The Washington Capitals will finish Rookie Camp on Monday as full training camp is set to open on September 18th. Many of the players participating in Rookie Camp have a chance to make the roster and potentially could have a breakout campaign for the Capitals in 2025-26. As training camp is set to open this week, it is time to look at the most intriguing training camp battle for the Capitals in 2025.
The Caps have yet to provide a full training camp roster but had 24 players on the Rookie Camp roster. It will likely be more than 50 players competing for just 23 spots on the NHL roster. While some spots are clearly safe, others are up for grabs. This year will be interesting for the Capitals as they head into camp. The team has a lot of youth ready to jump from lower levels and make an impact in the NHL. Still, there are veteran players with NHL experience looking to hold on to their roster spots.
As the next generation of players starts getting ready to take the reins, they are set to compete for spots this upcoming campaign. Spencer Carbery will have to make some tough decisions as the regular season approaches, and some of the camp battles are sure to be hard-fought and tough to decide.
There is a battle on the blue line
Washington has a battle brewing on the blue line. Jakob Chychrun and John Carlson are expected to return as the top pair. Meanwhile, Matt Roy and Rasmus Sandin are projected to hold down the second rotation. This still leaves the bottom rotation open for the team.
Martin Fehervary will be taking one of those spots. He has a new contract set to start in the 2026-27 campaign. After a solid regular season, Fehervary was injured at the end of the year and missed the playoffs. The Caps missed him in the playoffs, and he will most likely have the left-side spot on the third rotation.
This leaves the spot currently held by Trevor van Riemsdyk. He is in the last year of his contract, as is fellow defender Carlson. Both of them are also over the age of 34, which may lead the team to go with a more youthful player in that spot to prepare for the future.
The team acquired Declan Chisholm, who was a pending restricted free agent, from the Minnesota Wild. The 25-year-old has played in just 99 NHL games. He started getting consistent playing time last season. Moreover, he was second on the team in takeaways and amassed 12 points.
He could fight for that final spot on the blue line, or he could be the seventh defender on the roster. Other options are Ryan Chesley and Cam Allen, both right-side defenders.
Chesley was the No. 37 overall pick of the Capitals in the 2022 NHL Draft. He has primarily played for both the US National Development Team and the University of Minnesota. He has shown solid offensive ability. After finishing with the Golden Gophers, the blue-liner played in four games with the AHL club, scoring once and adding two assists.
Allen is another young option if the Caps go in the direction of youth. He has shown great offensive potential, playing for the Guelph Storm and London Knights in 2024-25. The Canadian amassed 45 points in just 49 games, lighting the lamp 11 times in the process. He will likely need time in the AHL but will attempt to make the NHL roster out of camp. Still, the most intriguing battle is on the fourth line this year for the Capitals.
The most intriguing battle is on the fourth line for the Capitals
The future of Sonny Milano is in doubt with the Capitals. After time with the Columbus Blue Jackets and Anaheim Ducks, Milano joined the Capitals in 2022-23. He had a solid campaign that year, finding the back of the net 11 times while adding 22 assists, good for 33 points, the second most of his career.
He was solid again the next season as well, putting up 15 goals and eight assists. Still, he played in just 49 games. Milano was on the ice for just three games before missing the rest of the season with an injury in 2024-25. While Milano is just 29 years old, he has played over 60 games in an NHL season just twice, and his lack of availability could lead to someone else snagging his spot.
The team added Justin Sourdif to the roster, who could contend for a bottom-six spot out of camp. He has played just four games at the NHL level with the Florida Panthers, scoring once. His last two AHL seasons have been solid. He has chipped in 28 goals and added 44 assists in 101 games over the past two campaigns with the Charlotte Checkers.
Meanwhile, Ivan Miroshnichenko is also looking to make the team out of camp. The former No. 20 overall pick of the Caps in the 2022 NHL draft has shown he can play at the NHL level. Over the past two seasons, he has played in 29 games, scoring three times and adding seven assists.
Still, he broke out in a major way in the AHL in 2024-25. The Russian played in 53 games with the Hershey Bears. He scored 23 goals while adding 19 assists in that time. One of these three players will be playing the wing on the bottom line when the puck drops on October 8th against Boston.
Carbery could go with experience in that spot and play Milano, but he has yet to show he can be reliable. Sourdif does not have much NHL experience but has been solid in the AHL. The team could also hope Miroshnichenko is their next Russian superstar and give the 21-year-old the nod out of camp.
