Christian Djoos
“Whoso neglects learning in his youth, loses the past and is
dead for the future.”
-- Euripides
Christian Djoos had a nice rookie season for the Washington
Capitals in 2017-2018. How nice? He started his rookie season with a goal in
his first NHL game:
And when the season was over, he became only the 13th defenseman in team history to dress for at least 60 regular season games as a
rookie and only the fifth since Kevin Hatcher played in 79 games as a rookie in
1985-1986. He became only the third rookie defenseman in team history to play in 60
regular season games and post a plus-minus of plus-10 or better, joining John
Carlson (plus-21 in 2010-2011) and Scott Stevens (plus-15 in 1982-1983).
Djoos ranked highly among his rookie defenseman peers in
2017-2018 as well, finishing eigth in games played (63), tied for eighth in
goals (three), 12th in assists (11), tied for ninth in points (14),
tied for fourth in plus-minus (plus-13). He accomplished this despite ranking
40th in average ice time (14:02 per game) among 62 rookie defensemen
appearing in at least 20 games.
His possession numbers were respectable, finishing 20th
among 56 rookie defensemen appearing in at least half of their teams’ games
(521.79 percent; numbers from NHL.com), although he was sheltered in terms of
his offensive zone starts (60.43 percent, 11th among that same group
of 56 defensemen).
Odd Djoos Fact…
Christian Djoos scored three goals on home ice last season
(none on the road). The Caps lost two of
the games, a 3-2 loss to Pittsburgh on October 11th and a 4-1 loss
to Florida on October 21st.
The lone win accompanying a Djoos goal was a 5-2 win over New Jersey on
December 30th.
Fearless’ Take…
Playing defense is hard in the NHL, perhaps the hardest
position on the ice to master and play well consistently. That only 13 rookie defensemen played in 60
or more games last season, including Djoos, speaks to that idea. It is especially noteworthy with respect to
Djoos that he was among this group having been a seventh-round/195th
overall draft pick in 2012. He is one of
only six skaters out of the seventh round of that draft to have dressed for an
NHL game, and Djoos has the most among them.
He is one of only eight rookie defensemen since 2005-2006 taken in the
seventh round of any draft to have played in 60 or more games and the only one
to have played for a Stanley Cup winner.
Cheerless’ Take…
Djoos hit a wall last year, at least in the offensive end,
that looked like Wile E. Coyote trying to chase the Road Runner through a
tunnel, only to find it was a painted rock.
He had a four-game points streak to end January and begin February, but
starting with his 45th game of the season on February 9th,
he was 0-2-2 over his last 41 games, including the playoffs. He finished the season with a 54-game streak
without a goal, including the postseason.
And there was an ice time issue.
In 20 games in which he skated more than 20 minutes, the Caps were
9-9-2. They were 9-5-1 when he skated 13
minutes or less.
The Big Question… Is Christian Djoos’ role as a starting
third pair defenseman secure?
The overall picture of the Washington Capitals heading into
training camp and the 2018-2019 season is that they bring almost their entire
Stanley Cup winning roster back. They
lost one skater (Jay Beagle). Drilling
down, it would then follow that Christian Djoos, having established himself
with a good rookie season and then appearing in 22 playoff games after sitting
out the first two games of the first round, would have his name written in pen
on the six-deep depth chart of defensemen.
Well, let’s step back a bit.
Remember that at this time last season, he and Madison Bowey
were being looked at as a rookie third-pair for the Caps. For a while, they were in the lineup
regularly, even if not always paired with one another. As the season unfolded, the Caps traded for
Michal Kempny, who was paired with John Carlson, Djoos was paired with Brooks
Orpik, and Bowey was sent to Hershey. Voila! A Stanley Cup. So here we are a few months later, and Bowey
is in camp pushing for a roster spot, some other youngsters (Lucas Johansen,
Jonas Siegenthaler, Connor Hobbs) might be making a case for themselves, and Djoos
did have, if not struggles, than a less productive last five months of the
season in his rookie campaign than he had in its beginning.
It is not to say that Djoos is in imminent danger of losing
a starting spot or even a roster spot.
But he does have an additional consideration that in some cases would be
incentive, while in other cases, pressure.
His current contract expires after this season, and he will be an
arbitration-eligible restricted free-agent.
How well he fights off a “sophomore slump,” how well he deals with the
grind of a long NHL season to avoid hitting a wall, and how well he can
compartmentalize his on-ice responsibilities and his looming contract situation
will go a long way to determining if he can maintain a firm grip on his spot on
the depth chart.
In the end…
What with Alex Ovechkin having another fine year and
fulfilling a Stanley Cup dream, Evgeny Kuznetsov’s coming-out party as a top
echelon forward in the league, John Carlson’s career year, Lars Eller’s clutch
playoff performance, Devante Smith-Pelly’s odd propensity to score goals in the
postseason at rates he doesn't approach in the regular season, and Braden Holtby’s
return from the abyss at the end of the bench as Philipp Grubauer’s backup to
open the playoffs, Christian Djoos’ season can get lost in the cheering.
Make no mistake, though.
Djoos had a rookie campaign that compares favorably among rookie
defensemen over the history of this franchise.
The object of the sophomore year, then, is to take the lessons learned
and experience gained as a freshman and build on it to continue with favorable
comparisons to his predecessors on the Capitals’ blue line.
Projection: 74 games, 4-12-16, plus-10
Photo: Bruce Bennett/Getty Images North America