There had been murmurs over the last week that the Washington Capitals would be selecting a defensemen with this year’s first-round pick, due to the fact that they haven’t drawn a blueliner in the first since 2018 (Alex Alexeyev). Instead, they went with a slightly out of left field option, selecting right-winger Terik Parascak, a forward who most outlets had ranked as late first or even early second round.
It was a reach, to say the least…but the Caps must have seen something they liked, and are hoping to prove everyone wrong going forward.
So what did they get in Parascak?
Looking at the numbers alone, Parascak looks great. He finished first in goals and points among WHL rookies with 43 and 105 respectively, earning the nickname “Super Rookie”. Usually guys with those numbers are easily going in the top 10, if not top 5. His 105 points ranked fifth among all 17 year old players in the WHL since the year 2000. That’s a point less then Ryan Nugent-Hopkins and better than Seth Jarvis, Zach Benson, Evander Kane, Brayden Point, Brayden Schenn, and Brendan Gallagher, among other players. So why was he considered a reach at pick 17?
It comes down to two factors. First, he was playing on a stacked Prince George team that included Zac Funk, who recently signed with the Caps as a free agent, as well as Hudson Thornton, who signed with the Hershey Bears. The Caps have spent a lot of time scouting his teammates and clearly got a good look at the kid in the process. The question becomes, is he only putting up points because he played on a strong team with good linemates? Or can he still produce once the talent around him leaves?
Secondly, his skating is average at best. We’ll talk about his brain in a second, but if he could make his skate speed match his think speed, he’d be incredibly dangerous. He’s a strong skater, but that speed needed to separate himself from opponents just isn’t there. This is why he relies on his line to do a lot of the puck carrying from defense to offense. Once he’s in one of those zones, though, he shines.
That brings us to the best trait of Terik and that’s his brain. In my opinion, there is no tool more important in an NHLer than hockey IQ. Even if you have great skating ability, or a snipe of a shot or pure vision or whatever other tool, it does not matter if you don’t have the brain to insulate those skills. Terik does have good offensive tools with above-average shooting and passing abilities – but it’s his brain helping get him into the right position that makes him so deadly.
Specifically, it’s his positioning that gets a lot of praise. He just knows where to be to receive the puck and has the skills to either rip it or pass it off to someone in the soft area for them to score. This translates to his defensive game as well, as he’s great at anticipating where the puck will be so he’s in the right position to cut it off and gain possession for his team. It’s important to note that he plays on both the power play and penalty kill. Getting that kind of trust from your coach is huge.
What is most intriguing about Terik is his age and the fact that this past season was his first season in the WHL. That’s kind of absurd when you think about it. He just turned 18 a month ago, meaning he played his first whole WHL season as a 17-year-old. Most draft-eligible players drafted this high have played a full WHL season in their D-1 (the season prior to their draft year), but Terik was playing prep school hockey. If he could put up these type of points as a 17-year-old in his first WHL season, then there truly could be more there to unlock.
A lot of projections put him as a safe, high-floor player that should be a good middle-six complementary player, but many believe that if he can improve his skating and show that he has even more growth in his game due to just now playing in the WHL for the first year, that he could become a legit top six winger.
The main comparison he gets is Tyler Toffoli, another smart winger at both ends of the ice with shooting ability, though lacking speed. ESPN analysts compared him to Brayden Point, who was, at best, an average skater his draft year as well but now skating is one of his strengths. It gives you some hope with Terik. I see a lot of Justin Williams in Terik as well. Williams was neither the quickest, nor had top-tier shooting or passing ability, but he had an elite brain that put him in the right position all the time to become an excellent possession player. Two other comparables are Jason Robertson and Mark Stone, both knocked for their skating but who became top-line players due to their hockey IQ (although those two did have size that Terik does not).
There is of course no guarantee that he hits the level of those comparables, but I would not bet against a person with top-end puck IQ. Add to this Terik’s work ethic, ability to play in all situations, his age and the fact he just played his first ever WHL season and blew it out of the water, there’s certainly a chance he could become a top-six winger. For now, he needs to get stronger, faster and prove everyone next season that this was not a reach by the Caps.
Thanks to EliteProspect, The Athletic, Scouching, McKeen Hockey, NHL Draft Pros, Hockey Prospecting for scouting reports and profiles.