After just one assist in his first 19 NHL games, Zach Sanford has been demoted to the Hershey Bears. Sanford played primarily 4th line minutes, but showed some good potential that the Capitals will utilize down the road.
“He has played very, very well in a lot of areas,… said Barry Trotz. "He’s very detailed, he listens, he absorbs and he’s getting some penalty kill minutes... We think he’s going to be a really good player for us. I know he’s going to be a good player for us. But we’ve got to make sure we’re doing the right things and making sure that he gets enough minutes. So, this is going to be a whole process, for us to decide what we’re doing with him and getting him enough ice time. I don’t want to get him 10 minutes of ice time for 82 games.…
For now, Sanford will hone his game down in Hershey while 2014 first-round pick, Jakub Vrana will have his shot at the big club.
Vrana has 9 goals (good for third in the AHL) and 16 points in 18 games for the Bears this season, and has shown some very good upside at just 20 years of age. In his first professional season, Vrana scored 34 points in 36 games with the Bears last year, including 16 goals, and notched another 14 points in 21 playoff games.
In a sense, this move marks the Capitals first step into an unpredictable future as Vrana could be the cornerstone of this franchise in years to come. He has an explosiveness that will make him hard to defend, just so long as he can adapt to the physical aspect of the NHL game.
Vrana will also have to be very persistent if he wants to stay on this roster. The Caps are a deep team, and the shoulder injury to T.J. Oshie is the only reason that Vrana has a shot at cracking the roster. With Sanford, his experiment isn't over and he will no doubt be back in the lineup at some point this year, especially since he is waiver exempt.
Paul Carey was also called up as insurance for the Caps. With Brett Connolly filling in well on the 4th line, Carey will likely sit on the sidelines for now.
Chime in: Are you excited to see what Vrana can do? Or, do you think he'll be a bust in his first call up?
More to come...