Capitals Defensive Prospect Chesley Wins Bronze At World Juniors

Washington Capitals defensive prospect Ryan Chesley won bronze at the 2023 IIHF World Junior Championships on Thursday as he and Team USA managed a wild 8-7 win over Team Sweden.

This is Chesley's first time medaling at the U20 World Juniors, as he won silver last season in the U18 World Junior Championship last season. He finished with one assist, three shots and a +/- of plus-1 while averaging 5:49 per game through seven games in the tournament.

Chesley had been pegged as a potential first-rounder but fell to the second round. The Capitals were able to trade up and take him at 37th with the deal that sent Vitek Vanecek to the New Jersey Devils. Washington and Chelsey had good conversations at the combine, and ultimately, the team was impressed with his two-way play and ability to generate offense from the blue line.

"I would say I'm a two-way, puck-moving defenseman who has the ability to shut down any player at any time," Chesley said, adding that he models his game after the likes of Ryan McDonagh, Jacob Slavin and Charlie McAvoy.

The 6-0, 195-pound blueliner is set to return to the University of Minnesota and continue his freshman year with the Golden Gophers. Through 20 NCAA games so far, he has one goal and two assists and a +/- of plus-9.