Hardy Haman Aktell: 2024 Annual Review and Forecast


We continue our Washington Capitals annual prospect review and forecast series with Hardy Haman Aktell, defenseman for the Hershey Bears of the American Hockey League (AHL). (You can access all our Capitals Prospect Reports and player analysis on our “Prospects” page in the top menu or right here.)

VITALS

Haman Aktell, 26, is a 6’-3”, left-handed defenseman from Kage, Sweden. The Nashville Predators originally drafted him in the fourth round of the 2016 NHL Entry Draft with the 108th overall pick but never signed him. The Capitals signed him to a one-year two-way entry-level contract on April 27, 2023. They re-signed him to a one-year two-way contract on July 3, 2024.

CAREER SUMMARY

Häman Aktell started playing hockey for Skellefteå AIK in Sweden at various levels, including Under 16, Under 18 Juniors, and Under 20 Juniors.

During the 2019-20 season, he played with IF Björklöven of HockeyAllsvenskan (Sweden-2) where he recorded (6 goals and 10 assists) in 45 games.

Häman Aktell joined the Växjö Lakers of the Swedish Hockey League (SHL) starting in 2020-21, playing with them for three years. During the 2022-23 season, his last season with them, he recorded 36 points (9 goals and 27 assists). He led Växjö in plus/minus (+23), ranked second on the team in assists and points, and tied for third among SHL defensemen in points. The Kåge, Sweden native added seven points (3 goals and 4 assists) and recorded a +6 plus/minus rating in 18 playoff games, helping Växjö capture the SHL championship for the second time in three years. In 151 career SHL games with Växjö, Häman Aktell recorded 63 points (17 goals and 46 assists).

During the 2023-24 season, Häman Aktell recorded 11 points (2 goals and 9 assists) in 55 games with Hershey. During the Calder Cup Playoffs, Häman Aktell registered nine points (5 goals and 4 assists) in 17 games, ranking tied for first among AHL defensemen in goals (5). He also appeared in six games with the Capitals, making his NHL debut in Montreal on Oct. 21, 2023. On Oct. 29, Häman Aktell recorded his first career NHL point and assist vs. the San Jose Sharks.

2023-2024 MONTH-BY-MONTH RECAP AND TREND ANALYSIS

The following is a compilation of our month-by-month prospect reports for Hardy Haman Aktell during the 2023-2024 season. (You can find all monthly prospect reports on our “Prospects” page in the top menu).

OCTOBER

Hamen Aktell was with both the Bears and the Capitals during October. He played two games with Hershey where he recorded a goal in his second game for them, a 5-2 win against the Cleveland Monsters on October 15. He opened the scoring at 7:32 when his shot from the left point deflected into the air and dropped behind Pavel Cajan into the net, putting the Bears up 1-0.

He then was called up to the Capitals and remained with them through October; however, he was in and out of the lineup, playing just two games as the Capitals shuffled left defensemen in and out of the lineup.

He did record his first NHL point on October 20 when he assisted on Dylan Strome’s third period goal as the Capitals beat the San Jose Sharks 3-1.

NOVEMBER

He played in four games with the Capitals, getting no points before being sent to Hershey in mid-November. He rejoined the lineup on November 18 and played the last five games of the month. An assist on Riley Sutter’s game-winning goal against Wilkes-Barre/Scranton on November 22 was the Swede’s lone point of November. However, he contributed in other ways. Haman Aktell is a strong puck carrier, and this has benefited Hershey’s zone exits. The native of Cage, Sweden plays in the key defensive situations and has been an aid to the penalty kill. He has been playing alongside Dylan McIlrath in the team’s top defensive pairing.

DECEMBER

Haman Aktell is a strong puck handler who does a good job exiting the defensive zone. He does not panic and makes good decisions when it comes to zone exits. There were times in the month when Haman Aktell ended up chasing the puck in his own end and this got him out of position on occasion. Overall, the rookie has been a reliable defenseman. He is a strong penalty killer and a been a solid contributor to the success of the unit. The Swede is a stay-at-home defenseman but can contribute offensively from time to time. He recorded two assists in December, equaling his point total for the season coming into the month.

JANUARY

The Swede had a bit of an up-and-down January. Defensively, Haman Aktell had some lapses early in the month. One came in the second period on January 7 against the Lehigh Valley Phantoms. The rookie blue liner chose to go and help Chase Priskie below the goal line and this left Adam Brooks wide open in front of the net to tally for the Phantoms.

Haman Aktell settled down as the month went along and was steadier in his own end. The Kage, Sweden native enjoyed his most productive month offensively with three helpers. Two of those were primary assists. He had the primary apple on Bogdan Trineyev’s Teddy Bear Toss goal. His other primary assist came in Bridgeport on January 15 when he set up Chase Priskie’s tying goal in the third period.

FEBRUARY

Offensively, the Swedish blueliner had a relatively quiet February. His lone point came when he earned the secondary assist on Hendrix Lapierre’s shorthanded tally in Belleville on February 19. Defensively, Haman Aktell has mostly been steady and does a good job of getting his stick in the passing lane. This trait aids him on the penalty kill where he is usually in the second defensive pairing on the team’s high unit. The Swede is not flashy but is a good skater.

MARCH

March was a little bit of a rough go for Haman Aktell. He was a minus player in five of the nine games he played and only posted a plus rating once. At times, the Swede strayed from his strengths. The rookie is at his best when he stays strong positionally and keeps it simple. He wandered out of position and sometimes looked hesitant to use his body to knock guys off the puck. The area in which Haman Aktell remained strong in was penalty killing. He stays in position and blocks shots by getting into shooting lanes. The Swedish blueliner needs to take that approach to his play five-on-five more consistently.

APRIL

He recorded an assist in the game on April 12 on Logan Day’s third-period goal against the Lehigh Valley Phantoms where they won 4-1. The next day, he scored the team’s only goal during a 4-1 loss to Wilkes-Barre at 7:05 in the second period.

His totals for April were playing in 8 games, with one goal and one assist.

He was recalled to Washington on April 23 for their playoff series against the New York Rangers when the Capitals defense corps was decimated by injury but did not get into any games.

POSTSEASON

During the Bears first-round playoff series against the Lehigh Valley Phantoms, he had an especially good game in the series finale on May 11. He assisted on Pierrick Dube’s first-period goal at 15:08 which tied the score at 2-2.

He scored the team’s last goal at 14:52, increasing the Bears’ lead to 5-3, which was the final score.

He contributed one assist during the Bears’ second-round series against the Hartford Wolves. This assist came on Garrett Roe’s first goal of the game which came at 1:56 in the second period. Roe redirected Hardy Häman Aktell’s shot from the left point past Dylan Garand at 1:56 of the second period to tie the score at 1-1.  Bears won 4-1 and advanced to the Eastern Conference Finals.

He contributed 1 assist during the Eastern Conference Finals. It occurred when he assisted on Logan Day’s goal at 12:11. That was his only point in the Easter Conference Finals.

He had plenty of heroics during the Calder Cup Final against the Coachella Valley Firebirds. He scored at 12:51 during the second period, decreasing the Bears’ deficit to 3-2. The Bears won 4-3 in overtime.

He scored two goals during the second game on June 14, his first at 9:45 during the third period and his second at 19:49 which was an empty netter. Both of his goals were insurance goals in a 5-2 win.

He had the secondary assist on Ethan Frank’s first-period goal during Game 4 on June 20. His last goal game came in a losing cause on June 22. He scored the team’s second goal at 8:36 in the third period which tied the score at 2-2. The final score was 4-3 in favor of Coachella. His postseason totals were 17 games played, with 5 goals and 4 assists for 9 points overall.

PLAYER FORECAST

Hamen Aktell hopes to play more in Washington during 2024-25 but is likely to play with the Hershey Bears as there is a logjam of defensemen on the Capitals, thanks to off-season acquisitions.

By Diane Doyle

Related Reading
Washington Capitals Re-sign Hardy Haman Aktell, Riley Sutter To One-Year, Two-Way Contracts
Capitals Return Hardy Haman Aktell To AHL Hershey
Hardy Haman Aktell Records First NHL Point With Assist on Dylan Strome Goal
Capitals Recall Defenseman Hardy Haman Aktell From Hershey Bears, Place Charlie Lindgren On IR
Hardy Haman Aktell, Ethen Frank Score, Ivan Miroshnichenko Tallies First AHL Point, Bears Down Monsters, 5-2
Rasmus Sandin Makes Team Sweden’s Final Roster For World Championships, Hardy Haman Aktell Does Not
Capitals Sign Defenseman Hardy Häman Aktell To A One-Year, Two-Way Entry-Level contract





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