After selecting winger Terik Parascak with the 17th overall pick in the first round of the 2024 NHL Entry Draft on Friday, the Washington Capitals ended Day 2 with more action and more new prospects in the pipeline. They picked a total of seven players in the draft this time around. Here is a bit of a recap of what went down for Washington.
Morning Trade with Buffalo
The Capitals made a trade Saturday morning by sending winger and current restricted free agent Beck Malenstyn to the Buffalo Sabres in exchange for a second-round pick (43rd overall). With the pick they got from the Sabres, they drafted defender Cole Hutson from the United States National Team Development Program (USNTDP) in the United States Hockey League (USHL). During his time with the USNTDP, he produced the following numbers:
- 2022-23 U.S. National U17 Team (NTDP): eight goals and 34 assists for 42 points in 42 games
- 2022-23 U.S. National U18 Team (NTDP): two goals and 24 assists for 26 points in 19 games
- 2022-23: USNTDP Juniors (USHL): four goals and 21 assists for 25 points in 32 games
- 2023-24 U.S. National U18 Team (NTDP): 15 goals and 36 assists for 51 points in 51 games
- 2023-24 USNTDP Juniors (USHL): three goals and nine assists for 12 points in 19 games
Hutson will be heading to Boston University for 2024-25, a program that has played a role in the success of other NHL blueliners like Charlie McAvoy, Kevin Shattenkirk, and Dante Fabbro. His brother Lane, who is a defender in the Montreal Canadiens system, also is an alum of B.U. Hutson will continue to develop his craft and time will tell how long he plays there before coming to the Capitals or going to the American Hockey League (AHL).
As for Malenstyn, he heads to Buffalo having appeared in 105 games for Washington. He produced eight goals and 16 assists for 24 points during that time.
Getting a Goalie from Vegas
Another transaction Washington made was acquiring goalie Logan Thompson from the Vegas Golden Knights in exchange for a 2024 third-round pick and a 2025 third-round pick. He played for the Golden Knights for parts of the last four seasons. He debuted in one game for them back in the 2020-21 campaign. Thompson then played significantly more in 2021-22 when he played in 19 games and posted a record of 10-5-3 with a save percentage (SV%) of .914, a goals-against average (GAA) of 2.68 and one shutout. Overall, during his time in Vegas, he finished his career there with an overall record of 56-32-11 with a SV% of .912, a GAA of 2.67…
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