Capitals Development Camp Notebook: Positional Play & Footwork, Protas, Lakovic & Chesley Stand Out On Day 2
The Capitals continued their development camp with skating work and positional play.
ARLINGTON, V.A. — After an intense first day of skating, the Washington Capitals got to see pucks on the ice for the first time on Wednesday, this time putting emphasis on puck play and footwork as the forwards and defensemen were split by position. All the while, they got more time with coach Wendy Marco for even more edge and skating work.
Among those who stood out on the second day were Ilya Protas and Lynden Lakovic, along with Ryan Chesley and Cam Allen.
Protas, who needed some help and refreshers from Marco on Tuesday, was among the top forwards when it came to skating work on Wednesday as he led the way and showed off his edge work and improvement.
Lakovic admitted that the first day of power skating was a bit of a wake-up call.
“That humbled me quite a bit,” Lakovic noted.
After being a bit behind the pack on Tuesday, Lakovic fit right in on Wednesday, improving significantly when it came to the drills and able to keep up.
“If I get better at that, it’s going to be a recipe for success,” Lakovic said.
Beyond the skating, the players finally got to showcase their work with the puck for the first time, and Andrew Cristall continued to show how far he’s come, while Protas also displayed some of that playmaking and finishing ability that made him a star at the OHL level this year.
Also among the standouts: Eriks Mateiko, the 6-foot-6 winger who could turn out to be quite a steal for D.C. down the road. Matthew Schäfer, who went in the third round of the 2025 NHL Draft, also looked solid and kept up well.
On defense, the blueliners were tasked with cycling and putting together plays, while utilizing their footwork and vision to their advantage.
Ryan Chesley was among the top defensemen in the drills, showing off his wicked shot and moving his feet well. Cam Allen, coming off a difficult year in the AHL, also looks focused and driven as he looks to show the Capitals organization what he can do.
A rising name to watch: sixth-round pick Aron Dahlqvist. The 6-foot-3 Swede is a monster to play against and loves to punish his opponents, and he has some good speed and skating ability that is coming along well.
Washington has three days left of development camp.