Washington Capitals: Best From 2006 Draft Class - The Hockey Writers - Washington Capitals

It is hard to believe, but the 2006 NHL Entry Draft is coming up on being 18 years ago. It was a crucial time for the Washington Capitals back then, as they were trying to surround their generational talent in a young Alex Ovechkin with a cast to help make the team one of the best in the league. The Capitals were fortunate to have two first-round picks this time. As great of a talent as Ovechkin was then and is still currently, the organization knew they needed to add more firepower to the lineup for the future. They drafted some names who would have nice NHL careers.

Nicklas Backstrom

The odds are always great that selecting someone with the fourth overall pick is going to work out well. It was all of that and then some for the Capitals when they drafted forward Nicklas Backstrom with the fourth overall selection in 2006. Listing all the stuff that Backstrom did for the organization is so long that it could have its own article. First and foremost, he was a key contributor in the Caps hoisting their first Stanley Cup in franchise history back in 2018. During that run, he played in 20 games and netted five goals while assisting on 18 for a total of 23 points. He took care of business from his end to help bring the Cup to D.C.

Simply put, the first name picked in this draft for Washington is one of the best to ever suit up for the franchise in their history. Backstrom’s name and No. 19 will be raised to the rafters in Capital One Arena one day for all of his contributions and success, not just individually but for the team as a whole. He and Ovechkin were the two constants throughout the years. Other players would come and go: Olaf Kolzig, Mike Green, Alexander Semin, Braden Holtby, and others. Ovechkin and Backstrom always stayed. They both defined this era for the Caps. Ovechkin is one of the best to ever play this sport and can take care of business on his own, but having Backstrom on his team and his line still made a massive impact. Below are the regular-season numbers Backstrom posted as a member of the Caps:

2007-08: 14 goals and 55 assists for 69 points in 82 points
2008-09: 22 goals and 66 assists for 88 points in 82 games
2009-10: 33 goals and 68 assists for 101 points in 82 games
2010-11: 18 goals and 47 assists for 65 points in 77 games
2011-12: 14 goals and 30 assists for 44 points in 42 games
2012-13: 8 goals and 40 assists for 48 points in 48 games
2013-14: 18 goals and 61 assists for 79 points in 82 games
2014-15: 18 goals and 60 assists for 78 points in 82 games
2015-16: 20 goals and 50 assists for 70 points in 75 games
2016-17: 23 goals and 63 assists for 86 points in 82 games
2017-18: 21 goals and 50 assists for 71 points in 81 games
2018-19: 22 goals and 52 assists for 74 points in 80 games
2019-20: 12 goals and 42 assists for 54 points in 61 games
2020-21: 15 goals and 38 assists for 53 points in 55 games
2021-22: 6 goals and 25 assists for 31 points in 47 games
2022-23: 7 goals and 14 assists for 21 points in 39 games
2023-24: 1 assist in 8 games

Additionally, Backstrom played in 139 postseason games, where he put up 38 goals and 76 assists for 114 points. He was also an NHL All-Star in 2016.

LAS VEGAS, NV – JUNE 07: Washington Capitals Center Nicklas Backstrom (19) hoists the Stanley Cup with Washington Capitals Left Wing Alex Ovechkin (8) (Photo by Chris Williams/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)

Unfortunately for Backstrom and the Caps, the last few seasons became an issue due to hip surgery that he had done in 2022. He tried playing in 2023-24 but had to stop after just eight games. His hockey career should be ending a lot better, but he is one of the best to ever lace the skates for the Capitals organization. As things currently stand, Backstrom is second in franchise history with 1,033 points. Only Ovechkin has more with 1,550. As previously mentioned, his No. 19 will be retired by the organization. He will always be remembered for being one of the best to ever play the game in D.C.

Semyon Varlamov

Taking a goalie late in the first round was a solid move by then-Capitals general manager George McPhee. Kolzig had been the longtime goalie between the pipes, but McPhee knew that he was going to need goaltending in the wings for when Kolzig either retired or moved on from the team. Brent Johnson was the backup at the time, but it was apparent based on this draft class that McPhee wanted to go in a different direction for his next starting goalie. He took Varlamov with the 23^rd overall pick, who was playing for Lokomotiv Yaroslavl in what was then known as the Russian Superleague (now the Kontinental Hockey League). Varlamov was the third goalie off the board at 23, as the Los Angeles Kings took Jonathan Bernier with the 11^th overall pick and the Tampa Bay Lightning selected Riku Helenius with the 15^th pick. Others taken in 2006 included Jhonas Enroth (Buffalo Sabres), Steve Mason (Columbus Blue Jackets), and James Reimer (Toronto Maple Leafs) among others.

Varlamov is one of the players from this 2006 Draft still playing in the league. He spent parts of three seasons with the Caps before heading to the Colorado Avalanche. He was a mainstay for the Avs in net for eight seasons, before making his way to the New York Islanders. In the 2023-24 NHL season, he was the backup to starting netminder and fellow Russian countryman Ilya Sorokin. His time in Washington might not have been long, but he played a critical role while he was in the net for the team. Here are his numbers during his few seasons in D.C.:

2008-09: four wins, one overtime loss (OT), 2.37 goals-against average (GAA), and a .918 save percentage (SV%) in six games played
2009-10: 15 wins, four losses, six OT, 2.55 GAA, .909 SV%, and two shutouts
2010-11: 11 wins, nine losses, five OT, 2.23 GAA, .924 SV%, and two shutouts

Varlamov was traded to Colorado in exchange for a 2012 first-round pick and a second-round selection in either 2012 or 2013. The Avalanche were where Varlamov spent most of his time, playing there for parts of eight seasons. He may not have been a Capital for too long, but McPhee and his staff made a solid selection back in 2006 bringing him aboard. He just did not do as much in Washington as with the Avs.

Michal Neuvirth

There is something about Washington sports teams selecting the same position twice in the same draft. In 2012, it happened with the now-Washington Commanders of the NFL taking quarterback Robert Griffin III and later Kirk Cousins in the same draft. In 2006, it was Varlamov followed by goalie Michal Neuvirth. McPhee drafting Neuvirth continued to provide assurance of their goaltending future beyond Kolzig when that time finally came to an end.

Neuvirth, unlike Varlamov, spent more than a few seasons in D.C. He made his Caps debut during the 2008-09 campaign, playing in a few contests. 2010-11 was when he suited up for the most amount in a season for the club with 48 games played. He notched a record of 27-12-4 during that span. He played for the Caps until the middle of the 2013-14 season and was traded to the Buffalo Sabres along with defenseman Rostislav Klesla for goalie Jaroslav Halak and a 2015 third-round pick. He went on to play for the Sabres and Islanders and finished his NHL career with the Philadelphia Flyers.

Looking back at Neuvirth’s time in D.C., he was another goalie brought in to try and find that replacement for Kolzig. Like Varlamov, he did not become the long-term solution in net. It was not until Braden Holtby joined the team that they had their next star goaltender. As for Neuvirth, he was okay, but he was not the perfect Kolzig replacement, looking back. In comparison to what they could have missed on though with that selection, they certainly did alright by drafting him and giving him the chance to prove himself.

Mathieu Perreault

The fact that the Caps were able to get a talent like forward Mathieu Perreault in the sixth round of a draft is great scouting work by McPhee and his team at the time. He would not really hit his stride entirely until after he left D.C., but they deserve credit for seeing his potential that he would eventually hit elsewhere.

Perreault debuted for Washington during the 2009-10 season, where he played in 21 games and notched four goals and five assists for nine points. He followed up that campaign with 14 points in 2010-11 (seven goals and seven assists). The most games he ever played in a single season as a Cap came in 2011-12, when he suited up for 64 games and accrued 16 goals and 14 assists. After the lockout-shortened season in 2012-13, Perreault was traded to the Anaheim Ducks. The full deal was Perreault to the Ducks for John Mitchell and a 2014 fourth-round pick. Anaheim is where things started to click better for Perreault, and he started having better offensive seasons. He played for the Ducks for one season before heading to the Winnipeg Jets, where he played the most in his career. He put up the following stats while a member of the Jets:

2014-15: 18 goals and 23 assists for 41 points in 62 games
2015-16: nine goals and 32 assists for 41 points in 71 games
2016-17: 13 goals and 32 assists for 45 points in 65 games
2017-18: 17 goals and 22 assists for 39 points in 70 games
2018-19: 15 goals and 15 assists for 30 points in 82 games
2019-20: seven goals and eight assists for 15 points in 49 games
2020-21: nine goals and 10 assists for 19 points in 56 games

Perreault finished his time in the NHL with the Montreal Canadiens in 2021-22. He only played in 25 contests, getting nine points (four goals and five assists). He retired in 2022. General managers have an easier time selecting players who become stars in the first couple rounds of NHL drafts. True geniuses find diamonds in the rough like Perreault in Rounds 6 and 7. McPhee and his staff did a great job finding Perreault, but unfortunately, he did not benefit the club as much as he did elsewhere, mostly for Winnipeg.

A Draft Class to Remember

The 2006 NHL Draft will always be remembered mostly for the Caps bringing Backstrom to the organization. He was the perfect talent to pair with Ovechkin and help get the organization better to try and win a Cup. Looking at these names altogether though, McPhee and his management crew had an eye for talent. They deserve credit for being able to land two goalies who, while not franchise faces, were still good at times when they needed to be. They were NHL-level talent in the crease. Also, being able to find a hidden gem in Perreault is impressive. This was a good draft for the Caps looking back. They just did not get to fully receive the fruits of that labor.