Capitals Development Camp Notebook: Cristall Leads Charge on Dasy 1, Hutson & Lemay Impress, Skating Work Aplenty As Holtby, Thompson & Kolzig Guest Coach

The Washington Capitals opened their annual development camp with the Day 1 tradition: skating with Wendy Marco.

ARLINGTON, V.A. — The Washington Capitals didn’t hold back when they opened their 2025 Development Camp on Tuesday.

Camp started as it always does, with intense skating work featuring coach Wendy Marco. It’s an eye-opening experience for the new and even seasoned prospects as they get their taste of several unique drills, from weaving around sticks to pulling a tire to step ladders while emphasizing the inside and outside edges.

“So much better,” Marco praised the group on one of their second go-arounds, as each prospect got more and more comfortable as time went on.

One player that’s gotten “so much better” is Andrew Cristall, who is attending his third development camp. The 20-year-old has been doing what he can to improve his skating over the last few years as he looks to make the NHL jump sooner rather than later, and it shows in the way he skates and presents himself on the ice.

“She didn’t make it easy on us… It’s just a lot of familiarity, and then just getting better at that sort of thing and skating-wise, it felt a lot better,” Cristall, sporting a missing tooth, said. “Some of the stuff’s a little tricky out there still, but I feel good.”

Cristall, along with defensive prospect Cole Hutson, were among the leaders on the ice, with Joaquim Lemay, Ryan Chesley and Eriks Mateiko also showcasing their skating ability. Ilya Protas also showed progress, though edges remain an area of emphasis, and Terik Parascak continues to get the hang of things.

For first-timers Lynden Lakovic and Milton Gästrin, it was a “welcome to the NHL” moment, as both took time to adjust and learn from Marco, who didn’t mind helping players where she had to.

“This is my first time skating in like two months, so I’m glad that I survived,” Gästrin joked, adding, “I’ve never done (this type of work). I was like, ‘What’s going on?’ It was really fun, and I think she knows what she does (really well).”

Exempt from the skating work were the goaltenders, who took to the other rink with a plethora of guest coaches. Braden Holtby, Logan Thompson and Olaf Kolzig all took the ice to help the young netminders out, while 2018 Stanley Cup champion Alex Chiasson is also attending as a guest coach this week.

The Capitals will be back on the ice Wednesday morning for Day 2, which should include some puck work and more high-intensity drills.