Washington Has Two Top-Ten Rookies, a 20-Goal Sophomore, and Not Enough Minutes to Go Around

SWN Analysis · September 6, 2026

The Capitals enter 2026-27 with a problem most teams would take: two players in the preseason Calder Trophy top ten, and an offseason that made it harder for either of them to play.

Cole Hutson ranks seventh. Ilya Protas ranks ninth. Both would be higher if Washington hadn’t spent the summer adding veterans in front of them. And behind both of them sits Ryan Leonard, who already scored 20 goals as a rookie and needs no projecting at all.

Cole Hutson, D — 20 years old

The résumé. Hutson became a steal from the 2024 draft class almost immediately. As a Boston University freshman in 2024-25 he put up 48 points in 39 games from the blue line. At the 2025 World Junior Championship he added 11 points in seven games and a gold medal with Team USA.

Last season’s counting stats were less eye-catching, but the NHL sample was: 10 points in 14 games with Washington after his sophomore year at BU, including six power-play points.

The obstacle. Jakob Chychrun will quarterback the top power-play unit. That’s the single biggest variable in Hutson’s Calder case — six power-play points in 14 games is a pace that wins the award, and it requires PP1 minutes to sustain.

The realistic outcome. There’s a version where Hutson earns top-four minutes and effectively splits the No. 1 unit with Chychrun, which would make him a genuine contender. The safer bet is a good rookie season that isn’t quite enough.

Projection. Second-pair minutes with second-unit power play, and an argument for more by midseason.

Ilya Protas, F — 20 years old

The résumé. A third-round pick in 2024 who has outperformed that slot at every level since. He recorded 124 points in the OHL in 2024-25, second in the league. Last season with Hershey he scored 29 goals and added 37 assists in 69 AHL games, then went four-for-four in points during a brief NHL stint.

Big, smart, skilled, and dominant everywhere he’s played.

The obstacle. Washington’s offseason. Bringing in wingers Jordan Kyrou and Alex Tuch — Tuch was the most sought-after forward on the free-agent market this summer — makes cracking the top six a genuine challenge for a 20-year-old.

The realistic outcome. The Capitals’ top nine is deep, which is exactly what makes Protas a sleeper rather than a favorite. If an injury opens a top-six spot, he’s the player most likely to take it and not give it back.

Projection. Bottom-six minutes to start, with real upside if the depth chart moves.

The sophomore already through the door

Ryan Leonard, F — second season

The player who makes Washington’s young-forward picture more encouraging than the Protas situation suggests.

Leonard scored 20 goals and 45 points as a rookie last season — production that doesn’t require projection or caveats. He’s already established, already trusted, and already past the stage Protas is trying to reach.

His second year is a different kind of question: whether he builds on it or hits the sophomore wall. Last season’s breakout sophomores — Lane Hutson, Cutter Gauthier, Logan Stankoven, Jackson Blake, Josh Doan — all made that leap after strong rookie years. It happens often enough to expect and not often enough to assume.

Projection. Top-nine minutes with power-play usage, and the most likely of Washington’s young forwards to produce this season.

What the roster construction says

Washington spent the summer buying veterans rather than clearing runway. Kyrou and Tuch are win-now additions on a roster that already had a deep top nine.

That’s a legitimate strategy, and it comes with a cost: two of the ten most promising rookies in the league will spend the fall waiting for minutes. Rookie development and immediate contention pull in opposite directions, and the Capitals chose contention.

Whether that was right depends on how the season goes — and on whether Hutson and Protas are still this good in October 2027.

Three names from the rest of the class

Porter Martone, F — Philadelphia Flyers. The preseason Calder favorite and a Metro Division rival. Martone put up 25 goals and 25 assists in 35 games at Michigan State, then scored 15 points in 19 NHL games including the playoffs, averaging just under 17 minutes. At 6-foot-3 and 210 pounds and still only 19, he’s the prototype modern power forward — and unlike Washington’s pair, he has a clear path to minutes.

Gavin McKenna, F — Toronto Maple Leafs. The first overall pick in this year’s draft, and the rookie with the best situation in hockey: possible second-line minutes alongside John Tavares and William Nylander. Ranked second behind Martone in most preseason lists.

Victor Eklund, F — New York Islanders. Another Metro rookie just outside the top ten. Worth tracking because the Islanders and Capitals will see each other often, and because last year’s Calder winner, Matthew Schaefer, came from the same organization.

Watch the power play

Hutson’s Calder case lives or dies on PP1 time. If Washington starts splitting the top unit between him and Chychrun by November, a defenseman who put up 48 points in 39 college games becomes very dangerous very quickly.

Protas’ case lives on someone else getting hurt, which is an uncomfortable thing to root for and an honest description of his path.

Both are going to be very good NHL players. Whether either gets to prove it this season is a coaching decision, not a talent question.

DMV Sports Wire covers Capitals news, schedules and game coverage all season. See the Capitals schedule for puck drop times and broadcast info.