The rising Capitals star has hit the critical 10-game mark, and this latest assignment up with the big club isn't a courtesy.

When the Washington Capitals drafted Ivan Miroshnichenko nearly two years ago, they felt they were getting a major steal. Now, they're seeing the results of that choice pay off at a critical point in the season, as the 20-year-old is sticking up at the NHL level.

Miroshnichenko played in his 10th game of the season on Saturday against the Vancouver Canucks, officially burning a year of the entry-level deal that brought him to D.C. in the summer.

While that can be a difficult decision to make with a young player, the Russian proved that it was the right one and had a highlight-reel assist and impressed in just over 12 minutes en route to a 2-1 win over Vancouver.

"He's playing great... He's earned it," head coach Spencer Carbery said of Miroshnichenko's latest call-up after Saturday's victory.

Miroshnichenko has points in two of his last three games, and over the last six games since drawing back into the lineup in his most recent stint up with the big club, he's scored his first two NHL goals while seeing his ice time continue to climb per game.

 "This isn't a courtesy, 'Hey, young player, first-round pick, 20 years old, here, just get your feet wet in the National Hockey League,'" Carbery added. "He's earning his ice time and opportunity with the way that he's playing."

Offensively, he's making the right decisions, getting to the dangerous areas and showcasing his impressive shot and ability. And on the other side of the puck, he's battling hard, staying engaged and making sure he's getting to the right positions.

"I feel very good," Miroshnichenko told Match.TV, per a DeepL translation, adding, "They support me on the team... they always cheer me on, give me advice. Very good friends."

"I see (a lot of progress) from where he was to where he is now, and that's part of getting comfortable," Carbery told reporters at practice on Sunday in Calgary, adding, "The X's and O's part of it, (he's starting to) really understand what we're trying to ask him to do from a habits standpoint."

The Capitals bench boss credits a lot of that success to Miroshnichenko overcoming the language barrier.

Coming over to North America, Miroshnichenko did not speak a lot of English, making communication with coaches difficult. As he played in Hershey and spent time with tutors and his teammates, his English improved, and since his last call-up near Christmas, the organization has seen a big improvement.

Miroshnichenko is also more comfortable with his teammates and has been getting a lot of help from Alex Ovechkin, Aliaksei Protas and more. Ultimately, Carbery believes that improvement has been instrumental in him elevating his game.

""I think it makes a massive difference to be able to show him things. he asks questions now on the bench, after games, at practice; even communicating with him on little drills out there today, it makes such a difference for a young player," Carbery noted. "He has so many things going through his head (compared to) just a normal English-speaking player. Now, for him to be able to communicate and ask and talk to his teammates and even have those simple conversations that we take for granted are, I think, huge for his development."

At the end of the day, his hard work has not gone unnoticed, and it's led to an extended look in the lineup as D.C. makes a push for a playoff spot.

"I give him a lot of credit because you can tell he's working at it and he wants to he knows how important that it," Carbery said. "Not only is he working on his individual skills on the ice, but he's also trying to figure out, 'Okay, I want to become a smarter player, I want to understand the structure a the higher level, so I need to figure out how or work at learning the language, because that's going to be a big part of it.'"