The NHL’s 2008 Entry Draft is complete, and the Capitals have added a total of eight prospects to their organization. In the order they were drafted, they are:

(1) Anton Gustafsson (center) - selected 21st in the first round, 21st overall
The skinny: The Capitals traded the 23rd and 54th overall picks to New Jersey for the 21st overall pick in order to be able to make this selection. Gustafsson is the son of former Capital Bengt Gustafsson, and like his father is a natural center. Played most of 2007-08 in Sweden for Frolunda’s under-20 team, where he had 10 goals, 13 assists, 43 penalty minutes and a plus-17 rating in 23 games. Anton played one game with the senior squad last year but didn’t register a point.
The good: Gustafsson has been described as having a mid-first round overall skill set. This selection addresses a number of needs simultaneously for the Capitals: Gustafsson provides both size and two-way play at forward, as well as depth at the center position. He has been described as a mature player both on and off the ice.
The bad: Gustafsson has had significant injury trouble, most notably with a slipped disc in his back and doesn’t have all that much experience against high-level competition. It may have been unnecessary to trade up in order to take Gustafsson.
Initial Reaction: “What?! They traded up to take him?”
More Thought-out Reaction: The only serious issue preventing Gustafsson from being a projected mid-first round pick was his health, and given the Capitals’ meticulous nature, fans should rest assured that he is, or will be able to, recover completely. If that’s the case, Gustafsson looks like he could be a very solid second line center, and being drafted by the same team his father played for could prove to be a source of motivation.
Grade: B-

(2) John Carlson (defense) - selected 27th in the first round, 27th overall
The skinny: The Capitals traded Steve Eminger and the 84th overall pick to Philadelphia for the 27th overall pick in order to make this selection. Carlson is a big, physical, stay-at-home defenseman with the potential to be a shutdown defenseman in the NHL. He played for the Indiana Ice in the USHL this past season, where he had 12 goals, 31 assists, 72 penalty minutes and a plus-11 rating in 59 games. He’s slated to play next season for the London Knights, Dale Hunter’s OHL team, and alumni to Patrick Kane and Sam Gagner.
The good: TSN compared Carlson to Mike Komisarek in their draft preview and he has the potential to be that kind of player: a mean, physical defender who can go against the NHL’s best forwards. Going to London helps to assure he will be well coached and develop at a steady pace. In trading Eminger as part of the package to get this pick, George McPhee got a very good return on a player who had fallen out of the Capitals’ long-term plans.
The bad: According to TSN’s Bob McKenzie, Carlson needs to work on his conditioning. Playing in the USHL means he has yet to have significant experience against elite competition.
Initial Reaction: High-fives and jumping around the room.
More Thought-out Reaction: High-fives and jumping around the room. Carlson is exactly the type of player the Capitals need on their blue line (and who I wanted them to take with the 21st overall pick) and although the team has Joe Finley and Viktor Dovgan in the system, each is far from a sure thing.
Grade: A

(3) Eric Mestery (defense) - selected with the 27th pick in the second round, 57th overall
The skinny: Mestery is a tall (6′5”) defender who currently plays for Olaf Kolzig’s Tri-City American of the Western Hockey League. He’s fairly thin for his height (195 pounds), but you’d have to think he’ll fill out a little. The word on Mestery is that he could develop into a solid, but not spectacular, NHL defender. Before you go thinking Mestery is Version 2.0 of Jeff Schultz, consider that Mestery had three fights in the WHL last year, which is three more than Schultz has had in his life as far as I can tell.

(4) Dmitri Kugryshev (right wing) - selected with the 28th pick in the second round, 58th overall.
The skinny: Kugryshev spent this season with CSKA Moscow’s developmental team, playing in the Russian third league, where he had 29 goals and 29 assists in 35 games. Kugryshev has also represented Russia at the under-18 and under-20 levels; in the past World Juniors he scored a goal and three assists in seven games. Kugryshev is supposed to have good offensive instincts, but is in need of work in terms of his skating. He’s reported to have a strong work ethic and be a player who’s willing to go into corners and engage in board play, so it seems that his attitude is a plus.

(5) Braden Holtby (goalie) - selected with the 2nd pick in the fourth round, 93rd overall.
The skinny: It would appear the jury is out on Holtby: he was ranked as the fourth best North American goalie by the NHL’s Central Scouting Bureau and 56th overall by the TSN, but 80th by Bob McKenzie and was left unranked by The Hockey News. Overall, a pretty good pick for the Capitals since if Holtby fulfills the promise some think he has, he should be a solid NHL goaltender and if he doesn’t…well, once you get to the fourth round, you’re inherently gambling anyway. Holtby was 25-29-8 with a 2.84 GAA and .908 save percentage for the Saskatoon Blades of the WHL in 2007-08.

(6) Joel Broda (center) - selected with the 23rd pick of the fifth round, 144th overall.
The skinny: Broda has pretty good size, especially for a center (6′0”, 196 pounds) and potted 28 goals in 70 games for the Moose Jaw Warriors in the WHL last season. The only scouting opinions I could find came via The Peerless Prognosticator, whose sources suggest Broda has the potential to be a solid depth player at the NHL level if he manages to put it all together.

(7) Greg Burke (left wing) - selected with the 23rd pick in round six, 174th overall.
The skinny: The extent of the information I have on Burke is this: he’s a 6′0”, 185 pound left wing who scored 21 goals and 25 assists in 40 games for the New Hampshire Junior Monarchs (who praise his work ethic on their website) in 2007-08 and has committed to the University of New Hampshire.

(8) Stefan Della Rovere (left wing) - selected with the 23rd pick in round seven, 204th overall.
Della Rovere is 5′10”, 196 pounds and had 171 penalty minutes and 14 fights in 68 fights for the Barrie Colts of the OHL last year, so I think it’d be fair to make a guess as to what type of player he is. It’s worth nothing, however, that Della Rovere does have some offensive talent though: he also had 32 points in 07-08.

Welcome to the Washington Capitals, gentlemen.

Well, the season’s over, so it’s only natural to look ahead to next year. In that spirit, here’s how some of the Capitals’ best prospects fared in 2007-08.

Karl Alzner (Defense, Calgary Hitmen, WHL)- The statistics for Alzner were impressive: 36 points in 60 regular season games, a +26 rating in the regular season and six goals in the 16 playoffs games the Hitmen played before being swept out of the playoffs in the WHL’s semi-final round. But Alzner’s talens go beyond what can represented via statistics: he captained both the WHL’s Eastern Conference Hitmen and the gold medal winning Canadian team at the World Juniors. Nothing is set in stone, but there’s a very good chance that Alzner could break camp with the Capitals next season.

Francois Bouchard (Right Wing, Hershey Bears, AHL) - Bouchard finished up his QMJHL career with Baie-Comeau Drakkar quite well, finishing eight in the ‘Q’ with 92 points and sixth in assists with 56, and has since joined the Bears for their playoff run. Although the Capitals are a little unsettled on the right wing after Viktor Kozlov and Chris Clark, the organization is likely going to want Bouchard to get at least one season of professional experience under his belt before they call him up for any extended period of time.

Chris Bourque (Right Wing/Left Wing, Hershey Bears, AHL) - Bourque had a solid season in 2007-08, highlighted by his NHL debut in Atlanta and a four goal night in Hershey. Like Bouchard, Bourque will probably get a look because the Capitals depth chart gets muddled on the wing after the first couple lines. Unlike Bouchard, Bourque has the attitude and experience to be a legitimate option as a depth player for the Capitals. His odds are probably largely dependent on whether or not Sergei Fedorov and Matt Cooke re-sign.

Joe Finley (Defense, North Dakota Fighting Sioux, WCHA) - In between a couple controversial incidents, Finley picked up 15 points (including four goals) for the Fighting Sioux while leading the team with a +24 rating. Finley hasn’t said whether or not he plans to forgo his final season at North Dakota and turn pro, but even if he does the towering defenseman is likely to need 50-100 games of NHL experience before he’s NHL ready.

Josh Godfrey (Defense, Hershey Bears) - The 2007 second rounder with the big shot lit the lamp 17 times this season for his OHL Sault Ste Marie Greyhounds, and scored 41 goals over his last two years in the league, a span of 128 games. Like Alzner, Godfrey was a member of Canada’s gold medal winning team at the World Juniors. It’s very unlikely Godfrey would make the Capitals out of camp, but it’s possible he could get a callup at some point in 2008-09, if for nothing other than to primarily man the point on the second powerplay unit.

Sami Lepisto (Defense, Hershey Bears, AHL) - Lepisto got his first taste of NHL action this year, playing in seven games for the Capitals. The callup was well deserved: Lepisto had four goals and 41 assists in 55 games for the Bears and his +29 rating led the Bears and was third in the AHL. Lepisto’s future depends in large part on Brian Pothier. If Pothier ends up having to retire due to his concussion-related issues, there’s a good chance the Capitals will keep Lepisto on their roster to fill his spot. If Pothier is able to come back, Lepisto still stands a very good chance at making the Caps, but it’s likely his playing time won’t be as significant.

Michal Neuvirth (Goalie, Oshawa General, OHL) - Neuvirth played for three OHL teams this season, compiling an aggregate 17-7-5 record with a 3.11 GAA and a .910 save percentage. Barring some unforeseen set of circumstances, Neuvirth will start next season in either South Carolina (ECHL) or Hershey (AHL).

Mathieu Perreault (Center, Hershey Bears) - Perreault led the QMJHL in points (114) and assists (80) in 2007-08. The 2006 sixth rounder joined the Bears at the end of their playoff run, playing three games without registering a point. With Nicklas Backstrom, Michael Nylander, David Steckel and Boyd Gordon already firmly entrenched in D.C. (along with the fact the Capitals probably want to see Perreault add some bulk to his 166 pound frame), Perreault will likely spend 2008-09 in Hershey.

Sasha Pokulok (Defense, South Carolina Stingrays, ECHL) - Pokulok hasn’t progressed the way the Capitals would have liked and he was sent down to South Carolina (ECHL) after 44 games with the Bears. Pokulok performed well in the East Coast League, notching six assists in five regular season games and four assists in ten playoff games. Still, questions remain about Pokulok’s durability and mobility. Pokulok will most likely start next year with Hershey.

Keith Seabrook (Defense, Calgary Hitmen, WHL) - Seabrook struggled through a disappointing season for the Hitmen in 2007-08, notching only four goals and 13 assists in 59 games. On the plus side, Seabrook was a +4 on the season, although that number might not be where Caps fans would want to see it either, considering that the regular season Eastern Conference winning Hitmen had 15 player with better ratings.

Semen Varlamov (Goalie, Lokomotiv Yaroslavl , RSL) - Varlamov gained a great deal of valuable experience this past season, playing in 44 games for his Russian team, going 27-15-0 and posting a 2.45 GAA.

I haven’t kept up the prospects update like I’d wanted to when I published the first one in November, but I still think it’s worth taking a look at how some of the Capitals’ top prospects are faring:

Karl Alzner (Defense, Calgary Hitmen, WHL)- many Caps fans probably already know that the 5th overall pick in last year’s draft was the captain of Canada’s gold medal winning World Juniors team. Alzner is playing his junior hockey for the Calgary Hitmen of the WHL and having an impressive season in just about every facet with 27 points (7 goals, 20 assists) in 41 games. Alzner is also +21 and has just 11 penalty minutes.

Francois Bouchard (Right Wing, Baie-Comeau Drakkar, QMJHL) - while not producing at quite as a prodigious rate as last season Bouchard is putting up good offense numbers with 71 points (26+45) in 52 games and looks poised to lead Baie-Comeau Drakkar in points for the third straight season.

Chris Bourque (Right Wing/Left Wing, Hershey Bears, AHL) - Bourque made his NHL debut this season, getting in three games without scoring a point. In Hershey (AHL), Bourque has 14 goals and 15 assists through 40 games.

Eric Fehr (Right Wing, Hershey Bears, AHL) - Fehr has made an impressively quick comeback from a back/hip injury that at one point looked to threaten his career. Though he’s only played nine games so far this season, picking up a goal and four assists, don’t be shocked to see Fehr in a Capitals uniform by season’s end.

Joe Finley (Defense, North Dakota Fighting Sioux, WCHA) - with two goals and eight assists in 25 games for the Fighting Sioux, Finley has actually exceeded offensive expectations (he had one goal and nine assists in 83 games in his collegiate career coming into 2007-08). Finley is a defensive defenseman however, and he has shined in his own end as - his whopping +19 rating is the highest on the North Dakota team.

Josh Godfrey (Defense, Sault Ste Marie Greyhounds, OHL) - Godfrey is shaping up to be a good draft pick for the Capitals. Thought to be a bit of reach in the secon round of last year’s draft Godfrey has had an impressive season this year, making the Canadian World Junior team and putting his 99 mile-per-hour shot to good use, racking up 15 goals and 21 assists in 41 games for the Greyhounds. Godfrey is also +16 and has 49 penalty minutes.

Michal Neuvirth (Goalie, Oshawa General, OHL) - Neuvirth has been traded twice already this season, first from the Plymouth Whalers to the Windsor Spitfires and then from Windsor to Oshawa, and has performed well at every stop. For the season, combined amongst all teams, Neuvirth is 13-5-2 with a 2.67 GAA and a .915 save percentage.

Mathieu Perreault (Center, Acadie-Bathurst Titans, QMJHL) - the Capitals’ scouting staff must have known something that no one else did because the team was able to nab Perreault in the sixth round of the 2006 draft, after a season which Perreault put up 52 points (18+34) in 62 games, and watch Perreault put up 119 (41+78) points in 67 games last season. This year Perreault has 69 points (24+45) in 43 games.

Sasha Pokulok (Defense, Hershey Bears, AHL) - Pokulok’s numbers this season aren’t particularly impressive (no goals, five assists, 35 PIMs, +6) but the fact that the big defenseman has been able to make it through the first 31 games of this season without a serious injury and shown some improvement is a good sign

Keith Seabrook (Defense, Calgary Hitmen, WHL) - Seabrook has found his stride somewhat but the 2006 second round pick still has just three goals and eight assists in 39 games for the Hitmen.

Semen Varlamov (Goalie, Lokomotiv Yaroslavl , RSL) - as with most players (and especially goalies) in the Russian Super League it was difficult to find statistics on Varlamov, but I was able to dig up that he is 23-10 and has a GAA of about 2.40.

The top story on hockeysfuture.com is about the Capitals goaltending prospects.

Capitals Goaltending Pipeline

I’m hoping to make this a regular feature where we take a look at the Caps best prospects and how they’re doing at their respective levels. This is far from being a comprehensive scouting report; I’m not a pro scout, not do I aspire to be be. Rather it’s just a way to keep keep Caps fans aware of what the future may hold.

Karl Alzner (D, Calgary Hitmen, WHL). The 5th overall pick in the 2007 draft has 11 points (3 goals, 8 assists) and is +10 through 19 games with the Hitmen. He has also been named the team’s captain. With what young defensemen like Jack Johnson and Erik Johnson have been able to do I’m hoping we could see Alzner in Washington as soon as 2008-09.

Francois Bouchard (RW, Baie-Comeau Drakkar, QMJHL) is doing his best to continue to tear up the Q. After posting 227 points over the last two seasons Bouchard has seven goals and fourteen assists in sixteen games for Baie-Comeau. Since the start of the 2005-06 season Bouchard has put up 85 goals and 163 assists (248 points) in 153 games. The knock on Bouchard is supposed to be his skating, and it may be suspect, but it’s hard to put up that many points in the Q without a lot of offensive skill.

Chris Bourque (C, Hershey Bears, AHL) is off to a solid start in Hershey, with three goals and two assists through the team’s first seven games.

Eric Fehr (RW, Capitals, IR) has racked up 47 goals over the last two years in Hershey but has missed all of this year with a back/hip injury. I’ve had trouble finding too much information on the nature of the injury but from what I can gather there’s a decent chance Fehr may be out for the season and his career may be in doubt.

Joe Finley (D, North Dakota Fighting Sioux, WCHA) is big (6′7”, 252), mean and physical (think of him as what Jeff Schultz could be if he were aware the NHL is not a non-checking league). He has three points (a goal and two helpers) through seven games with the Sioux this season, although he really is a stay-at-home defenseman. Finley is +3 so far on the year.

Michal Neuvirth (G, Plymouth Whalers, OHL) is off to a pretty good start for a team that isn’t supposed to be all that good this year. Neuvirth, who was drafted 34th overall in 2006 went 26-8-2 with a .932 save percentage this year. It could be tempting to chalk his success up to a strong Whalers team if it weren’t for Neuvirth’s .925 save percentage so far this season.

Keith Seabrook (D, Calgary Hitmen, WHL) is supposed to have a lot of offensive upside I’m told, but he has only one point (an assit) in eight games so far this year. On the defensive side he is -8.

Semen Varlamov (G, Lokomotiv Yaroslavl , RSL) is playing the Russian Superleague, where I believe he is the starting netminder for Lokomotiv Yaroslavl. I had trouble finding stats for the RSL but it looks like Varlamov was 15-7-6 with a 2.12 GAA last year and is 8-3-0 with a 2.41 GAA this year. An interesting scouting report can be found here which says his save percentage last year was “well above 90%”.