Next up in our Washington Capitals annual prospect review and forecast series is Martin “Hugo” Has, defenseman for the South Carolina Stingrays in the ECHL. (You can access all of our Capitals Prospect Reports and player analysis on our “Prospects” page right here.)
VITALS
Has, a 6′-4″, right-handed defenseman from the Czech Republic, was selected 153rd overall in the fifth round of the 2019 NHL draft by the Capitals (Capitals traded up to get Has). The 22 year-old went unsigned by the Capitals in 2022 but signed a one-year deal with the Hershey Bears on October 8, 2022.
CAREER SUMMARY
A big two-way defenseman, Has spent 2014-2017 with the HC Sparta Praha program, appearing in 88 games, collecting 15 goals and 24 assists, all while often competing against players two and three years older than him. For the next two seasons, Has played with the Tappara U20 team in the Finnish Ice Hockey Association, playing in 84 games and registering 32 points.
After a strong 2018-2019 season with Tappara U20, Has headed to Vancouver for the 2019 NHL Draft. While travelling out west, he ran into a slight problem.
“I was there for the draft in Vancouver, but I didn’t get my luggage, so I had to borrow a suit; it was small because I am a tall guy,” Has said, chuckling.
Appropriately dressed for the occasion, he waited until the fifth round when finally, the Washington Capitals called his name and made him an NHL prospect with the 153rd selection.
The 2019-2020 season was a whirlwind for Has. After being selected 153rd overall in the fifth round of the 2019 NHL draft by the Capitals, Has was then selected by the OHL’s North Bay Battalion in the first round (23rd overall) of the 2019 CHL Import Draft. (Clubs in the OHL are permitted two imported players on their roster). Has was one of just 12 players selected by CHL teams, that were already drafted by NHL organizations.
Has began the 2019-2020 season with the Tappara U20 team, scoring a goal in two games, but was subsequently called up to Liiga with Tappara for five games. Has had a goal and an assist before being loaned to Koovee in the Finnish Mestis League where he played in 13 games, registered a goal, and was +4.
Has then left Koovee for the World Junior tournament where he played on the Czech Republic’s top defensive pairing, recording a goal and three points in five games. Following the World Junior Championship, has was loaned by the Capitals to the North Bay Battalion, where he played one game before being traded to the Guelph Storm.
His time with the Storm lasted just twenty games before the league shut down due to the pandemic, but it was valuable time for learning the differences between European and North American ice.
“I had to get used to the smaller rink and the more physical game,” said Has. “The game is much more physical in North America; in Finland, there were a lot of tactics, here it is more about playing hockey.”
The 2020-21 season was relatively quiet for Has. Because of the pandemic, he would play in just nine games for the calendar year. He reported to the Team Czech Republic U20 training camp in late November and played in five games in the 2021 World Junior Championship. Prior to reporting to his national team he played four games for HC Benatky nad Jizerou in the second tier Czech league.
Has played a full season in 2021-22, including 57 regular season games and 16 postseason games for Shawinigan Cataractes in the QMJHL. Has played the entire season on the right side of Shawinigan’s top defensive pairing. Offensively, he recorded 8 goals and 12 assists in the 57 games played,
Has and Shawinigan would ultimately win the QMJHL title on June 11. He recorded two goals and four assists in 16 postseason games.
Has went unsigned by the Capitals before their rights expired, but the Hershey ears inked him to a deal just before the start,of the 2022-23 season. Has had a strong start to the season, but was in and out of the lineup on occasion in the second half of the season. Has had three goals and nine assists and was a plus-3 in 50 games played for the Rays. Has played in four of the Stingrays’ five postseason games, recording two assists in four shots and was an even plus/minus.
2022-2023 MONTH-BY-MONTH RECAP AND TREND ANALYSIS
The following is a compilation of our month-by-month prospect reports for Martin Has during the 2022-2023 season. Also included are his monthly scores (0-5, with 2.5 being average). You can find all of our monthly prospect reports on our “Prospects” page in the top menu.
OCTOBER
Has Suffered an injury in the first period of the first preseason game against the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins on October 5, and would not play again in the preseason.
According to Bears radio, Martin Has has not been on the ice since the first period. Potentially dealing with an injury. #HBH #ALLCAPS
— Capitals Prospects (@jon_m_sorensen) October 5, 2022
Hershey re-assigned Has to South Carolina on October 26. The move was made to get him playing time. The former Shawinigan Cataracte suited up in a single game with the Stingrays, and made an immediate impact, offensively. Has scored the first goal of the game for South Carolina in the second period at Greenville.
MARTIN HAŠ, WELCOME TO THE RAYS 👊 pic.twitter.com/O7l9c3zDKK
— SC Stingrays (@SCStingrays) October 30, 2022
He was a minus one in that game, but the Stingrays lost the game 9-3 and there were players who were -3 and -4 in the contest. Has will stay in the ECHL for now to gain experience. He could see time with the Bears later in the season.
Monthly Score: 3.0
NOVEMBER
Has was scoreless in eight games with South Carolina in the month. He has been seeing time on the top defensive pair with Chaz Reddekop. Has was had an even plus/minus rating for November.
Monthly Score: 3.0
DECEMBER
Has received his first recall to the AHL, but did not get into a game when he was in Hershey and was then sent back down to South Carolina.
The Czech defender has three points on the season and has appeared in 19 games. Has is more of a stay-at-home defenseman. On some nights, he plays on the top defensive pairing and on others, he is on the second pairing.
Monthly Score: 3.0
JANUARY
Has entered January with three points on the season. He surpassed that total in the first month of 2023. The rookie blue liner compiled four points in January. Has potted an even strength goal on January 20 at Jacksonville.
The Czech born defender then notched a two-point game against Atlanta on January 21. In that game, he picked up secondary helpers on Carter Turnbull’s second period marker and Alexandre Fortin’s third period tally. Has added a primary helper on Bear Hughes second period goal against Jacksonville on January 2. Defensively, the Praha, Czechia native plays in the top four every night.
Monthly Score: 3.0
FEBRUARY
The Czech defenseman spent much of February on South Carolina’s second defensive pairing and saw time on the penalty kill. He was also a healthy scratch in several games.
Has netted an even strength goal in the third period against Greenville on February 10. The marker was the third tally of the season for him. The former Shawinigan Cataracte also earned the primary assist on Jackson Leppard’s first period goal in Atlanta on February 14. Has has six assists on the campaign.
Monthly Score: 2.5
MARCH
Has has been out of the Stingrays lineup for most of the Month of March. It’s unclear if he is dealing with an injury, or simply a healthy scratch. When in the lineup, Has was floated around the defensive pairings playing on all three pairs.
Has has played in 41 games this season for the Stingrays, recording three goals and eight assists.
Monthly Score: 2.0
APRIL
Has had three goals and nine assists and was a plus-3 in 50 games played for the Rays. Has played in four of the Stingrays’ five postseason games, recording two assists in four shots and was an even plus/minus.
Monthly Score: 2.5
MONTHLY SCORE SUMMARY
PLAYER FORECAST
The Capitals organization is once again faced with a decision regarding Has. Do they ink him to another one-year deal with Hershey?
One glance at his Elite Prospects table (above) and you can easily see that Has has a lot of valuable hockey experience under his belt, all by the age of 22. And his 22 years includes one full season away from the game because of Covid.
Has should get another year to try and work his way on to the Bears roster. He has the perfect physical frame for a defensive defenseman and is a solid defenseman who can be trusted with shutdown pair minutes. He will never score a ton of points, that’s not his game.
By Jon Sorensen
RELATED READING
Martin Hugo Has Interview For CHL
Capitals Get Martin Has With 153rd Overall Pick
Martin Hugo Has Records Three Points In Czech Republic’s 4-3 Loss To Germany At World Juniors
Garrett Pilon Has Three-Goal Weekend; Aliaksei Protas Returns To WHL; Connor McMichael, Martin Hugo Has Score At World Juniors: Week 15 Prospect Report
Capitals’ Defensive Prospect Martin Hugo Has Officially Transfers To OHL’s North Bay Battalion
Capitals Defensive Prospect Martin Hugo Has Traded to OHL Guelph Storm
2022-2023 Prospect Reviews And Forecasts
Ryan Chesley
Joaquim Lemay
Mitchell Gibson
Ivan Miroshnichenko
Chase Clark
Brent Johnson
David Gucciardi
Oskar Magnusson
Jake Karabela
Ludwig Persson
Clay Stevenson
Bear Hughes
Haakon Hanelt
Benton Maass
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Thanks for the review of Mr. Has. The parent club is short on king-size defensive D-men, and we hope to see Mr. Has in a Hershey uniform soon
NHL Playoffs quick note: Brind’Amour’s guys looked pretty unstoppable for two games vs. NJD. They were MUCH more mortal today and took a shellacking, even with three shorthanded goals.
Lindy Ruff never gets too worked up into a lather during games. I think his calmness helps younger players. I also enjoyed the heck out of Jack Hughes dropping mitts and engaging a much larger CAR player in some pugilism. It’s the Playoffs!
Has has been a real puzzle. Something is not right because he has been in and out of the lineup too often. And although I do hear his name while watching the games he’s in, it is nowhere near the times I hear Maass.
Good insight, Fyre. Agree on the stats. They become more of a mystery the AHL and ECHL, so your gut is often the best metric. Greatly appreciate your thoughts and insight on ECHL prospects.
More on NHL playoffs:
Professional athletes who “diss” the system at the beginning, rather than the end, of their careers tend to evoke strong emotion from the Fan Base. Eric Lindros, John Elway, Hawk Harrelson, Jimmy Vesey come to mind. There are many others. The “case” can be very complex, each individual case usually has merits on both sides.
One such individual was on display in the CAR vs. NJD series. This individual went to a lot of trouble, a few years back, to tell his former employer (Montreal Canadiens) where to stick it, such that he might move on to a better place, possibly more lucrative. But last game, last night, all the fans could see was Minus-four. I notice that the gentlemen gets hit a little harder, every time he plays in his former arena. The fans boo a little louder. Jesperi Kotkaniemi. That’s him.