The Caps have signed forward Cody Eakin, 18, to a three-year entry-level contract. The team’s third-round draft pick in 2009 – No. 85 overall – has already scored nine goals in nine games for Swift Current, a junior team in the Western Hockey League. He also has three assists.
Eakin isn’t the biggest guy in the world at 5-foot-11, 180 pounds. But he made a nice first impression during the Caps’ developmental camp in July and then again at rookie camp in September. They even let Eakin hang around for a bit at training camp with the big club before he returned to Swift Current. The Winnipeg native is an excellent skater. He finished with 24 goals and 24 assists last season for the Broncos and is well on his way to surpassing those totals this year. Eakin is tied for first in the WHL with five power-play goals and is second overall in goals scored.
It’ll be a while before you see any of the 2009 draft picks in Washington. But given his start – and the fact that he doesn’t even turn 19 until next May – Eakin at least bears watching. He was even invited to the Canadian world junior team’s training camp in August as the country’s best teenage prospects fought for a spot on this year’s roster. That prestigious tournament is played just after the holidays and Canada has won the gold medal at the previous five. Eakin is probably still a long shot to make the final cut in December. But that quick start will at least keep him in the spotlight as Canadian officials put together a selection camp roster.
