VANCOUVER Brett Leason once again waited for his name to be called. He’d been in the same position before twice in fact when the 2017 and 2018 NHL Entry Draftsrolled around. Both times, his name was notuttered by an NHL team; that all changed on Saturday when the Washington Capitals selected him in the second round, 56th overall. As he approaches the next level, the bar’s being raised. “We expect [him to be] probably a top-six winger who can score, has some size, good penalty killer, good sticks, smart player,” said Capitals GM Brian MacLellan following the conclusion of the draft. “He’ll be in Hershey next year so we’ll see how he does there. A suming he needs a full year in Hershey at least and then Ryder Rolston Jersey we’ll go from there.” NHL Draft 2019: Considering where he was a year ago officially off the radar the year has been a whirlwind one for the 20-year-old. “I think everything you can think of I’ve done this year so it’s been a long year but it’sone of my most fun years of hockey,” he noted with a smile.”I’ll remember this season more than any other season probably.” Entering 2018-19,Leason was coming off a season where he netted 32 points (15 goals, 17 a sists) in 54 games after Nick Lardis Jersey being acquired by Prince Albert in October 2017 with only 24 goalsin 135 career WHL games. How quickly things changed. By December,despite having never donned the maple leaf before and not beinginvited tothe prestigious Summer Showcase in August, Leason wasnamed to Canada’s world junior teamafter posting a WHL-best27 goals and 60 points. “I think my skill and everythingwas always there, I think my skating was always a step behind,” he noted on Saturday when discu sing what changed over the summer. “That’s just something I really focused on in the off-season, build strength. . . . I think the skating just came together and just everything fit together perfectlythis year and it was a big step forward.” At the 2019 IIHF World Junior Championship, Leason showcased his upgraded skating with a 200-foot game and scoring ability. He notchedfive points (three goals, two a sists) in five games for a Canadian team that finished out of the medals. Brett Leason ( ) quickly scores his second goal of the game to give a 12-0 lead! TSN (@TSN_Sports) By the end of the season with Prince Albert, the Calgary native led the team in scoring with had 89 points (36 goals, 53 a sists) in 55 regular-season games and 25 points (10 goals, 15 a sists) in 20 playoff games as the organization captured its first WHL championship since 1986. It wasnt the fact that Leason dominated major junior as a 20-year-old forward,it was how he dominated that made him unique from previous two-time draft holdovers,” noted Sporting News’ draft analyst Steve Kournianos. “Hes incredibly cerebral with or without the puck, and his anticipation, when combined with his speed, is Nick Foligno Jersey what led to so many counterattacks with Leason at the helm. If he spent his free time studying film and improving his hands and timing, fine by me. The truth is that Leason worked incredibly hard to get to this point, and he should be viewed no differently than a 2017 draft pick born in 1999 who also produced an impre sive season outside the NHL. It’s been quite a year for Calgary native Brett Leason. After being pa sed over for the 2nd time at the in 2018, he: appeared in 1st for Canada led Prince Albert in scoring in reg. season (89 pts in 55 gms), playoffs drafted in the 2nd round by Jackie Spiegel (@jackiespiegel93) Now the pre sure is on for the 2019 E.J. McGuire Award of Excellence winner presented to a player who best exemplifies commitment to excellence through strength of character, competitivene s and athleticism who went from relative anonymity to the profe sional ranks. Does one solid year of juniors translate to a solid NHL career? “I think I’m a good overall forward in general,” said Leason,who patterns his game off of Jamie Benn’s. “Just good 200-foot game and strong offensively.I think I’ve got good vision, good hockey IQ outthere with a Tj Brodie Jersey good shot. My defensive game speaks for itself. I think I’m fairly good there too.” Leason did remain an outlier in the WHL for his first season and a half with the Tri-City Americans; however, that could be due to limited ice time on a Tony Amonte Jersey veteran team. He excelled under Raiders head coachMarc Habscheid, whom he creditedwith “giving him a chance.” Considering the amount of work the 6-foot-4, 201-poundoverager has put in to get to this point, and his ability to play a multi-faceted game, Washingtongot a steal in the second round. While MacLellan foresees Leason spending a year in the AHL, expect hisstrong shot, hockey smarts and work ethic to push the narrative. With the Capitals already not bringing back Devante Smith-Pelly and Dmitrij Jaskin and more importantly, potentially losing 20-goal scorer Brett Connolly to free agency as well, they’ll be in significant need of scoring on the bottom-6 specifically on the fourth line. That being said, Washington, with limited cap space, will likely have to promote from within. IfLeason puts the work in, hecould be suiting up in the NHL sooner rather than later; he just has to win a roster spot over guys like Nathan Walker first.