The Capitals forward is thriving in his new role as the second-line center and has taken a big step to open the 2024-25 regular season.
The Capitals forward is thriving in his new role as the second-line center and has taken a big step to open the 2024-25 regular season.
The Washington Capitals have been enjoying a red-hot start to the 2024-25 season, with the new additions and tenured players working in sync to win some tough games. And one player in particular that deserves a lot of credit is Connor McMichael.
McMichael was tasked with settling into a new role this season, as head coach Spencer Carbery put him on the second-line left wing alongside Pierre-Luc Dubois and Tom Wilson to bolster the chemistry on the top-6 after years in his natural center position.
While it can be difficult to transition from being a natural center, McMichael has fit in seamlessly, and his impact hasn't gone away from moving away from the pivot position; if anything, he's gotten stronger.
"You can tell he's just way more fluid in his reads and reading off of Willy and the communication," Carbery said, adding, "He's one of the smartest players we have, and that's why he players center, wing. You can put him in any situation."
Through six games this season, McMichael has three goals and five assists for eight points, producing at over a point-per-game pace while finding the scoresheet in all but one game so far. He's also averaging 16:01 minutes, the highest average ice time of his career so far.
Watching the 23-year-old, it's easy to see that he's gotten stronger and faster. His skating is a step better than it was last year. He's playing with more speed and confidence, and he's not afraid to win puck battles and use his stickhandling and hockey IQ to his advantage. When he doesn't have the puck, he's getting in prime positions to be a major threat on offense or shut things down in his own zone."
"Mikey's been really good," Nic Dowd said. "The thing about him is he's undercover fast, he can skate, smart player and he's come a long way. He's matured a ton and what people don't understand is defensively he's become a really reliable player."
McMichael has also taken a step up with his passing and playmaking, as he's able to start plays in the neutral zone and pull off the skills necessary to carry the puck up into the offensive zone for quality scoring chances. Having Dubois and Wilson helps, but it's also McMichael's own improvement that's made an impact.
"He's a smart player, he's got all the tools but he's really smart out there, he makes plays, he can pass it from anywhere, he can shoot," Pierre-Luc Dubois said. "He's kind of that player that does it all."
On the defensive side of the game, he has great awareness and is always in the right place to provide top coverage, while being smart with the puck and keeping it out of harm's way.
"When I go through his shifts, I rarely see him make a mistake systematically," Carbery added.
Beyond his 5-on-5 impact, he's also been getting time on special teams and thriving in the role of a penalty killer with his defensive talents while also generating quite a few shorthanded chances to boot.
Overall, his awareness at both ends and obvious improvement, from his strength to his skating, is helping him finally take that next step from a promising rising prospect to the confident, impact player that the Capitals expected him to be when they took him in the first round of the 2019 NHL Draft.
"One of his strongest assets as an NHL player is his brain and his intelligence and his hockey IQ," Carbery said.
Now, it'll just come down to consistency.
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