Photo: Patrick McDermott
Friday morning, the Washington Capitals sent Andre Burakovsky to the American Hockey League’s Hershey Bears. The demotion comes on the heels of the Caps not allowing Burakovsky to play in the World Junior Championship, an opportunity that the Burracuda privately stated he wanted.
The re-assignment ends two weeks of scratches for one of the NHL’s best prospects, which had been a shining example of how not to develop a young player (don’t get me started on 65 and 92 playing on the fourth line). Today, that changes.
Burakovsky will get huge minutes in Hershey. He’ll be able to work on system play while skating in a physical league. He’ll be shadowed by and defended by some of the best players in the American league. This will be good for his development.
The WJC decision still confounds and troubles me, but hey, #GMBM.
Alex Prewitt notes that the Caps can bring Andre back at any time over the holiday.
https://twitter.com/alex_prewitt/status/545962992072790017
From the Capitals:
The Washington Capitals have re-assigned center Andre Burakovsky to the Hershey Bears of the American Hockey League (AHL), senior vice president and general manager Brian MacLellan announced today.
Burakovsky, 19, appeared in 26 games with the Capitals this season, registering 13 points (four goals, nine assists) and six penalty minutes. The Malmo, Sweden, native made his NHL debut on Oct. 9 against Montreal and scored his first NHL goal in the first period. Burakovsky became the 13th player in Capitals history to score his first NHL goal in his first NHL game and is one of just seven players in franchise history to score a goal in his NHL debut and season opener. Burakovsky ranks tied for fifth among NHL rookies in assists this season and tied for seventh in points.
Burakovsky registered 87 points (41g, 46a) in 57 games with the Erie Otters (OHL) in 2013-14. He was named the OHL Player of the Month for March after tallying 24 points (12 goals, 10 assists) in 12 games during the month and recorded a league-high plus-22 rating. The 6’3”, 198-pound center finished March on a seven-game point streak that included five multi-point games. Burakovsky led Erie to the best regular-season record in franchise history (52-14-2-0, 106 points) and finished the season ranked ninth in the OHL in goals (41), tied for sixth in power-play goals (15), third in game-winning goals (10) and tied for eighth in plus/minus (+46).
