Patrick Wey (John McDonnell/The Washington Post)
Update 12:54 p.m. Washington recalled defensive prospect Patrick Wey from the Hershey Bears Thursday, making him the 12th defenseman to spend time on the Capitals’ roster during the regular season.
Wey, a fourth-round pick in the 2009 draft, made his American Hockey League debut less than a month ago on Nov. 14, when the Bears took on the Charlotte Checkers. The 22-year-old has appeared in seven games with Hershey, recording a goal and two assists, and prior to that stint posted three assists in eight games with the ECHL’s Reading Royals.
“He’s been playing good down in Hershey, we have a couple practices [it's] an opportunity to see him,” Coach Adam Oates said. General Manager “George [McPhee] wanted to see him, so we called him up to see him.”
Wey is a right-handed shot, and if he gets in a game he will have leap-frogged Steve Oleksy, who is in a white jersey skating with the fourth line in Thursday’s practice and has sat out as a healthy scratch for six consecutive games. Asked if Wey would play Saturday against Nashville, Oates said “it’s a possibility”.
In conjunction with recalling Wey, Washington reassigned Tyson Strachan to the Bears. Strachan, 29, has appeared in nine games with the Capitals and once he plays in a 10th he would have to pass through waivers in order to be sent down to the AHL again, which factored into that move.
>> Tom Wilson is absent from practice for family reasons. He’ll be back in Washington on Friday, according to a team spokesman. Oleksy is filling in Wilson’s spot on the fourth line.
>> Brooks Laich remains sidelined by a groin injury and has yet to skate since Nov. 27, when he played against the Ottawa Senators.
>> Michal Neuvirth, who injured his right ankle when he stepped on a puck last week, worked out briefly with the other goaltenders before full practice started but went off the ice just as the main session began.
>> One lineup switch to the forward combinations today. Martin Erat is now centering the third line between Jason Chimera and Joel Ward, while Jay Beagle shifted to the fourth with Aaron Volpatti and presumably Wilson when he returns. Nine defensemen — including John Erskine (knee) — are taking part in practice and rotating through drills.
Here are the forward lines:
Johansson-Backstrom-Ovechkin
Fehr-Grabovski-Brouwer
Chimera-Erat-Ward
Volpatti-Beagle-Oleksy (Wilson when he returns)
