Capitals Development Camp Primer: Top Names, Who To Watch & Everything To Know
The Capitals kick off development camp on Tuesday. Here's everything to know.
ARLINGTON, V.A. — There will be Washington Capitals hockey in summer starting on Tuesday, as the team’s top prospects gather at MedStar Capitals Iceplex for the annual Capitals Development Camp.
Washington brings in 31 total skaters, including prospects, draft picks and a handful of free agent invites. This year, the Capitals’ camp roster is headlined by WHL leading scorer Andrew Cristall, rising Boston University defenseman Cole Hutson, 2025 first-round pick Lynden Lakovic and more.
Capitals Development Camp Roster
Forwards: Andrew Cristall, Jackson Crowder, Milton Gästrin, Lynden Lakovic, Eriks Mateiko, Terik Parascak, Ludwig Persson, Ilya Protas, Daniel Russell, Miroslav Satan Jr., Maxim Schäfer, Petr Sikora, Ryan St. Louis, Hayden Stavroff, Alexander Suzdalev, Patrick Thomas
Defensemen: Cam Allen, Ryan Chesley, Stan Cooley, Aron Dahlqvist, David Gucciardi, Cole Hutson, Nolan Krenzen, Joaquim Lemay, Leon Muggli, Seamus Powell
Goaltenders: Chase Anderson, Antoine Keller, Nicholas Kempf, Rasmus Korhonen, Jackson Unger
Names To Watch
Andrew Cristall — The Capitals have high hopes for Cristall, who almost cracked the opening night roster this past season but returned to juniors and put up a record year with 132 points in 57 regular-season games between the Kelowna Rockets and Spokane Chiefs. He also had 42 points in 19 playoff games with the Chiefs.
Washington said that it’s looking forward to what Cristall can bring in his third camp and will have the chance to evaluate where he’s at heading into summer. Then, it’s up to him to win a spot in the fall.
Cole Hutson — Washington traded Beck Malenstyn to the Buffalo Sabres to move up in last year’s draft, taking U.S. National Team Development Program blueliner Cole Hutson. The younger brother of Calder Trophy winner Lane, Hutson is coming off an impressive freshman year with Boston University, where he had 14 goals and 24 assists in 39 games while helping the Terriers make waves in the NCAA tournament.
He’s on the rise as one of the team’s promising blueliners for the future, and following his sophomore season with B.U., he could make the pro jump sooner rather than later.
Ilya Protas — The younger brother of Aliaksei, Protas is coming off a strong rookie campaign in the OHL where he had 50 goals and 74 assists for 124 points in 61 regular-season games with the Windsor Spitfires before adding 25 points in 12 playoff games.
Standing at 6-foot-5, 200 pounds, Protas is a lot like his brother and has the prowess and vision to make noise in all three zones. And, if he’s anything like Aliaskei, he’ll pan out well for D.C. going forward.
Lynden Lakovic — Washington’s first selection of the 2025 NHL Draft. The nephew of longtime enforcer Sasha Lakovic. Lakovic is known for his size and wicked shot, but he’s also a sneaky good playmaker with a lot of upside.
He’s coming off an impressive season as captain of the Moose Jaw Warriors, where he had 58 points and just four penalty minutes in 47 games.
Milton Gästrin — The Capitals were surprised when Gästrin fell to 37th in the draft, as he was projected to go late first round. Washington took him without hesitation.
Gästrin is a natural leader and gifted center who takes good care of the puck and makes great plays on the fly, and he does a lot of damage around the net, too. D.C. is excited to see how he pans out, and as Cristall was, hope he’s a steal.
Terik Parascak — It wasn’t an easy post-draft year for Parascak, who had 82 points after a 105-point rookie season while his Prince George Cougars struggled to be as good as they were the year before. He had 10 points in 16 playoff games, and the Capitals ultimately saw some fatigue at the end of the year from being overplayed.
There’s high hopes for Parascak, a promising scorer and playmaker with good vision and talent.
Eriks Mateiko — Mateiko is coming off a strong season in the QMJHL and also made noise while representing Latvia at World Juniors. The 6-foot-6 center has a lot of upside and is known for his leadership ability and battle.
Cam Allen — It wasn’t an easy year for Allen, who was arrested for drunk driving and ultimately earned a suspension from the OHL. He was reinstated in March, and since then, he’s been doing what he can to learn and grow from the incident.
Aron Dahlqvist — A sixth-round pick in this draft, the 6-foot-3 Swede is a force to be reckoned with and loves to throw his weight around and punish his opponents. Will be fun to watch.
Ryan St. Louis — A free agent invite and the son of Hall of Famer and Montreal Canadiens head coach Martin St. Louis. The 22-year-old just finished his second season at Brown, where he had 29 points in 23 games.
Antoine Keller — One of the Capitals’ promising goaltending prospects. . Keller returned overseas to continue his development this past season after one season in the QMJHL, and posted a .894 save percentage in 13 games with Lausanne HC in the National League while getting two games with the Swiss League’s Chaux-de-Fonds HC, where he posted a .935 save percentage.
Full Schedule
Tuesday, July 1
2:30 - 3:30 p.m.: Skating Development (Caps rink); Goalie Ice (Public rink)
Wednesday, July 2
9:15 - 10 a.m.: Skating Development (Forwards, Public rink)
9:15 - 10 a.m.: Positional Play (Defensemen, Caps rink)
10:15 - 11 a.m.: Skating Development (Defensemen, Public rink)
10:15 - 11 a.m.: Positional Play (Forwards, Caps rink)
Thursday, July 3
9:15 - 10:15 a.m.: On-ice testing (Both rinks)
10:30 - 10:45 a.m.: Goalie Ice (Public rink)
10:45 - 11:45 a.m.: All Players (Both rinks)
3 - 4:30 p.m.: Small Area games (Both rinks)
4:45 - 5:45 p.m.: Youth Hockey Clinic (Caps rink)
Friday, July 4 (MedStar Capitals Iceplex closed to the public)
8:30 - 9 a.m.: Goalie Ice (Public rink)
9:15 - 11 a.m.: Transition Work (Half group; Caps rink)
9:15 - 11 a.m.: Skill Work (Half group; Public rink)
Saturday, July 5
8:30 - 9:00 a.m.: Goalies (Public rink)
9:00 - 10:30 a.m.: 3-on-3 Tournament (Caps rink)