Next up in our annual Washington Capitals prospect review and forecast series is Alexander Suzdalev, winger for the Saskatoon Blades in the Western Hockey League (WHL). (You can access all of our Capitals Prospect Reports and player analysis on our “Prospects” page in the top menu or right here.)
VITALS
Suzdalev, 20, is a left-hander, listed at 6’2” and 181 pounds. The Capitals selected him with their third-round pick (70th overall) in the 2022 NHL Draft. The Capitals acquired the pick as part of the trade that sent goaltender Vitek Vanecek to the New Jersey Devils. The Capitals subsequently signed Suzdalev to a three-year entry-level deal on July 15, 2022, the final day of the Capitals 2022 development camp. He will earn $775,000 in each of the first two seasons of the deal, $800,000 (NHL) in the third, and $82,500 in the AHL.
CAREER SUMMARY
Suzdalev was born in Khabarovsk, Russia, but was raised in Sweden. He didn’t grow up playing hockey, but started with the game of Bandy, which his father, Anatoly, played. Suzdalev recalls he was seven when his family moved from Russia to Sweden after his father signed with a Bandy team there.
Suzdalev spent the 2021-22 season in Sweden, leading HV71’s junior team (Sweden-Jr.) in scoring with 51 points (15G-36A) in 45 regular season games. He also competed with Sweden, internationally, appearing in four games with HV71’s U18 team, where he recorded eight points (3G-5A), and skated in five games with HV71 of Hockey Allsvenskan (Sweden-2).
The Regina Pats selected Suzdalev in the second round of the CHL’s 2021 import draft and he signed with them for the 2022-23 season on August 30, 2022.
The Capitals selected Suzdalev with their third-round pick (70th overall) in the 2022 NHL Draft. The Capitals acquired the pick as part of the trade that sent goaltender Vitek Vanecek to the New Jersey Devils.
“Just really exciting, got some chills on my skin. Really happy and really proud, a great organization,” said Suzdalev. “I was a Caps fan when I was younger, so loved Alex Ovechkin…I would say I’m an offensively skilled player, likes to be creative, and make scoring chances…I think it’s been great, smaller rink here and really good for me, and develop my game…getting ready to play in NHL, so really good.”
Suzdalev participated in the Caps’ 2022 Prospect Development Camp the week following the 2022 draft and inked his entry level deal before returning to Sweden.
Suzdalev spent most of the 2022-23 season starting at right wing on the second line while phenom Connor Bedard centered the top line. However, the Regina head coach would often place the dynamic duo in his initial in-game adjustments and did so regularly and in key game situations, including overtime and power plays.
Suzdalev led all WHL rookies in goals (38), assists (48), points (86), power-play goals (17), and power play assists (19), and tied for first in points per game (1.30) during the regular season. Suzdalev was named the Regina Pats Rookie of the Year on March 28.
The Capitals announced on April 14, 2023 that Suzdalev had been re-assigned from the WHL Regina Pats to the AHL Hershey Bears. Suzdalev and the Pats were eliminated in the first round of the WHL playoffs the previous weekend. Suzdalev worked out with the Bears but but did not seen any game action during the Bears’ postseason.
His plan over the summer of 2023 was to get stronger and gain weight, given he only weighed 171 pounds which is extremely light for a player standing 6’2”.
In 2023-24, Suzdalev was initially assigned to the Hershey Bears of the AHL. However, he saw no game action in October, and was reassigned to HockeyAllsvenskan (Sweden-2), specifically to the Mora IK Club, on November 7. In 13 games with Mora IK, he scored two goals and recorded one assist.
Thus, on January 6, the Capitals assigned Suzdalev to the Saskatoon Blades. During his half season with Saskatoon, he had nine goals, and 16 assists for 25 points overall in 30 games.
During the playoffs, Suzdalev played in 16 playoff games where he scored four goals and recorded 9 assists for 13 points overall. He was also +8. The Saskatoon Blades had advanced to the third round of the Western Hockey League (WHL) playoffs where they fell to Red Deer in seven games, a series that included six overtime games.
2023-2024 MONTH-BY-MONTH RECAP AND TREND ANALYSIS
The following is a compilation of our month-by-month prospect reports for Alexander Suzdalev during the 2023-2024 season. You can find all our monthly prospect reports on our “Prospects” page in the top menu.
OCTOBER
Suzdalev was assigned to the Hershey Bears but did not play in any games for them.
NOVEMBER/DECEMBER
With Suzdalev having played in no games, the Capitals re-assigned left-wing Alexander Suzdalev from the Hershey Bears of the American Hockey League (AHL) to Mora IK of HockeyAllsvenskan on November 7.
Later that month, Suzdalev told Hockeysverige.se in an interview, “We had a long discussion with Washington about what was best for me.”
“I was down with the farm team and trained the most, I ended up outside the squad. They won last year and they are a good team. We talked to Washington and things turned out well with Mora then. We had a long discussion with Washington about what was best for me.”
He indicated that his time in Hershey, while brief, was very valuable.
“It’s a great (working with the) farm team and you could see right away that it’s a good team. They won last year and have the winning mentality. I just tried to train hard and train extra. It can be positive for me too with such an experience,” said Suzdalev.
“I think it is a good place to develop and I know many people who have been here. It’s a great team. We had spoken to Mora and they were interested and it was fun that it finally worked out.”
Suzdalev scored two goals on November 26 in a game against Almtuna, scoring the team’s first and fifth goals. (Link to game story here.)
He ultimately ended up playing 13 games for Mora IK, scoring just those two goals on November 26, and recording one assist.
JANUARY
Since Suzdalev was having a limited role with Mora IK, the decision was to reassign him to junior hockey as his former junior team had traded his rights to the Saskatoon Blades. Suzdalev joined the Blades in early January and generally earned points. He earned an assist in his very first game on January 6, which was a 2-1 shootout loss against the Prince Albert Raiders.
On January 10, he made his home game debut and scored a hat trick during a 7-2 win against the Vancouver Giants. He was named the first star of the game for his performance.
Alexander Suzdalev’s first goal as a Blade is a pure snipe! 🎯@Capitals | #ALLCAPS pic.twitter.com/P3uWGHEXoy
— Saskatoon Blades (@BladesHockey) January 11, 2024
Suzdalev scored the team’s first goal in his next game, a 5-4 overtime win against the Victoria Royals. He was held pointless during their game on January 14. But, after that, scored at least one assist in the next five games he played. This included a two-assist game during a 4-2 win against the Calgary Hitmen. The point streak ended in the game on January 28. He earned an assist during Saskatoon’s 9-3 win against the Regina Pats.
He played in 10 games in January, scoring four goals and recording nine assists for 13 points.
FEBRUARY
Suzdalev earned an assist on the game-winning goal on February 9 in a 6-1 win against the Prince Albert Raiders and was voted third star of the game. That assist was also his 100th career point in junior hockey.
On February 17, he scored a go-ahead goal against the Medicine Hat Tigers at 4:57 of the third period, which put his team up 3-2 in a game they ultimately won 4-3.
Suzdalev earned an assist on February 19 on the team’s third goal which broke a 2-2 tie. He followed that up by scoring two third-period goals. The final score was 5-2. He was awarded the third star of the game.
SUZDALEV ONLY SCORES BIG GOALS@Capitals | #ALLCAPS pic.twitter.com/Y1QhVtUICM
— Saskatoon Blades (@BladesHockey) February 19, 2024
Other than those highlights, he was kept off the scoresheet for February.
Suzdalev played in nine games in February, scoring three goals and recording two assists for 5 points overall.
MARCH
He began the month on March 1 by assisting on his team’s only goal during a 4-1 loss to the Lethbridge Hurricanes.
Suzdalev scored two goals on March 15, a game where Saskatoon beat Moose Jaw 6-3. One of those goals was a Michigan-type goal.
Alexander Suzdalev with the *mic drop* Michigan goal 🔥🔥🔥@Capitals pic.twitter.com/kBcbdAFDco
— Saskatoon Blades (@BladesHockey) March 16, 2024
The following day, March 16, Saskatoon lost to Moose Jaw by an identical 6-3 score. In that game, Suzdalev had the primary assist on the team’s first goal. The Blades had scored the first three goals but gave up 6 unanswered goals.
On March 22 and 23, Saskatoon beat the Prince Albert Raiders twice, 5-1 and 4-0. Suzdalev had one assist in each of those games.
He played in 10 games during March, scoring two goals and recording four assists for 6 points overall. His totals for Saskatoon for the regular season were nine goals and 16 assists for 25 points overall in 30 games.
APRIL
During the playoffs, Suzdalev played in 30 playoff games where he scored nine goals and recorded 16 assists for 25 points overall. He was also +8. The Saskatoon Blades had advanced to the third round of the Western Hockey League (WHL) playoffs where they fell to Red Deer in seven games, a series that included six overtime games.
Update: Suzdalev has now been re-assigned to the Hershey Bears on May 11, 2024.
PLAYER FORECAST
Suzdalev had gained some weight and strength but it was likely not enough. His goal is to develop more strength and to earn a spot on the Hershey Bears for 2024-25.
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By Diane Doyle
