I really thought he had a lot of rust in the first couple games. He’s certainly been playing better lately.
I can’t tell you how refreshing it is to have competent defenseman after years of subpar and lackluster defense. I feel like Sandin was just the beginning of revitalizing and waking up our defense.
Chychrun is next. Work your magic Caps and lock him up for the long haul.
3 comments
[Rasmus Sandin](https://www.washingtonpost.com/sports/2023/11/16/rasmus-sandin-hockey-fights-cancer-caps/?itid=lk_inline_manual_2) has heard a familiar refrain throughout his career. As a smaller defenseman with a reputation for playing on the offensive side of the puck, the critique is almost always the same.
*Sure, he can run a power play, but he’s going to have to learn to defend. He’s going to have to learn to defend.*
In his second full season with the Washington Capitals, after [being acquired from the Toronto Maple Leafs](https://www.washingtonpost.com/sports/2023/02/28/capitals-trade-rasmus-sandin-erik-gustafsson-marcus-johansson/?itid=lk_inline_manual_5) in February 2023, the 24-year-old blue-liner has done just that. Sandin’s growth as a defender [began last season](https://www.washingtonpost.com/sports/2023/11/23/rasmus-sandin-caps-maple-leafs/?itid=lk_inline_manual_5), as he took on the larger, more demanding role he’d sought in Toronto and started to find his footing against tougher competition.
“He wants to be a top-caliber defenseman in the National Hockey League, and in order to do that, you need to be able to play in every situation,” [Capitals Coach Spencer Carbery](https://www.washingtonpost.com/sports/2023/10/12/spencer-carbery-coaching-history-washington-capitals/?itid=lk_inline_manual_7) said last fall. “You can’t be one-dimensional.”
Read more here: [https://www.washingtonpost.com/sports/2024/11/12/rasmus-sandin-capitals-defense/?utm_campaign=wp_main&utm_medium=social&utm_source=reddit.com](https://www.washingtonpost.com/sports/2024/11/12/rasmus-sandin-capitals-defense/?utm_campaign=wp_main&utm_medium=social&utm_source=reddit.com)
I really thought he had a lot of rust in the first couple games. He’s certainly been playing better lately.
I can’t tell you how refreshing it is to have competent defenseman after years of subpar and lackluster defense. I feel like Sandin was just the beginning of revitalizing and waking up our defense.
Chychrun is next. Work your magic Caps and lock him up for the long haul.