Washington Capitals defenseman Martin Fehervary notched his fifth goal of the season in Thursday night’s 7-2 trouncing of the the Columbus Blue Jackets. In doing so he became just the 10th Capitals’ rookie defenseman to record five goals in a season in franchise history and the first since John Carlson recorded seven goals in the 2010-11 season.
Fehervary’s tally came early in the second period when he scooped up a loose puck on a two-on-0 breakaway and put it through the five-hole of Blue Jackets’ goaltender Juunos Korpisalo.
I. Am. Speed.
FEHERVARY MAKES IT 3-0 @Capitals!! pic.twitter.com/XQGsP7n3Yz
— NBC Sports Capitals (@NBCSCapitals) March 18, 2022
Fehervary has been a solid defender all season, but now his offensive game may be starting to emerge. “It’s very nice, obviously. Everyone likes to score the goals. It’s always nice when I score. I’m focused on my defensive game … (but) I’m trying to improve my offensive part and it feels always nice to score.”
Fehervary is a fairly humble 22-year-old, who has done a pretty good job of filtering out the noise and not getting too caught up in the bright lights of the NHL. He may understate his game, but Capitals’ head coach Peter Laviolette is happy to rave about his young defenseman.
“He’s played fantastic. He can shoot, he can skate, he can pass, and I think as you become older in the league and more of a veteran player, then you start to see the (offensive) numbers push that way,” said Laviolette following Thursday’s game.
”I don’t think it’s the first thing on his mind, he defends really well, he skates really well to defend, but he does have those gears to get the offense,” added Laviolette. “Defensively he’s been terrific, and you see every once in a while the offensive side of it as well, so that could be something that’s coming.”
That’s a raving review from Laviolette. Having heard nearly every one of his media sessions since he arrived in DC, it’s hard to recall a more glowing evaluation of a player by Laviolette.
As for Martin himself, he continues to take everything in stride. He was at a pretty low point last season when he was passed over for Zdeno Chara and sent back to Hershey for the season. To his credit he dealt with the disappointment and soldiered on.
Having followed Fehervary since his draft day, it’s really no surprise he’s achieved what he has so far at the NHL level. (Just check out our raving review of him back in 2019 for his level of play in the Swedish Hockey League playoffs). He doesn’t get a ton of press or media attention, and I think he’s just fine with that.
By Jon Sorensen
