Caps and Bears rosters shaping up
The Washington Capitals’ season-opener is less than a week away and the deadline to submit a roster is 5 p.m Tuesday. A training camp roster that was 65 players long at one point has been slimed down to 26
It seems likely that Washington will go with a 22-man roster that has one extra forward and one extra defenseman. Only the goaltending tandem is firmly set with Braden Holtby and backup Philipp Grubauer.
9 players remain in camp battling for six available roster spots. The Capitals have a tough task in hand. The breakdown of the roster bubble is as follows:
Defensemen: Madison Bowey, Christian Djoos, Aaron Ness
Forwards: Alex Chiasson, Tyler Graovac, Devante Smith-Pelly, Chandler Stephenson, Jakub Vrana, Nathan Walker
With that in mind the Hershey Bears had to make some roster moves as well. The following players have been re-assigned to Washington’s ECHL affiliate, the South Carolina Stingrays: Dylan Margonari (F), Tim McGauley (F), Kelly Zajac (F), Paul Geiger (D) and Tommy Hughes (D).
These players have been released from tryout agreements and will report to their respective ECHL clubs: Taylor Cammarata (F), Andrew Cherniwchan (F), Stephen Collins (F), Frankie Simonelli (D), and Dylan Wells (G).
All preseason games have been completed. What cuts will come next? Will Aussie Nathan Walker be the first Australian to ever play in the NHL? Which of the two defenseman get sent back to Hershey? There are some big cuts left to go. Hershey’s roster will be bolstered in one way or another. Stay tuned as we wait word of the final cuts. Get ready Hockey fans…the real deal is coming soon!
Matt Bachota “Perched on the ice” presented by “Perched on the MD Sports Blog”
