One To Watch: Washington Capitals

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The Capitals only had one rookie contribute much at the NHL level last season and that was 25 games from defenceman Tomas Kundratek. The former Medicine Hat Tiger was originally drafted by the New York Rangers but has worn a Caps jersey for all 30 NHL games that he has appeared in. 

Yevgeni Kuznetsov is the top prospect for the Washington Capitals but he's spending another season in the KHL before coming over to this side of the Atlantic. 

There are a number of other quality guys in the system, Tom Wilson and Madison Bowey immediately come to mind, but the franchise isn't as deep as it was a decade ago. That's probably a good thing because it should mean that there is more NHL success so they are drafting later than they had been.

2012 Choice: Braden Holtby - The former Saskatoon Blades keeper established himself as the new starter for the Caps with a strong lockout shortened season. His 23 wins were one off the league high although he managed the total playing far fewer games than the trio of goalies with 24 wins. Holtby is still young but a strong start to the year would make him a viable consideration for the 2014 Canadian Olympic team.

My 2013-14 One To Watch pick for the Capitals comes after the jump. 

One To Watch: Boston Bruins

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The only downside to being a prospect of the Boston Bruins might be that you're a prospect of the Boston Bruins. The 2011 Stanley Cup champions are still very deep and any hole that the NHL roster might have because of injuries to Marc Savard and Nathan Horton, there's a line up of guys waiting for their shot. 

I was going to go a bit off the map and spotlight goaltender Zane Gothberg because I think he is an interesting story heading into this year. Here's a guy who was drafted back in 2010 and has been patiently playing in Fargo of the USHL since then. I say patiently because he's been waiting for North Dakota goalies Brad Eidsness or Aaron Dell to either turn pro or graduate, the latter finally happening for Eidsness. Gothberg joins UND this year, and I'll be watching to see how much he gets to play. 

But I didn't stick with Gothberg and those who frequent this blog or listen to the show won't be shocked at all by the Bruins prospect I have latched on to. 

One To Watch: Dallas Stars

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It's not as much the Big 'R' in Big 'D' as the Dallas Stars are reloading as opposed to rebuilding. I guess those both star with 'R' but the point is that while the organization is welcoming an influx of youth it's also adding some veterans to the mix too. 

Netminder Jack Campbell will begin his rookie season as a professional although I expect, and I could be wrong, that he's probably destined for the Texas Stars for the year.

Newly acquired Cody Eakin is a personal favourite and a guy i think will become a crowd pleaser because of his tenacious style. He and former Edmonton Oil King Tomas Vincour should be full time NHLers this season. 

It's a big year for power forward and 2009 8th overall pick Scott Glennie and also for defenceman Brendan Dillon. Both were rookies last year in the AHL and will look to see some NHL action. 

My choice for this series came down to three collegians. Austin Smith was a Hobey Baker nominee in his fourth and final season at Colgate. The Texas native has the local-boy-made-good story behind him but with 36 goals and 57 points in 39 games, I'm very curious to see how he fits in as a pro. 

Alex Chiasson at 6'4 and 190 lbs has NHL size. He racked up 80 points in 73 games at Boston University over the past two seasons so the offence is also there. In 9 games on the farm he chipped in 5 points, just wetting the appetite of fans for next year. 

A lot of worthy candidates above and several others that I didn't mention but in the end I went with the other big name rookie from college. 

One To Watch: San Jose Sharks

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Does San Jose really have the shallowest prospect pool? Well known prospects website Hockey's Future ranks the Sharks dead last in their most recent organizational rankings but I'm not so sure. Obviously only picking in the 1st round twice in the last five NHL drafts will have predictable results but I think the Sharks have done a rather good job in another way. 

San Jose has signed a lot of free agents in the last few years, guys out of college or undrafted juniors. Thomas Heemskerk and J.P. Anderson are goalies acquired in that way and Travis Oleksuk is a recent example of a forward. Oleksuk played for Duluth and helped the Bulldogs win a National championship in 2011 alongside another Sharks free agent signee, Mike Connolly, who has since been traded. 

Picking late makes it harder but not impossible and the Sharks have some solid guys in their system including Freddie Hamilton, Taylor Doherty, Matt Nieto and Nick Petrecki. 

So who have I set my sights on for 2012-13? A guy I that think is going to make some noise this year both with his club team and while playing for his country.

Czarnik Making Big Impact for USA

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He's not a big guy but Austin Czarnik is playing a big role for USA at the 2012 World Junior Championship. Yesterday in Edmonton the diminutive forward played alongside a pair of high caliber Golden Gophers and didn't look out of place one bit. In fact, one could argue that it was the 5'8 Miami RedHawk that was the catalyst on the line.

I chatted with Czarnik after the game.