The Washington Capitals haven’t been playing their best hockey to start out the 2023-24 season, but they’ve been playing well enough to be over a .500 win percentage up until this point. With strong performances at both ends of the ice from unexpected players such as Matthew Phillips, Beck Malenstyn, and Anthony Mantha, the Caps have been doing quite well but will need to step it up if they want this nice run to continue throughout the season. Looking at the prospect pool the team has now though, it’s clear the team has been focused on both the future and the present with their drafting and transactions over the past three seasons.
One of those players they have been working with and hoping he takes a step up this season is forward Ivan Miroshnichenko. He came super close to making the opening night roster but ultimately was sent down to the Hershey Bears of the American Hockey League (AHL) to start the season. Since then, he has found his confidence both offensively and defensively. If he is able to continue his strong start and carry that momentum throughout the season, he could become a full-time Capital as early as next season.
Miroshnichenko’s Hot Start
The Capitals drafted Miroshnichenko in the first round of the 2020 NHL Entry Draft and had really high hopes for his future. He continued to impress after being drafted with strong back-to-back seasons in the VHL and MHL overseas in his home country of Russia. During the 2022-23 season, he played his first season of professional hockey when he suited up for 23 games with Avangard Omsk in the Kontinental Hockey League (KHL) scoring three goals and adding one assist for four points. The Capitals hoped he could transfer his style of play to North America, and he’s begun to do just that.
Miroshnichenko has two goals and four assists for six points through his first 11 games this season with the Bears, which places him 8th on the team in points and tied for 5th in assists. While the Capitals never had the expectation for him to explode and lead the team in points, they wanted him to find his confidence offensively and produce, and he’s been doing exactly that. On the defensive end, he has played soundly and hasn’t made too many mistakes. He continues to fine-tune his game and shows improvements every game. If he keeps up this play, he may even earn a call-up this season.
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The Capitals had low expectations entering the 2023-24 season, so if they’re unable to maintain this hot start, they could consider bringing up Miroshnichenko late in the season so he can get a feel for the game at the NHL level. With that, the team could see how he reacts to making the jump.
Miroshnichenko’s Future In The NHL
Miroshnichenko is a beast. There is no doubt about it. He will get to the NHL level and play with the Capitals. That is a guarantee. The only question is when he’ll get his chance to shine. The Capitals are smart and not rushing his development, allowing him to get better at every little thing he needs to improve on, which includes his skating, awareness, and physical play. While things need to be worked on, he’s still very close to becoming an NHL forward, and he’s on pace to do it much faster than many expected.
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The Capitals are back in action tonight (Nov. 11) against the New York Islanders and are coming off of a huge win against the New Jersey Devils, where they took them down 4-2. The Caps are hoping to start a little winning streak and continue riding this wave of momentum they’re on to start the season.
