Lynden Lakovic Overjoyed to Be Capitals' First-Round Pick in 2025 NHL Draft: ‘Words Can’t Really Express How Happy I Am’ trucc

Minutes after hearing his name called at the NHL draft, Lynden Lakovic struggled to put his emotions into words.

Lakovic had a good feeling about the Washington Capitals since meeting them at the combine, but wasn’t sure where he would end up as the first round of the draft stretched to the four-hour mark. When the Washington Capitals picked him 27th overall, his primary reaction was one of relief.

“It was a long day, and I’m so excited to be a part of such a great organization,” Lakovic said. “Words can’t really express how happy I am right now.”

Playing for the WHL’s Moose Jaw Warriors in his draft year, Lakovic recorded 58 points (27g, 31a) in 47 games before becoming the 11th player the Caps have drafted from the WHL in the last five years. Capitals assistant GM Ross Mahoney pointed to his speed, size, and shot as particular highlights.

“Six-foot-four, 190-pound winger with good skill, good sense, skates really well,” Mahoney said Friday night. “That was the attraction to us initially. Really good hands for a big kid… He can shoot.

“He’s got a good release and it’s pretty accurate, but he’s even sneaky with the playmaking for a big kid, in tight spaces making the plays that he does. The vision is very good.”

Lakovic also drew attention to the subtler aspects of his play.

“I think when you first look at my game, what jumps out is my size and my skating and my shot, but I think some things that go a little under-appreciated would be my stick details,” he said. “I think I’m really good at anticipating plays, and I try and play with a lot of hockey IQ and time my routes well all over the ice. So that’s something I would say.”

Asked who he models his game after, Lakovic named the Buffalo Sabres’ Tage Thompson and the Toronto Maple Leafs’ Matthew Knies.

“I would say Tage because we have similar frames and both our attributes are our shots, and I think we have really similar skill sets,” he said. “I look at Matthew Knies, I look at his frame as well, and his skating ability, and how he takes pucks to the net. I just see myself being something like that at the next level.”

During his rookie season in Moose Jaw, Lakovic and several of his teammates were suspended for an off-ice incident in violation of team and league rules during a road trip to Edmonton, sitting out 17 games before reinstatement. The WHL did not provide details on the infraction but noted that Edmonton police did not find their actions to be criminal.

Asked about the suspension on Friday, Mahoney said, “He was suspended, but I don’t think he was a participant in something that might’ve happened. Probably a young guy in the wrong spot at the wrong time.”

On Lakovic’s character, Mahoney highlighted that he was named Moose Jaw’s captain in February, noting, “You’re not going to be the captain of a team…if you don’t have character. Pretty happy-go-lucky kid, too. Really liked the interview.”

Lakovic also has existing connections to the Capitals, telling reporters he knows goaltender Logan Thompson through “agency stuff.” After watching what the Capitals are capable of from afar, Lakovic looks forward to the chance to contribute firsthand.

“Washington, they have a history of winning. I’m excited to get down there and, learn from the best — you know, the best goal scorer ever — and just taking everything I can. I’ve never been down to DC before, so I’m looking forward to that. At the end of the day, I want to improve and help the team win a Stanley Cup in the future. That’s my goal.”