Sami Lepisto came to training camp this season expecting to earn a job with the Washington Capitals. It didn’t happen, but now Lepisto is getting an extended opportunity to prove he belongs in the NHL.
“For sure I was a little bit disappointed, but I had to make sure not to be upset about it because then you might not be back,” Lepisto said. “I just tried to do my best [in Hershey], and now with the injuries I have a chance.”
Lepisto was a third-round pick in the 2004 draft - the same one that produced teammates Alex Ovechkin, Mike Green and Jeff Schultz. Caps left wing Chris Bourque, who is in a similar situation, also was part of the Class of 2004 after being selected in the second round.
Lepisto spent most of last season with Hershey of the American Hockey League after four seasons with Jokerit, one of the hockey powers in Finland’s top league. He was recalled by the Caps five times but totaled only seven games as an injury fill-in.
When he didn’t make the Caps out of camp, he got off to a hot start with the Bears. The 24-year-old Lepisto had three goals and 14 points in 20 games for Hershey before earning another trip down Interstate 83 to the big leagues.
“He handles the puck very well. He loves to skate the puck and move it,” said Karl Alzner, who was paired with Lepisto for much of the season in Hershey. “As a defenseman like me, you can’t ask for anything else, because you can get the puck to him and he can skate it out of danger.”
Four games into his current stretch with the Caps, Lepisto’s performance has been mixed. He has three assists and is a plus-1, but for nearly every tape-to-tape outlet pass there has been one that didn’t connect or a fumbled puck in his own end.
There have been flashes of the guy the Caps would like to count on as a mobile, puck-moving rearguard for years to come, but there also has been plenty of inconsistency.
“Average - I’d like to see him settle down a little bit more and not be jumping all over the place,” Caps coach Bruce Boudreau said of Lepisto’s play. “When he has time and space, he does a good job with the puck, and he competes really hard. I think he is still a little nervous. I think we’ve got to get him to settle down and calm his game down a bit.”
Added Lepisto: “I think I can play better. I think I’ve done OK. I can always be better. I know I haven’t done my best yet, and I am just getting used to playing at this level again. It is different than playing in the [AHL].’”
In the short term, Lepisto must prove he deserves to stay with the Caps as the wounded members of the team’s blue line corps begin to return. He is safe for Thursday’s contest against the N.Y. Islanders, but Mike Green could be back Saturday in Toronto.
If Green is ready, Lepisto, Alzner or Bryan Helmer likely won’t make the trip to Ontario. As the rest of the injured defensemen (Tom Poti, John Erskine and Jeff Schultz) get healthy, “Survivor: Washington blue line edition” will play out for the defensemen who began the year in Hershey (including Tyler Sloan once everyone is ready) unless one of them performs so well that he forces management to keep him.
“They have to be smart. They can’t have like 10 guys here, and I want to play,” Lepisto said. “I don’t know. I try not to think about that too much. I just hope I play my best and can be satisfied with that.”
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