The Washington Capitals announced on Tuesday morning that they have recalled defenseman Alex Alexeyev from Hershey. Alexeyev was officially re-assigned to Hershey on October 28th for a conditioning stint after rehabbing from shoulder surgery he had back in June. His stint concluded on Sunday, requiring a move by the Capitals.
#Caps recall defenseman Alexander Alexeyev from conditioning loan. He remains on long-term injury list.
— CapitalsPR (@CapitalsPR) November 8, 2022
Alexeyev remains on the long-term injury list and off of the Capitals 23-man roster, so a corresponding move will not be required at this time. Alexeyev would have to clear waivers in order to return to Hershey or a roster spot would need to be made available if he were to play games for the Capitals.
The Capitals announced on June 18 that Alexeyev had undergone labral repair surgery on his left shoulder and was expected to miss 4-5 months. Alexeyev officially began his rehab assignment on October 28. He appeared in four games for the Bears during his rehab assignment.
Alexeyev, 22, was the Capitals first round draft pick (#31 overall) in the 2018 NHL Entry Draft. The 6’-4” left-handed defenseman signed a three-year entry-level contract on September 24, 2018 for $863,333 AAV. He will be a restricted free agent at the end of the 2022-23 season.
In 2021-22 for Hershey, the 6’4″, 210-pound defender appeared in 68 games, posting 19 points (1g, 18a). He also skated in three Calder Cup Playoff games for the Chocolate and White, tallying one assist. Over three seasons with Hershey, Alexeyev has scored 49 points (6g, 43a) in 138 career AHL games.
PAST INJURIES
Alexeyev has dealt with quite a few injuries in his career, but most of them have occurred while playing for the Red Deer Rebels in the Western Hockey League (WHL). Alexeyev sustained no less than eight injuries in 156 games played over the his three seasons with Red Deer.
The injuries ranged from moderate to severe, capping his WHL seasons at 41, 45 and 49 regular season games played (out of 72 regular season games in the WHL). That’s 45%, 33% and 28% of the games over the three seasons. (More on his WHL injuries here.)
Alexeyev has been much more resilient during his first three seasons in the AHL, playing 68 games during his rookie campaign, 12 games in the Covid-shortened 2020-21 season (he played a full season in the KHL prior to coming to Hershey for the finish of the season) and 58 games in the 2021-22 season.
Alex Alexeyev: 2022 Annual Review And Forecast
By Jon Sorensen
RELATED ARTICLES
“I’d Never Had Grilled Cheese Before”: Capitals 2018 First-Round Pick Alexander Alexeyev Talks First Professional Season, Life in America, Alex Ovechkin, and More
Staying Healthy Will Be Top Priority For Alexander Alexeyev: An Examination Of His Injuries Over The Past Three Seasons
Bears Down Thunderbirds 5-2; Alex Alexeyev, Axel Jonsson-Fjallby Score
Thunderbirds Cage Bears 5-2; Alex Alexeyev Scores Second Career AHL Goal
Capitals Prospects Weekend Update: Alex Alexeyev Scores First Professional Goal; Connor McMichael Rolls
Alexander Alexeyev Scores First Professional Goal on First Career Shift in Hershey Bears’ Game Against Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins
Capitals’ Defensive Prospect Alexander Alexeyev Reassigned To Hershey
Capitals’ Prospect Alexander Alexeyev Skates For First Time Since Suffering Upper-Body Injury In Prospect Tournament
Capitals’ Prospect Alex Alexeyev: “The Goal Is To Make The Team”
Capitals Prospect Alex Alexeyev Goes Down With Apparent Knee Injury
Capitals Sign Alexander Alexeyev To Three-Year Entry-Level Contract
Capitals Prospect Alexander Alexeyev Scores Twice Against Calgary Hitman
Capitals Prospect Alexander Alexeyev Named WHL Player Of The Week
Capitals Prospect Alexander Alexeyev Goes Down With Apparent Knee Injury
Capitals Prospect Alexeyev Makes Defenseman Fall Down, scores Goal For Team Russia
Tough spot. He’s not ready to play games for the Capitals or secure a starting role. He will likely need to clear waivers at some point in the near future.
I do not see him getting claimed now. He needs to play somewhere and NHL is not development league, especially for the Caps.
I would think they would have just waived him then, so he could keep playing games in Hershey, if they had no fear he wouldn’t be claimed.
Yep… he needs game action. I watched 2 of his 4 games with Hershey. His timing is off in most aspects (passing, skating, retrieving, hitting). I still believe he has a future in the NHL (and hopefully with the caps), but that time is not now. I suspect they will send him through waivers this week.
Agree. Watched all of them, as we do in order to track all prospects (Eric Lord and myself) Agree with your scouting report, and have nothing to add to what you’ve said.
We can’t give up Alexeev. Like Hall and Oates said, “I can’t go for that. No can do.”
Agree. It’s too early in the development process. I felt the same about Brett Leason and Axel. Still development time on the table, no ceiling has been accurately established.
hope they give this kid the necessary time and coaching to develop because he’s going to be good…
side question. we all loved last night’s game and result. any chance the Oilers just laid down last night so they could give their best effort vs the lightning on national tv? hmmm?
I don’t know about “laying down”, but they did go with their backup netminder, and saved their number 1 for tonight.
Sorry to see this happen as not only is he not ready but someone is going to have to go down that doesnt deserve it. IMHO the one going down will be CMM as he doesnt have to pass through waivers. Doing that allows AA to practice with the team but be a healthy scratch for a bit. I would expect him to start to see some playing time around sometime after Thanksgiving but before early Dec. Then all he gets for a bit is a game here and there.
.
I keep reading about how the healthy scratches don’t practice with the team but instead practice after the team has left the ice. Maybe I’m misunderstanding this but I have read it. If I’m right, those brought up from Hershey as spares not only miss out on game time but also miss out on team practice. Yes, they get time with Caps coaches, but they miss out on all team play.