Capitals forward Cody Eakin is just 20 years old. But he is far from a typical NHL rookie. After a solid first month in the minors with Hershey of the American Hockey League, Eakin was promoted to Washington last week and hasn’t looked out of place with a goal and two assists. Eakin has appeared in three games — all on the second line, where his speed has been a natural fit next to center Marcus Johansson. He certainly has the pedigree. Eakin was a junior hockey star in Canada the last two seasons and played on his sport’s biggest stages: the world juniors tournament last winter with Team Canada against the best under-20 international players in the world and the Memorial Cup tournament last spring, in which the top four Canadian junior teams play for a championship. Eakin was even part of a blockbuster trade last winter when Swift Current dealt him to Kootenay for five players and three draft picks.
After all that, the jump to the NHL hasn’t fazed him. Eakin looked calm and collected against Carolina last Friday when he had a two-on-one with teammate Alexander Semin, one of the world’s most-gifted offensive players. Maybe most rookies would have given the puck back. Instead, Eakin saw he had space and wristed a shot past goalie Cam Ward for his first NHL goal. It was a sign that Eakin is already comfortable at this level.
“What normally would have happened is I probably would have overthought it and tried to force a pass,” Eakin said. “That still happens in practice. But I kind of didn’t really think about anything. Going back on it, I barely remember it.”
– Brian McNally
