The Washington Capitals open their 2011-12 season in five days and with rosters needing to be set by tomorrow afternoon, they made their final round of cuts.
The Caps announced Tuesday that forwards Cody Eakin and Mattias Sjogren along with defenseman Dmitry Orlov have been assigned to AHL Hershey.
All three prospects took part in all of Washington's summer camps. from Development Camp in July to Rookie Camp in early September. While they showed promise in preseason action, the Caps decided to give them more time to develop in the AHL.
With this last round of cuts, Mathieu Perreault and Jay Beagle have sealed the final roster spots. Perreault's inspired performance during the preseason, where he led the team with five points (three goals, two assists), caught the eye of head coach Bruce Boudreau.
"I think our best player all of [training] camp was Mathieu Perreault," Boudreau said after Sunday's 4-1 win over the Chicago Blackhawks. "He played with energy every night and I think he was very similar last year, but we'll sit down tomorrow and discuss all of this."
The Caps now enter the regular season with seven defensemen, including the injured John Erskine, who continues to recover from offseason shoulder surgery, and 14 forwards.