ARLINGTON, V.A. — The Washington Capitals are officially back.
Washington will open its annual training camp on Thursday at MedStar Capitals Iceplex, welcoming 52 players to the ice at MedStar Capitals Iceplex as players look to win a roster spot.
Of the 52 attendees, 29 are forwards, 17 are defensemen and seven are goalies, and they'll be split into two groups as coach Spencer Carbery and the coaching staff make their decisions. New full-time emergency backup goaltender Connor Leslie will also get some work in on the ice.
Here's the full camp roster:
Forwards: Anthony Beauvillier, Jonny Brodzinski, Andrew Cristall, Pierre-Luc Dubois, Josh Dunne, Ethen Frank, Boone Jenner, Tyler Kopff, Jordan Kyrou, Lynden Lakovic, Eriks Mateiko, Ivan Miroshnichenko, Theodor Niederbach, Alex Ovechkin, Terik Parascak, Ludwig Persson, Aliaksei Protas, Ilya Protas, Maxim Schäfer, Petr Sikora, Spencer Smallman, Justin Sourdif, Dylan Strome, Alex Suzdalev, Patrick Thomas, Bogdan Trineyev, Alex Tuch, Tom Wilson
Defensemen: Cam Allen, Louie Belpedio, Jérémie Biakabutuka (AHL contract), Ryan Chesley, Jakob Chychrun, Vincent Desharnais, Martin Fehervary, David Gucciardi, Justin Holl, Cole Hutson, Timothy Liljegren, Jacob MacDonald, Jon McDonald, Dylan McIlrath, Leon Muggli, Matt Roy, Rasmus Sandin (injured)
Goaltenders: Garin Bjorklund (AHL contract), Mitchell Gibson, Ben Kraws, Charlie Lindgren, Cal Petersen (PTO), Clay Stevenson, Logan Thompson
As camp kicks off on Thursday, here are some storylines to watch out for:
New additions make for a more balanced — and bigger — roster
Washington is welcoming several new faces into town, including 30-goal scorers Alex Tuch and Jordan Kyrou, forward Boone Jenner and defenseman Vincent Desharnais, along with the likes of other offseason signings like Jonny Brodzinski and Justin Holl.
The newest members of the Capitals give Carbery more depth, especially up front, and therefore more options to work with when it comes to evenly balancing the team's lines and spreading minutes out more evenly.
They also bring a lot more size to the table; Tuch is 6-foot-4, the Protas brothers are 6-foot-6 and Desharnais is the tallest player on the roster at 6-foot-7. D.C. has the biggest roster going into the 2026-27 campaign, and it's expected to give the team a major boost.
It also means there will be more competition, with Anthony Beauvillier and Ethen Frank trying to maintain their regular spots in the lineup while Brodzinski will try to stick around at the NHL level. All the while, prospects in Ivan Miroshnichenko and Bogdan Trineyev, who are not waiver exempt, are champing at the bit for their chance to be NHL regulars.
Alex Ovechkin's 22nd season will see captain play different role
After having pondered retirement at the end of last season, Alex Ovechkin is back, having signed a one-year extension in July to return and make one more run at a Stanley Cup. He also sits 11 goals away from passing Wayne Gretzky for the most combined goals in NHL history.
Going into this year, though, Ovechkin's role is expected to change at even strength and on the power play.
The captain, who led D.C. in scoring with 32 goals and 64 points last season, will no longer have to carry the majority of the offense, with Tuch, Kyrou and the new additions up front, as well as returning players in Tom Wilson and Dylan Strome and the emergence of young pieces like Ryan Leonard, Justin Sourdif and the Protas brothers, able to make noise, too.
Jakob Chychrun will get shot as true No. 1, Cole Hutson primed for strong rookie year
With John Carlson officially moved on, the door is open for Jakob Chychrun to establish himself as the Capitals' true No. 1 defenseman this season. He led all blueliners in goals last year (26) and led Washington with 23:20 minutes of ice time per game last season.
Look for him to try and follow up last year with another impressive performance, and also serve as a mentor to Cole Hutson, who is also expected to take on a bigger role on the blue line.
Hutson, 20, is expected to be paired mainly with Desharnais, who should be the perfect complement to Hutson's offensive style of play and allow for the freshman blueliner more freedom to make plays and get involved in the rush.
Timothy Liljegren and Martin Fehervary are expected to make up the final pairing, and behind them, Dylan McIlrath and Justin Holl are primed to be extras. However, if D.C. chooses to run with 14 forwards, that competition will be one to watch throughout camp, too.
Goaltending situation gets interesting
The Capitals appear to be committed to Logan Thompson and Charlie Lindgren as their main tandem once again, with the team appreciating what Lindgren did last season with the majority of his games being the second halves of back-to-backs.
However, there are questions surrounding Clay Stevenson, who has impressed in his stints up with the big club and is not waiver exempt. He'll have to clear again, something he did last year, but may not happen again. Cal Petersen is also attending camp on a PTO and could be a strong starting option for Hershey if Stevenson doesn't clear.
That said, the goaltending situation will be an interesting one to keep an eye on come camp, especially since there's not space to carry three.
