The Washington Capitals have several open roster spots heading into the 2025-26 season, and one of the players that could force their way into the conversation with another great training camp is prospect centerman Henrik Rybinski.
Selected by the Florida Panthers in the fifth-round of the 2019 NHL Draft and then signed by the Capitals as an unrestricted free agent on March 1, 2022, Rybinski has flown under the radar since his rookie season with the Hershey Bears in 2022-23. But he’s quickly developed into the best two-way center not yet playing on the NHL team.
After serving as a black ace during the Bears’ 2023 Calder Cup championship role, Rybinski played a big role as Hershey repeated as champions in 2024, suiting up as the team’s fourth-line center and skating with Bogdan Trineyev and Matt Strome for a majority of the postseason. The Vancouver, Canada native posted nine points in 19 games including five goals, which tied for sixth-most on the Bears. But the fourth-line trio, most importantly, was tasked with shutting down other teams’ top lines, and was a difference-maker in that regard.
Two months after lifting the Calder Cup, Rybinski returned for Capitals’ 2024 Training Camp and found a believer in head coach Spencer Carbery. Rybinski was one of the final cuts and Carbery hinted the pivot could see time someday with the Caps.
“I think he’s been one of the big surprises of someone that wasn’t necessarily on our radar to make the Washington Capitals,” Carbery said. “We’ve followed him and what he’s done in Hershey, becoming a bigger part of their Calder Cup-winning team last year. So, coming into camp, you know, you’ve watched him a little bit in the American League, seen him, and now he really impressed our staff.
“I know management feels the same way. That’s why he’s earned the opportunity… I thought he’s done a tremendous job of excelling in the games that he’s played in, and he’s been good in the practices. Feels like he’s trending [up] in our organization.”
Despite ultimately not making the team, Rybinski achieved a career-first last season in December: his first call-up to the NHL after Lars Eller suffered an injury.
Rybinkski was emotional when he learned of his promotion from former Bears head coach Todd Nelson.
“I’ve been playing since I was six, and you dream of coming up here and just being around here,” Rybinski said. “All the hard work, and then you think of all the doubts you had of would you ever get this opportunity. That’s kind of what made it feel really special.”
While Rybinski didn’t end up making his NHL debut and his stint with the Caps lasted only three days, the experience was eye-opening and gave him confidence headed into the second half of the AHL season. Used all throughout the lineup, Rybinski posted career highs in goals (10), assists (25), points (35), plus-minus (+11), shots (61), and shooting percentage (16.4 percent).
Over the offseason, Rybinski signed a one-year, two-way extension worth $775k at the NHL level and $130k in the AHL. Now, the 24-year-old prospect is looking to take another step in 2025-26 and play in his first NHL game.
Below is my full interview with Henrik Rybinski during Hershey Bears’ Breakdown Day in May.
RMNB Q&A with Henrik Rybinski
Q: First, I wanted to ask you – you had career highs in everything this season. Tell me about your season. What did you think of it?
Henrik Rybinski: Yeah, I was just really happy with how it went. I think the reason why I had success is I felt like I put in the work. But I think just playing that playoff run last year, doing well, kind of gave me the confidence going into the year. And then I just started off strong in training camp, and it just kind of continued throughout the whole year. Yeah, I still had ups and downs, I’d say, throughout the year, but overall, it was a really successful year for me, and I’m pretty proud of that.
Henrik Rybinski: I think just like when things aren’t going well, it’s just like it sucks, and then just when you get out of it, it just feels that much better because you know how hard it was and then you kind of find your game again. And I think, yeah, that was probably the biggest thing for me. Just when it got down, I didn’t just give in, let it affect me. Yeah, it did, and it did take time, but I think I did a good job of not letting it linger as long and getting out of it sooner.
Q: What was the Calder Cup championship run like last year for you? Because you did have a huge role in the victory.
Henrik Rybinski: Yeah, it was just special. I didn’t play the first year. And I’ve said this to other guys, but for me, it was just kind of the whole mindset was proving to myself and my teammates that I could help a team win a championship. And so that was motivation.
Q: Sitting out that one year, like, guys like Matt Strome have done it, what is the value of that, too, though? Like, I know it’s tough, but –
Henrik Rybinski: Yeah, I think you’re just around the room. You see how playoff hockey is, how to play in those tight moments. Like, you watch. I think one thing I notice is sometimes when teams have leads, they kind of tighten up and they stop playing, and usually they get scored on. But you just got to keep playing. You can’t think about what happens if I do this. You have to just play hockey. And I think from watching, that’s one thing I kind of gathered.
Q: Where did you get your two-way game? You really managed to become somebody that a lot of people respect in the organization, with how you play defensively. Where did you get that from?
Henrik Rybinski: I just think over the years, I’ve kind of always, yeah, I just think my parents and stuff always told me, you’ve got to play as hard on the defensive side as the offensive side. It’s just kind of been my identity. Like, in junior, I felt like I was a good two-way player. And then, I kind of started off here as a defensive role. I’m trying to work on my offensive game, but not trying to cheat the game. I’m trying to still be solid defensively. So, yeah, I think it’s just over the years and just kind of my identity as a player.
Henrik Rybinski: Yeah.
Q: What have you picked up from him, just as such a super-talented offensive center?
Henrik Rybinski: Yeah, I mean, like, obviously, he’s an incredible player, and I’m happy that he’s one of my best buddies, but, yeah, like, I don’t know. I think from watching him, I just realized that you’ve got to always be skating with the puck offensively. Like, if you stop skating, that’s when guys close in. And he’s so good at weaving through guys or moving his feet, or they dump it in, and he’ll break guys’ ankles and stuff. So, obviously, I’m not as fast as him. I wish I was. But just always moving your feet, not making it easy for the other team to check you.
Q: I’ll even ask you this too, like, is he one of the best players you’ve seen in small ice?
Henrik Rybinski: Yeah, I mean, like, his edge work, it’s just not only the edge work, like, some guys are really fast, but he can carry the puck head up while, using all his edge work, and he’s incredible to watch, and he’s a really special player.
Q: When he came back down from the Capitals midseason, how difficult was that on him? How proud of him were you, just on how he persevered and still found more levels to his game?
Henrik Rybinski: Yeah, in my eyes, he’s an everyday NHL player. Obviously, Washington was an incredible team this year, first in the league. I think it’s just like what I was talking about earlier with adversity. You can kind of let it affect you. I think he just came in with the right mentality. I think it’s so easy to be in the NHL, and then you get sent down, you’re like, ‘Oh, like, what am I doing here? Screw this.’ But he had a great attitude, and he came to the rink every day and had a smile on his face. And that can be really hard to do, honestly. So he was just really positive. And, yeah, I’m just really proud of him for that.
Q: One of the things I wanted to ask you is that you got your call-up this year to the Capitals. What did that mean to you that, during the preseason, I recall, Spencer Carbery bringing you up a lot because of your two-way play and how dependable of a center you are. What does that mean to you that you’re hearing that from a guy who may end up winning the Jack Adams?
Henrik Rybinski: I mean, yeah, it just feels – it’s so rewarding and it makes you feel really good about yourself. But, yeah, I mean, he’s an incredible coach. But, yeah, just for him to say stuff like that, it means a lot.
Q: What was the stint like with Washington even though you didn’t play?
Henrik Rybinski: Yeah, I mean, it was just super cool. It’s just the NHL, you kind of work your whole way to get up there. Obviously, I didn’t play, so I would have loved to play, but it was still unbelievable to go there and just see what the lifestyle was like. The guys were really nice and stuff, so it was just really cool. It was just a really cool moment.
Q: Is there anything that sticks out during that time period that was like, ‘Oh, man, that’s what I’m going to tell my friends.’
Henrik Rybinski: I just remember the hotel. It was like a DoubleTree, and it was five-star. I got my own room. It was sick. Instead of the plastic water bottles, they had glass ones. I was like, ‘Wow.’ It’s not really anything, but it was just different. It was really cool. Just the NHL.
Q: Yeah, like people have talked about the Capitals this year, about the power of friendship. Did you feel that when you were there? You know what I mean by that? Like, they always found ways to win. It just felt like the group was so close.
Henrik Rybinski: Yeah, it just seemed like they were always having fun. They were always making jokes or playing cards. It just seemed like they were really having fun. I wasn’t there long, but I could definitely see that.
Q: I think I found out earlier today that you guys were playing while Ovi broke the NHL goals record, but what was kind of your reaction when you first found out?
Q: Did you have any moments with him, like either in training camp or anything? I’ve always heard, and seen myself, he’s such a normal guy despite how historic of a hockey player he is.
Henrik Rybinski: I just think it’s like you’re there and you’re skating and then you look down the bench and you see him like, ‘Holy crap.’ You’re out there with him: ‘This is the best goal scorer ever.’ So it’s just little moments like that. You grew up watching him on TV. I remember him and (Sidney) Crosby, playoffs. I’d watch it and stuff. I think it’s just those little moments when you’re just around him, and it’s like, ‘Wow, this is a super normal dude.’ Yeah, and you’re skating with him.
Q: What are you going to focus on this offseason?
Henrik Rybinski: Obviously, I think I need to get stronger and faster. I mean, that’s pretty cliche with everyone. That’s what they say. But, yeah, like stronger and faster. Maybe work on protecting the puck down low. I think just sometimes, for me at least, against a physical team, maybe I get pushed off too easy. So I feel like working on protecting the puck would be huge. So, yeah, that would be kind of a main thing.
Q: So, for me, like other writers, I look up at other people and try to take things from them that I think are successful. Are there other NHL players that you look up to that you’re like, ‘Oh, I need to find a way to integrate that into my two-way game,’ or something like that?
Henrik Rybinski: Yeah, I mean, I feel like for me it’s not just one player. You look at different skills and guys. So you look at how smart Nick Suzuki is, like obviously Ovi’s shot and stuff, or like the Matthews release, whatever release he does. So there’s just like a lot of guys to look at, and it’s always changing, too. Last offseason, I looked at [Zach] Hyman and how he protects the puck. Obviously, I still need to work on that, but just how he hounds pucks and uses his stick in a certain way, and his body. So, yeah, there’s a lot of guys, and I’m sure during the offseason, I’ll look at some more video on what other guys do.
Henrik Rybinski: I think, obviously, they’re super talented, great players, but I think every time I step on the ice with them, I just see them improving. I think that’s the best thing you can always do is just keep getting better. I think every time I’m like, ‘Okay, maybe this didn’t work last time for them,’ and then now they’re able to do it, so I think just for them, they’re always improving. Obviously, Pro, I think he’s still growing. I think he got bigger somehow. They’re always improving, and they’re students of the game. I think that’s why they’re getting better.
Q: Let’s say that you don’t make the Capitals next year and you end up here. You will likely be in a bigger role. I think there might be some turnover here. If you do end up starting in Hershey, what do you want to do here? What do you want to accomplish next season? Where do you want to be in the lines? Stuff like that.
Henrik Rybinski: I think I just want to be more of a leader. I’m not like a vocal guy really in the locker room, but I think I just want to be a leader in terms of how I play every single night. Just being consistent. I want to try to be a rock for the team. And that’s hard to do every night. And I think that would be my goal.
Q: Is there anyone in this locker room that you kind of look up to as like, ‘That guy’s a leader, that’s who I want to be as I continue to mature as a player.’?
Henrik Rybinski: I think there’s a lot of guys like, obviously, Nesser (Aaron Ness), he’s been doing it for so long. I’ll say Sgarbossa also, like just the way he attacks every day in practice. He’s always on the ice before goalie ice and stuff, but he’s always working on his craft. But, no, there’s a lot of guys, and we have a veteran-heavy team. You can always pick up something from someone and just try to keep getting better every day.
Henrik Rybinski: I’m from Vancouver, so I’m pretty close to Vinny (Vincent Iorio). So, I’ve trained with Ian Gallagher, so that’s Brendan Gallagher’s dad. It’s in Delta, so I think Beck Malenstyn was there and stuff, so I’ve trained with them like the past four or five years, so I’ll probably go back there.
