The plan is for the 19-year-old to make the jump to the pros as he continues his development for the Capitals.
The plan is for the 19-year-old to make the jump to the pros as he continues his development for the Capitals.
After taking the WHL by storm and leading his fellow freshmen in scoring in 2022-23, Alexander Suzdalev is ready to take the next step forward — and the Washington Capitals are watching closely.
Assistant general manager Ross Mahoney touched on Suzdalev's development on Tuesday in Annapolis, explaining that the team wants to see him move up after a stellar rookie season in Regina.
"Plan would be [that we'd] like to see him make the jump and play in the American League. He had a really good year last year in Regina. I think he had 88 points and he actually trained really hard over the summer too," Mahoney said.
Suzdalev is coming off an impressive offseason of training, too, in which he not only worked on his skating and play but added weight. It was something that the organization wanted to see from the 19-year-old, as the hope was for him to add more muscle.
"He's a really smart player and you watch him shoot the puck out here today and he's got a really good shot, too, but it was a little bit light," Mahoney explained added. "[We wanted him to] get a little bit stronger, being able to be better in holding a position in front of the net for deflections or winning more puck battles in the corners, those sort of things. He's always had the skating and the skill and the sense, but he was a little bit light, little bit thin. So strength was an issue for him."
Suzdalev, who weighed in at 171 pounds with the Pats last season, is now listed on the Capitals roster as 6-foot-2, 181 pounds. He was among the standouts at the team's development camp in January and has been skating with the team at informal skates these last few weeks, and management has taken notice when it comes to his hard work.
"He's made probably one of the biggest improvements strength-wise," Mahoney noted. "He's put on some real good weight."
When training camp opens on Thursday, the Washington front office will be watching Suzdalev closely, and though there's a roadmap for the Russian-born Swede, he's the one who will ultimately have control over where he ends up playing this season.
"It's up to him," Mahoney said, adding, "Make it difficult on the coaches [deciding where you play]."