The Caps have to be thrilled beyond words with the development of top prospect John Carlson. By all accounts, the 19-year-old took on a leadership role for Team USA at the prestigious World Juniors tournament in Saskatchewan the last two weeks. He also scored three huge goals, including the game-winner in overtime of the gold-medal game against Canada late Tuesday night. It was a 6-5 win for the United States — just the second time it has won the World Juniors.
A first-year pro who has played three games for the Caps this year and another 29 for AHL Hershey, Carlson is one of the organization’s building blocks. He has a goal and 23 assists for the Bears and is a +17. But AHL games just can’t replicate the pressure of an international tournament.
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Carlson finished the World Juniors with four goals and three assists on 16 shots and was a +8 in seven games. He scored what proved to be the game-winning goal in the third period of a 5-2 semifinal win over Sweden. His first goal in the final made it 3-2 USA just 63 seconds into the second period. And he followed that with the tournament clincher.
That’s not to say Carlson will be in the District in a few weeks for good. He still has some obvious developing left to do. But he just took over a tournament featuring the best under-20 players in the world. The Caps’ prospect pipeline isn’t dry yet.
