5 Notable Washington Capitals Who Went Undrafted

Some of the best hockey players to ever lace up the skates in the NHL were undrafted into the league. One of the most famous players who was never drafted and became a Hockey Hall of Famer is winger Martin St. Louis of the Tampa Bay Lightning. Some other examples around the league for solid players who were not drafted include Ed Belfour, Artemi Panarin, Jonathan Marchessault, Torey Krug, Mark Giordano, Curtis Joseph, and John Madden among others. Some of these undrafted talents once donned the sweater of the Washington Capitals too. Ranked are the top five undrafted players who have played for the D.C. franchise.

Honorable Mentions: Geoff Courtnall, Greg C. Adams, Alan May, Nate Schmidt, Conor Sheary, and Charlie Lindgren

5.) Jay Beagle

Jay Beagle spent the majority of his career as a member of the Washington Capitals. He was a significant part of their bottom six forward group, and played for the team for parts of 10 seasons. He debuted for the franchise in the 2008-09, where he suited up for three games and registered no points. Not really known for his offensive production, his career high in points came in 2016-17. In 81 games for the Capitals, Beagle scored 13 goals and provided 17 assists for 30 points. Beagle did not need to be relied on for scoring though. Other teammates like Alex Ovechkin, Nicklas Backstrom, and Evgeny Kuznetsov took care of the scoring more. Beagle, meanwhile, provided solid stability in the forward lineup through some tough series.

Jay Beagle with the Capitals (Wikipedia)

The best accomplishment for the forward from Calgary, Alberta native Beagle was being a part of Washington’s first Stanley Cup championship in 2018. During that postseason, he scored two goals and accrued six assists for eight points in 23 games. Following 2017-18, Beagle became a free agent and signed with the Vancouver Canucks. He played there for three campaigns, before he suited up for his last NHL season with the Arizona Coyotes in 2021-22. Beagle retired from the league having played in 646 games. In that span, he scored 58 goals and tallied 86 assists for a total of 144 points.

4.) Jeff Halpern

Forward Jeff Halpern had a solid college hockey run with Princeton University. This included his campaign in 1997-98, when he scored 28 goals and notched 25 assists for 53 points in 36 games. This helped land him a contract as an undrafted free agent with the Washington Capitals. The player from Potomac, Maryland debuted for the club during the 1999-2000 NHL season. He scored 18 goals and provided 11 assists for a total of 29 points in 79 games.

Halpern played in parts of six seasons for the Capitals during his first stint with the organization. He produced the following during that time in D.C.:

• 1999-2000: 18 goals and 11 assists for 29 points in 79 games
• 2000-01: 21 goals and 21 assists for 42 points in 80 games
• 2001-02: five goals and 14 assists for 19 points in 48 games
• 2002-03: 13 goals and 21 assists for 34 points in 82 games
• 2003-04: 19 goals and 27 assists for 46 points in 79 games
• 2005-06: 11 goals and 33 assists for 44 points in 70 games

Halpern signed with the Dallas Stars after the 2005-06 season. He played the rest of his career suiting up for the Stars, Tampa Bay Lightning, Los Angeles Kings, Montreal Canadiens, New York Rangers, and Phoenix Coyotes. He also had a second stint with the Capitals for the 2011-12 campaign. Halpern scored four goals and accrued 12 assists for 16 points in 69 games. He retired having played in 976 games. He scored 152 goals and provided 221 assists for 373 points. Now, Halpern is involved with coaching. He is an assistant coach for the Lightning.

3.) Dino Ciccarelli

Dino Ciccarelli originally played for the Minnesota North Stars. He was part of a blockbuster trade that saw him go to the Washington Capitals. The full deal was Ciccarelli and defenseman Bob Rouse to the Capitals for forward Mike Gartner and blueliner Larry Murphy. Ciccarelli had played with the North Stars for parts of nine campaigns. During his time in Minnesota, he scored at least 30 goals in seven of those seasons, scored at least 40 in four seasons, and got 50+ in both the 1981-82 and 1986-87 seasons. He was a superstar in the league.

Dino Ciccarelli with the Minnesota North Stars (Wikipedia)

Ciccarelli finished the 1988-89 campaign for Washington with 12 goals and three assists for 15 points in 11 games. He followed that up with his lone 40+ goal campaign with the Capitals. Ciccarelli had 41 goals and 38 assists for 79 points in 80 games. He then tallied the following numbers with Washington for 1990-91 and 1991-92:

• 1990-91: 21 goals and 18 assists for 39 points in 54 games
• 1991-92: 38 goals and 38 assists for 76 points in 78 games

While not accruing as many points per season as he had with the North Stars, Ciccarelli was a key contributor on the offense for Washington while he was there. His tenure with the organization ended after the 1991-92 season though. He was dealt to the Detroit Red Wings in June 1992 for Kevin Miller. Ciccarelli went on to suit up for the Red Wings, Tampa Bay Lightning, and Florida Panthers. His last NHL season was in 1998-99 when he played for the Panthers and accumulated seven points in 14 games. He finished his career having suited up in 1,232 games. During that span, Ciccarelli scored 608 goals and produced 592 assists for 1,200 points. He was inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame in 2010.

2.) Adam Oates

The Washington Capitals had an assist machine when they had Adam Oates on their team. He was more known for his playing time with the Boston Bruins, but he spent quite a few seasons in D.C. too. He came to the Capitals by trade in the middle of the 1996-97 season. Washington acquired Oates from the Bruins, along with goalie Bill Ranford and forward Rick Tocchet. In exchange, the Bruins received Jason Allison, Anson Carter, Jim Carey, a third-round pick in 1997, and a conditional second-round pick in 1998.

Oates spent parts of six seasons with Washington. His first full campaign with the club saw the team go all the way to the Stanley Cup Final, the first appearance for the franchise. They lost to the Detroit Red Wings for the Cup, but Oates had nice numbers during the playoffs. In 21 games, he scored six goals and 11 assists for 17 points.

During his time in Washington, Oates put up the following regular season stats:

• 1996-97: four goals and eight assists for 12 points in 17 games
• 1997-98: 18 goals and 58 assists for 76 points in 82 games
• 1998-99: 12 goals and 42 assists for 54 points in 59 games
• 1999-2000: 15 goals and 56 assists for 71 points in 82 games
• 2000-01: 13 goals and 69 assists for 82 points in 81 games
• 2001-02: 11 goals and 57 assists for 68 points in 66 games

Midway through the 2001-02 campaign, Washington traded Oates to the Philadelphia Flyers. He played the remaining part of the season with the Flyers. He also suited up for the Mighty Ducks of Anaheim and the Edmonton Oilers. Oates retired from playing in 2004. He was inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame for the Class of 2012. Oates also spent the 2012-13 and 2013-14 seasons as the Capitals’ head coach.

1.) Mike Ridley

Mike Ridley is arguably the best undrafted player who ever play for the Washington Capitals. He was one of the best players that former general manager David Poile ever got for the organization during his era in D.C. When the time came for the Capitals to trade forward Bobby Carpenter, Poile dealt him to the New York Rangers. Washington sent Carpenter, along with a second-round pick in the 1989 NHL Entry Draft. Washington acquired Ridley, Kelly Miller, and Bob Crawford from the Rangers as the return.

Ridley remains one of the best statistically to ever play for the Capitals. He played in parts of eight campaigns in D.C., and is in the top 10 for the club in points with 547 (which ranks him 10th) and goals with 218 (ranks him fifth). He also currently ranks 12th on the all-time Capitals list in assists with 329. Following his time in Washington, Ridley played one campaign with the Toronto Maple Leafs and two with the Vancouver Canucks. His last season in the league was 1996-97, where he had 20 goals and 32 assists for 52 points in 75 games. Ridley retired with 292 goals and 466 assists for 758 points in 866 games.