Capitals rookie Karl Alzner harbored high expectations entering his first professional training camp. It appears he has met them.
The 20-year-old is one of seven defensemen left on the roster after another round of training camp cuts on Thursday sent defensemen Sami Lepisto, Grant McNeill and Tyler Sloan to AHL-affiliate Hershey.
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But while the numbers to make the final 23-man roster appear in Alzner’s favor, coach Bruce Boudreau remained noncommittal. The Caps even used veteran center Sergei Fedorov on defense at Thursday’s practice as preparation for a night when the team might need him there. But it’s also a hint that the Caps could go with six natural defensemen and use Fedorov as the extra at that position. Because the organization needs to stay below the NHL-mandated salary cap and Alzner counts $1.675 million against that cap this season, it’s possible he could spend time early in the season at Hershey to save money for later in the year.
“I don’t think anything’s set in stone. The numbers are in my favor right now. But just look at yesterday,” Alzner said. “We had three guys that were sent down [to Hershey] called right back up. It can happen like that. I’m not taking anything for granted right now. I’m not going to change my game.”
