He is still just 19 years old, a teenager who in the last 12 months was selected in the first round of the NHL draft, participated in an NHL training camp, played a full season of junior hockey in Canada and then spent a grueling first six weeks as a professional helping his team win an AHL championship.
But Capitals prospect John Carlson is ready for more. The 6-foot-2, 218-pound defenseman will go into training camp in September hopeful of cracking the final 23-man roster with Washington. Even if he doesn’t, the organization believes it has a potential star on its hands — one who at the very least should make his NHL debut next season.
“I definitely have a lot of work to do. But I don’t think it’s out of the question, either,” Carlson said on Tuesday while participating in the Caps’ week-long rookie development camp at Kettler Capitals Iceplex in Arlington. “Last year I came into [NHL camp] wanting to make the team and I think that’s the only way you can look at it. I’m going to do the same thing this year.”
Three of the Caps’ defensemen — Milan Jurcina, Jeff Schultz and Shaone Morrisonn — are restricted free agents. Jurcina has taken the team to arbitration while the other two must sign qualifying offers by Wednesday’s 4 p.m. deadline. Carlson’s fellow defenseman, Karl Alzner, 20, is expected to be ready for full-time NHL duty next season. So spots are limited and competition for them fierce.
“He’s got an outside shot,” said Caps coach Bruce Boudreau, who lauded the way Carlson decisively moves the puck and closes gaps defensively. But his size also allows him to take opposing forwards out of a play and Carlson has an edge to his game that’s NHL quality.
It doesn’t hurt that Carlson played significant minutes in the AHL playoffs for the Hershey Bears — Washington’s top minor-league affiliate. By the end of Hershey’s run to the Calder Cup championship in June, Carlson had earned the trust of coach Bob Woods — now a Caps assistant — and pushed his way into the second defensive pairing.
“I didn’t know what to expect going in and then I kind of got thrown in the fire,” Carlson said. “It took me a little while to get used to it. Looking back on it now, how many 19 year olds can say they have an AHL championship?
