The Capitals sophomore almost hit the 20-goal mark and finished the season on the first line.
ARLINGTON, V.A. — Though he was disappointed with how the year ended, Connor McMichael took a lot of positives away from his sophomore year with the Washington Capitals.
The 23-year-old, who played in just six NHL games last season and didn't get another call-up after being sent down earlier in the season, appeared in 80 games for the Capitals this year, picking up 18 goals and 15 assists for 33 points.
Not only did McMichael almost hit the 20-goal mark, but his ice time also saw a drastic increase as he skated top-6 minutes and averaged 15:59 minutes per night. He also spent a good amount of time complementing Alex Ovechkin on the first line, while also playing a key role on the power play and penalty kill.
"I took a good jump," McMichael said. "I feel like I improved my game. I was able to establish myself on the ice and off the ice with all the guys. So, for the most part, I'd say overall, it was a good year for me, and it's just something that I'm going to build on for the future."
Going forward, McMichael believes that he hasn't hit his ceiling yet and there is still a lot of room to grow his game. He continues to put himself in the right positions, and his speed and strength go a long way, as does his puck-carrying and play-making ability.
And for the Ontario native, his biggest focus will be bringing more on the forecheck.
"I think I can take a jump in every aspect of my game, to be honest with you. I think a big thing for our team this year was we didn't score too many goals or we weren't able to produce that much offense," McMichael said. "So I think just working on that part of my game and being able to solidify myself as a guy that they can lean on every single game to help produce and win big face-offs or whatever it may be, just focus on all that."
This summer, McMichael will head back to Newmarket in Ontario to train with Gary Roberts again. The pending restricted free agent has already had preliminary talks with the Capitals on a contract extension and is looking forward to continuing to grow within the organization.
Overall, McMichael's growth and potential pack promise for Washington, a team that is looking for offense and expects some of its goals and answers to questions to come from him and the other rising young players on the roster.
