Photo: Guelph Storm
On day two of the 2023 NHL Entry Draft, the Capitals selected forward Andrew Cristall in the second round (40th overall) and center Patrick Thomas in the fourth round (104th overall). The Capitals next added their first defenseman of the draft, Cameron Allen, in the fifth round (136th overall).
“The Capitals got a real steal here.” #CapsDraft | @MedStarHealth pic.twitter.com/5hRqV02sil
— Washington Capitals (@Capitals) June 29, 2023
Allen posted five goals and 20 assists in 62 regular season games last season for the Guelph Storm of the Ontario Hockey League (OHL). He added an assist in six postseason games.
Allen was the 2021-22 recipient of the Emms Family Award, handed out annually to the OHL’s Rookie of the Year.
“Cameron has had an outstanding first year in the OHL,” said Storm Head Coach and General Manager George Burnett in 2022. “He has played important minutes in all situations for our club this season and has done so with great success. We look forward to Cameron continuing to lead the way for the Storm in the future.”
While many evaluators had Allen initially slated as a first rounder at the start of the 2022-23 season, Allen’s sophomore campaign did not go as well as his rookie season, causing him to drop to the fifth round. He believes his issues are mostly mental in nature, and he is working to address them.
“I struggled a bit with consistency this season. It’s a big mental thing for me, but something that I’ve continuously worked on and look forward to working on more. It’s going to be something that can really help me round out my game and have a consistent performance every night. [Mike Vogel]
OTHER TAKES
Allen entered the season as a potential first-round pick, but seemed to struggle despite good athletic tools and smooth skating ability. I feel like he can find a way to get it back, but defensive miscues and poor decisions with the puck on too many occasions gave me pause about his ability to handle NHL pressure. Still, it’s hard to ignore the flashes that he shows of some high-end capabilities.
“He’s a pro-built, strong-on-his-skates defenceman who was still named captain of Team Canada at U18 Worlds but really struggled throughout the year with his decision making on and off the puck. With it, he tends to cough it up a lot and can look like he’s not processing the paths of opposing players with the proper speed.”
“Allen is a strong skater who can stay with quicker forwards and skate pucks up the ice. Allen is average-sized, but competes quite hard. He has a lot of physicality in his game, and gives a good effort every night.”
“The valleys still included plenty of compete, sound pace and physical push back, but they also included poor read/react and puck management. Leans two-way ‘D’ whose best shift is intriguing, but needs to reduce the number of turnovers and ranging detail overall. Risk/reward draft target.”
RANKINGS
Ranked #73 by CONSOLIDATED RANKING
Ranked #76 by ELITEPROSPECTS.COM
Ranked #67 by FCHOCKEY
Ranked #80 by FLOHOCKEY/CHRIS PETERS
Ranked #70 by DAILY FACEOFF
Ranked #48 by THE HOCKEY NEWS
Ranked #76 by TSN/BOB McKENZIE
Ranked #68 by MCKEEN’S HOCKEY
Ranked #96 by TSN/CRAIG BUTTON
Ranked #46 by NHL CENTRAL SCOUTING (NA Skaters)
Ranked #77 by HPR/SHANE MALLOY
Ranked #91 by RECRUIT SCOUTING
Ranked #58 by DOBBERPROSPECTS
Ranked #44 by DRAFT PROSPECTS HOCKEY
Ranked #99 by SMAHT SCOUTING
In addition to the 8th, 40th, 104th pick, and the 136th pick, the Capitals close-out the 2023 NHL Entry Draft with the 200th overall pick (seventh round).
By Jon Sorensen
2023 NHL Entry Draft
Capitals Select Ryan Leonard With The 8th Overall Pick In The 2023 NHL Entry Draft
Deep Dive On Ryan Leonard – Capitals First Round Pick In The 2023 NHL Entry Draft
Capitals Select Andrew Cristall In The Second Round Of The 2023 NHL Entry Draft
Capitals Select Patrick Thomas In The Fourth Round Of The 2023 NHL Entry Draft
Capitals Select Cameron Allen In The Fifth Round Of The 2023 NHL Entry Draft
Capitals Select Brett Hyland In The Seventh Round Of The 2023 NHL Entry Draft
Capitals Trade 7th Round Draft Picks With San Jose Sharks, Select Goaltender Antoine Keller
Early analysis: An excellent draft class for the Caps. Particularly excited about Leonard, Cristall and Cameron Allen.
As a 45+ year Caps’ fan I frequently harken back to 1999 and that fateful draft. Caps fans were still smarting from their team being manhandled by DET in the Stanley Cup Finals Spring 1998. The following summer, the still-loaded Red Wings selected Henrik Zetterberg in Round Seven at the 210-pick position. We don’t even WANT to mention the collection of never-weres from the Caps’ draft that year – including the Caps’ Number-seven overall pick (a trivial trivia question!). Or the several major NHL superstars that the Caps and many other teams chose while overlooking future Hall of Famer Zetterberg
I was at Game 3 when Tikkenan missed the empty net. Would have been 2-1 with another game at USAir. Who knows what would have happened. But Wings were loaded that year.
Such a dichotomy. Rookie of the year and then he bottoms out. Hopefully they can get him help, he could be a diamond in the rough
Reminds me of Andre Burakovsky. Unfortunately caps couldn’t help him through his mental hurdles.