{"id":21506,"date":"2025-06-28T10:01:10","date_gmt":"2025-06-28T10:01:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/21506\/"},"modified":"2025-06-28T10:01:10","modified_gmt":"2025-06-28T10:01:10","slug":"washington-capitals-select-lynden-lakovic-in-first-round-of-2025-nhl-draft","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/21506\/","title":{"rendered":"Washington Capitals select Lynden Lakovic in first round of 2025 NHL Draft"},"content":{"rendered":"

The Washington Capitals selected Lynden Lakovic<\/strong> with the 27th overall selection in the 2025 NHL Draft.<\/p>\n

Lakovic is a 6-foot-4-inch, 200-pound Canadian left wing, drafted from the WHL\u2019s Moose Jaw Warriors. His NHL comparable is former Capitals forward Anthony Mantha.<\/p>\n

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Lakovic, the nephew of former NHL player Sasha Lakovic<\/a>, was quickly introduced to excited Capitals brass via Zoom after the selection, meeting with general manager Chris Patrick, head coach Spencer Carbery, and assistant general manager Ross Mahoney.<\/p>\n

\u201cHey Lynden. How\u2019s it going? We\u2019re really excited to have you a part of the Washington Capitals family,\u201d Capitals general manager Chris Patrick said on ESPN\u2019s broadcast. \u201cWe were sweating it out the last few picks, hoping you\u2019d be there, and we\u2019re glad you came to us.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s a huge honor, and I couldn\u2019t be more thankful and happier for the opportunity you\u2019re giving me today,\u201d Lakovic replied.<\/p>\n

In 47 games for the Warriors, Lakovic recorded 58 points (27g, 31a), which was good for the top mark on his team. His 1.23 point-per-game rate was fifth-best among draft-eligible WHL skaters. Despite being such a big player, he only recorded four penalty minutes.<\/p>\n

Lakovic won the WHL championship with Moose Jaw during the 2023-24 campaign. He was previously teammates with fellow Capitals prospect Andrew Cristall\u2019s older brother, Tyler Cristall, while with the BCHL\u2019s West Kelowna Warriors during the 2021-22 season.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n

The Capitals often tend to draft from the WHL in part due to assistant general manager Ross Mahoney\u2019s deep connections with the league. Mahoney was previously an assistant coach with the Regina Pats and played for the Pats in his on-ice days.<\/p>\n

Lakovic joins Terik Parascak (2024), Andrew Cristall (2023), Brett Hyland (2023), Ryan Hofer (2022), Vincent Iorio (2021), Dru Krebs (2021), Bear Hughes (2020), Garin Bjorklund (2020), Brett Leason (2019), and Aliaksei Protas (2019), who were all selected from WHL teams over the previous six drafts.<\/p>\n

The 18-year-old winger was the 14th-ranked North American skater by NHL Central Scouting in this year\u2019s draft class. Lakovic was a consensus top-20 pick before the first round began<\/a>, and experts believe the Capitals have added great value late in the round.<\/p>\n

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Good value by Washington (who have been killing it lately at the draft) to get Lynden Lakovic at pick 27.<\/p>\n

He’s got a crazy shot! pic.twitter.com\/T8A27XTvnR<\/a><\/p>\n

\u2014 Byron Bader (@ByronMBader) June 28, 2025<\/a><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

The Capitals have taken wingers with four straight first-round picks, including Lakovic, Parascak (2024), Ryan Leonard (2023), and Ivan Miroshnichenko (2022).<\/p>\n

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