The Capitals moved into 5th place in the race for the top pick in the NHL draft after the Columbus Blue Jackets defeated the Los Angeles Kings in overtime last night 3-2. With their move into the top five they now are eligible to win the 1st pick in the draft lottery. Under the terms of the rules, only the teams with the worst five records are eligible to move up to the number one pick. The Caps also control Buffalo's first round pick which at the moment would be the 29th selection. That will change based on the Sabres performance in the playoffs, just another reason to root against them.
The only problem with this draft is that it is not as strong as last year's as there is no clear cut franchise player. Here is the updated list of the top 30 skaters available as of March 7th. No goaltender is ranked to go in the first round.
Top 30 Skaters - Updated March 7
| No. | Player | Pos. | Ht. | Wt. | Shot | DoB | Team |
| 1. | Cherepanov, Alexei | RW | 6.00 | 183 | L | 1/15/1989 | Omsk |
| 2. | Kane, Patrick | RW | 5.10 | 162 | L | 11/9/1988 | London |
| 3. | Turris, Kyle | C | 6.00 | 165 | R | 8/14/1989 | Burnaby |
| 4. | Van Riemsdyk, James | LW | 6.03 | 191 | L | 5/4/1989 | US Under-18 |
| 5. | Voracek, Jakub | C | 6.01 | 188 | L | 8/15/1989 | Halifax |
| 6. | Alzner, Karl | D | 6.02 | 210 | L | 9/4/1988 | Calgary |
| 7. | Couture, Logan | F | 6.01 | 188 | R | 3/28/1989 | Ottawa |
| 8. | Gagner, Sam | RW | 5.11 | 190 | R | 8/10/1989 | London |
| 9. | Ellerby, Keaton | D | 6.03 | 182 | L | 11/5/1988 | Kamloops |
| 10. | Mayorov, Maxim | LW | 6.02 | 187 | L | 3/26/1989 | Leninogorsk |
| 11. | Esposito, Angelo | C | 6.01 | 180 | L | 2/20/1989 | Quebec |
| 12. | Gillies, Colton | C | 6.04 | 194 | L | 2/12/1989 | Saskatoon |
| 13. | Petrecki, Nick | D | 6.03 | 213 | L | 7/11/1989 | Omaha |
| 14. | Andersson, Joakim | C | 6.02 | 198 | L | 2/5/1989 | Frolunda |
| 15. | Blum, John | D | 6.00 | 155 | R | 1/30/1989 | Vancouver |
| 16. | Plante, Alex | D | 6.05 | 220 | R | 5/9/1989 | Calgary |
| 17. | Veilleux, Keven | C | 6.05 | 195 | R | 6/27/1989 | Victoriaville |
| 18. | Hamill, Zach | C | 5.10.5 | 180 | R | 9/23/1989 | Everett |
| 19. | Hickey, Thomas | D | 5.11 | 186 | R | 2/8/1989 | Seattle |
| 20. | Aliu, Akim | RW | 6.02.5 | 207 | R | 4/24/1989 | Sudbury |
| 21. | Sutter, Brandon | C | 6.03 | 174 | R | 2/14/1989 | Red Deer |
| 22. | Shattenkirk, Kevin | D | 5.11 | 193 | L | 1/29/1989 | USA Under-18 |
| 23. | Hoeffel, Mike | LW | 6.01 | 175 | L | 4/9/1989 | USA Under-18 |
| 24. | MacLean, Brett | LW | 6.01.5 | 200 | R | 12/24/1988 | Oshawa |
| 25. | Moller, Oscar | C | 5.10.5 | 182 | R | 1/22/1989 | Chiliwack |
| 26. | Gratchev, Max | LW | 5.11 | 195 | L | 9/26/1988 | Rimouski |
| 27. | Ruzicka, Vladimir | C | 6.01 | 180 | L | 2/17/1989 | Slavia |
| 28. | Doyle, Eric | D | 6.02 | 191 | L | 4/5/1989 | Everett |
| 29. | Backlund, Mikael | C | 6.00 | 191 | L | 3/17/1989 | Vasteras |
| 30. | Tyrell, Dana | C | 5.10 | 185 | L | 4/23/1989 | Prince George |
The Caps should be able to chose either a right wing or center, their two positions of greatest need prospect wise.
Caps Roster Notes:The team announced yesterday that both Chris Clark and Boyd Gordon will return to action Friday night when the Caps host the Carolina Hurricanes. In response the team reassigned forwards Alexandre Giroux and Dave Steckel back to Hershey. Giroux played well in his brief time with the big club, providing a nice spark to the lineup with his speed and hustle. Steckel did not see any action after being recalled before Tuesday's game in Toronto.
