Capitals Believe Miroshnichenko Has 'Good Chance' To Make NHL Roster Next Season: 'He Needs To Show He's Ready'
The Washington Capitals are looking to inject more youth into the lineup, and all eyes are on Ivan Miroshnichenko.
ARLINGTON, V.A. — As the Washington Capitals enter their offseason looking to add another forward to the mix, the team is also counting on its prospects to make some noise come training camp, with all eyes on Ivan Miroshnichenko.
Washington is hoping that Miroshnichenko, who is coming off an impressive sophomore season in North America, can make the full-time jump to the NHL this coming season as the team injects more youth and starts to prepare for the post-Alex Ovechkin era.
“Miro has a really good chance here to make our NHL team next year. He needs to come in and have a really good camp, I think he needs to show the NHL coaches he’s ready to take the next step,” general manager Chris Patrick said.
The 21-year-old took a big step forward this past season, putting up 23 goals and 19 assists for 42 points in 53 regular-season games with the AHL’s Hershey Bears while also racking up four points in 18 appearances with the Capitals. He also had three goals and two assists for five points in eight playoff games with Hershey.
"I think (I got better) everywhere," Miroshnicehnko said at end of the season. "In D zone, offense zone... last year, I a rookie, young guy, a lot of mistake. This year, maybe less mistake… I think I can (do) more, more, more.”
When it comes to Miroshnichenko’s game, Washington wants to see more poise and attention to detail, as well as consistency.
“Get good shots on net, don’t bobble pucks and really be beyond your game,” Patrick said. “As a young guy coming in, you basically don’t have a lot of room for error, right? You've got to be sharp.”
That being said, the expectations are high for the Russian going into the fall, and the front office will be watching closely to make sure he’s doing what he can to live up to them.
“Every guy on this team has gone through that. He needs to have that mindset where you need to be 100 percent dialed in every shift of every practice, every shift of every exhibition game and make it so Spencer (Carbery) is like, ‘I can’t take Miro off this line, I can’t take him out of the lineup. He needs to be here because our team’s (better with him),'‘” Patrick said.