The Washington Capitals released their roster for tomorrow night’s preseason opener against the Boston Bruins at Capital One Arena. (5 PM ET, NBC Sports Washington locally, NHL Network nationally). Since 2011-12, the Capitals are 18-5-4 at home in preseason games.
As expected, tomorrow night’s preseason opener will feature a number of key prospects in the Capitals lineup. Connor McMichael, Hendrix Lapierre, Garret Pilon, Beck Malenstyn, Brett Leason, Brian Pinho, Riley Sutter, Joe Snively, Dylan McIlrath, Martin Fehervary and Martin Has will all suit up for tomorrow nights game.

Connor McMichael will appear in the Capitals’ first preseason game this season after appearing in two preseason games in 2019-20, where he recorded an assist. “I was fortunate enough to get a game [with the Caps] last year, and then obviously able to play in Hershey a year earlier,” says McMichael. “I think it benefited me a lot, and it’s made me feel more comfortable in this camp with the same goal of trying to crack the lineup.”

Hendrix Lapierre will make his debut for the Capitals. He was drafted 22nd overall in the 2020 NHL Draft. In the 2020-21 season, Lapierre ranked eighth in the QMJHL in points per game (1.48), recording 31 points (8g, 23a) in 21 games with Chicoutimi. Lapierre led Chicoutimi in assists and ranked second on the team in points.

In total, 12 players selected by Washington in the NHL draft are in the lineup for Washington on Sunday.

NHL rules state that teams must dress a minimum of eight “veterans” for each preseason game, but the League’s definition of a “veteran” is quite generous at this time of year. Any forward or defenseman who played in 30 or more NHL games in the previous season qualifies, as does any goaltender who dressed for 50 or more or played in 30 or more games in the previous season.

Additionally, a first-round draft choice from the most recent NHL Draft qualifies as a “vet” for the purposes of preseason roster building, as does any player with 100 or more career games. These standards include playoff games. For this autumn, those numbers have been prorated to last season’ 56-game slate, so players who played in 20 or more games and goalies who dressed for 34 or more games will qualify as vets during the 2021 preseason.

Capitals’ head coach Peter Laviollete discussed his general plan for players playing in the six preseason games in his post-practice media availability on Saturday.

Head coach Peter Laviolette discusses his plans for tomorrow night’s preseason opener and more at training camp. #ALLCAPS | @socios pic.twitter.com/UU6KgxxgiZ

— Washington Capitals (@Capitals) September 25, 2021

Capitals game notes are here.

The Capitals current full training camp roster as of today, September 26.

The Capitals next preseason game is Wednesday night when they host the New Jersey Devils at Capital One Arena. Puck drop is set for 7:00 PM.

By Jon Sorensen