As Braden Holtby gets closer to returning to action from his lower body injury, the Washington Capitals sent Pheonix Copley back to Hershey on Monday morning. Copley was brought up last week as goalie insurance before the Capitals three-game road trip kicked off in Detroit.
FROM THE CAPITALS MEDIA RELEASE
The Washington Capitals have re-assigned goaltender Pheonix Copley to the Hershey Bears of the American Hockey League (AHL), senior vice president and general manager Brian MacLellan announced today.
Copley, 26, has a 14-16-6 record with two shutouts, a 2.86 goals-against average and a .898 save percentage in 38 games with Hershey this season.
Copley posted a 26-11-3 record with one shutout, a 2.25 goals-against average and a .924 save percentage in 41 AHL games with the Chicago Wolves and Hershey Bears in 2016-17. The North Pole, Alaska, native ranked seventh in the AHL in goals-against average, tied for seventh in wins and tied for eighth in save percentage. In 142 career AHL games with Hershey and Chicago, Copley posted a 72-47-15 record with nine shutouts, a 2.53 goals-against average and a .914 save percentage. The 6’4″, 196-pound goaltender appeared in two career NHL games with the St. Louis Blues. Copley made his NHL debut on Feb. 27, 2016, at Nashville and made 24 saves in his first career NHL start on Jan. 21, 2017 at Winnipeg.
The Capitals acquired Copley from the St. Louis Blues on Feb. 27, 2017, along with defensemen Kevin Shattenkirk for Zach Sanford, Brad Malone and a first-round pick in the 2017 NHL Entry Draft. Washington re-signed Copley to a two-year contract on June 28, 2017.
By Michael Marzzacco
Pingback: News and Notes from Monday’s Capitals Morning Skate at MSG: Update on Braden Holtby and a Chance at a Career-High for Philipp Grubauer | NoVa Caps