Capitals Prospect Profile: Cameron Schilling
Cameron Schilling, despite the current logjam the Capitals have at the blue line, could wind up helping the Capitals this year. Photo courtesy of Andrew Harnik of The Washington Times.
I’ve started off this series with 2 forwards, so I figured I’d mix things up and do a defenseman. Cameron Schilling came into Caps Development Camp an unknown, and emerged as the camp’s biggest surprise. Had it not been for Forsberg’s extremely impressive showing, I’d say he was the best player in the camp. Schilling was signed as an undrafted college free agent last fall.
PLAYING CAREER: Schilling played NCAA Hockey at the University of Miami (Ohio). Here are his stats from his playing career with Miami Ohio:
CAREER STATS (As of March 26, 2012) OFFENSE GP G A Pts Shots Shot% Pen-Min +/- PPG SHG GWG 2008................ 25 0 7 7 41 .000 16-43 +4 0 0 0 2009................ 42 4 16 20 75 .053 21-58 +19 2 0 1 2010................ 38 3 14 17 69 .043 17-34 +19 1 0 0 2011................ 39 1 13 14 70 .014 10-20 +13 0 0 0 TOTAL............... 144 8 50 58 255 .031 64-155 +55 3 0 1
Schilling made an immediate impact on the Hershey Bears, as he served as a top-line defenseman during his brief tenure in Hershey last season. He even scored 2 goals in 4 playoff games.
PLAYING STYLE: Schilling is a shutdown defenseman. He won’t bring much to the table as far as offense goes, but his defense is extremely good. Great positioning, not afraid to be physical, and a huge help on the PK.
STRENGTHS: Very sound defensively. Can be relied on to not make mistakes. Great awareness. Deceptively fast, particularly while in pursuit. Very disciplined.
WEAKNESSES: While he won’t make any mistakes, he also won’t take any risks. He’s conservative almost to a fault. He won’t bring anything to the table on offense. He’s not a liability, just don’t expect him to score.
PLAYER WHO HE REMINDS ME OF: Karl Alzner. Reliable stay-at-home defenseman. Won’t make the siren go off, but will keep it from going off with his defense. Also a very nice and approachable guy, just like Alzner.
ETA: 2012-2013, but I’d like him to stay a year in Hershey to see if his offense can develop. He could definitely help the Capitals out this year though. And he will have the opportunity to, because he has been extended an invitation to Capitals Training Camp.
