’t have their sixth and seventh-round selections.
With the first round of the 2025 NHL Draft set to take place in a few hours, here’s everything to know, including names to watch, the latest on prospects and the latest trade buzz.
Names To Watch For Capitals At No. 27
Blake Fiddler, RHD, WHL’s Edmonton Oil Kings — Right-handed blueliners are hard to come by, and Fiddler’s one of the good ones. The son of NHL alum Vernon, Fiddler is a 6-foot-4 shutdown blueliner who has great skating ability, takes good care of the puck and has a high hockey IQ. He’s always in the right spot and can move the play up ice, too.
Milton Gästrin, F, HockeyAllsvenskans’s MoDo Hockey — A versatile player who can play either center or wing, Gästrin is a rising Swedish star who’s a natural leader and great driver of play. He’s an exceptional playmaker, creates time and space for his teammates and wins battles for the puck, and he gets to the high-danger areas, too.
Bill Zonnon, LW, QMJHL’s Rouyn-Noranda Huskies — A power forward and two-way player who doesn’t shy away from physicality. The 6-foot-2, 190-pound forward uses his size and strength to his advantage, gets to the high-danger areas and can also play center. He’s known for his 200-foot game, battle, grit and playmaking ability.
Joshua Ravensbergen, G, WHL’s Prince George Cougars — Washington has an impressive goalie pool, but will always take the best player available. If Ravensbergen is still up for grabs at No. 27, he should absolutely be the selection. The 6-foot-5 goaltender has great size and reflexes and is a star in the making, and has posted impressive numbers over the last three seasons with Terik Parascak’s Cougars.
Cullen Potter, LW, NCAA’s Arizona State University — A product of the USNTDP, Potter is a rising skater who can make quite a bit happen on offense. He had 22 points in 35 games his freshman year with ASU. He’s an explosive skater and has quick hands and a high hockey IQ that makes him difficult to read — and harder to stop.
Daniil Prokhorov, MHL’s Dynamo St. Petersburg — An absolute force to be reckoned with, the 6-foot-6 right winger doesn’t hold back. He loves throwing his weight around, and his size and strength help him easily win puck battles and get to the net front, where he does a good amount of damage. You’ll get an impressive game from him in his own end, too, as he’ll come at his opponents head-on and refuse to back down.
Trade Possibilities
The Capitals opened the action on Thursday with a smaller trade, bringing in winger Justin Sourdif from the Florida Panthers for a 2026 second and 2027 sixth. The 23-year-old has plenty of upside and is expected to fill the void on the bottom-6, and at the very least, provide some AHL depth if he ends up clearing waivers, though he’s expected to play in the NHL.
Sourdif has great hands and playmaking ability, along with an impressive shot and good offensive instincts. His speed is something that D.C. needs on the bottom-6, too.
Washington also remains open to moving its first-round pick if the opportunity presents itself and is in the hunt to add another scoring winger to the mix.
The 2025 NHL Draft kicks off Friday at 7 p.m. ET.