EP Rinkside 2021-22 Prospect Pool Rankings: No. 28-ranked Washington Capitals

When you have a player like Alexander Ovechkin on your team, along with a breadth of talented complementary players, it’s no wonder that the Washington Capitals prospect pool ranks in the bottom third of the league year after year. Their priorities lie in today, not tomorrow.

Even so, the Capitals have amassed some prospects that represent solid bets to make the NHL roster at some point in their career, along with a plethora of potential depth players to line their AHL roster. They've done relatively well with the limited draft capital available to them, one of the realities that teams in a near-constant state of contention often face.

Their system is a bit top-heavy, but you'd rather that than the inverse, and it plays a pretty significant role in how we determine our prospect pool rankings. With that, let's look at what the Capitals system has to offer in the coming years.