Caps prospects saw Carbery stress ‘little details' in development
Caps prospects saw Carbery stress ‘little details' in development originally appeared on NBC Sports Washington
HERSHEY, Pa. — If his past work in their organization is any indication, the Capitals’ new era under head coach Spencer Carbery is going to be all about the details.
Washington named Carbery its 20th head coach in franchise history earlier this month, bringing the fast-rising coaching candidate back to the organization with which he spent nine seasons working for its ECHL and AHL affiliates. That journey included three years as head coach of the Hershey Bears, who are currently in the midst of a run to the Calder Cup Finals.
The Bears still roster several prospects who played under Carbery during his run as coach from 2018-21. Despite coaching through the heart of the coronavirus pandemic, Carbery led Hershey to a 104-50-9-8 record (.658 point percentage) and won the Louis A.R. Pieri Memorial Award for the AHL’s Coach of the Year in 2020-21. His success with the Bears earned him an assistant job with the Toronto Maple Leafs.
“He’s one of my favorite coaches I’ve had in the sense where he’s able to push you and also be on your side and help you develop your game,” Capitals’ 2019 first-round pick Connor McMichael said following Hershey’s practice Monday. “I was really excited to see he got that head coaching job and it was obviously well deserved. Couldn’t have happened to a better guy.”
Carbery pledged in his introductory press conference to prioritize the development of some of the Capitals’ top prospects, a group that includes McMichael. The 22-year-old enjoyed a strong rookie season under Carbery averaging 0.82 points per game, earning him a season-long stay in D.C. the following year before being sent back to Hershey for 2022-23.
McMichael credited his former Hershey coach for identifying the finer points of his game that needed improvement and impressing on him the importance of developing into a well-rounded player.
“It was my first year pro under him and I think a big thing for me was him showing me how to play that defensive style of play and just teach me that every mistake at this level counts and it could end up in the back of the net,” McMichael said. “He showed me little things like that. All the little details helped me out tremendously.”
That approach wasn’t singular to McMichael. Several of Carbery’s former players resonated with the head coach’s leadership style and saw it rub off on the locker room. As a self-described “suitcase” player who bounced around different hockey leagues trying to climb the ladder, Carbery takes just as much pride in doing the work as he does in seeing the results.
“I think the biggest thing for him is you can see his work ethic and his determination and how he carries himself and he just kind of pushes you to be the same way,” said forward Beck Malenstyn, who played under Carbery for two seasons.
“There’s moments where you can probably argue he wants to be on the ice more than we do. That’s a huge compliment to him that he really loves the game and he drives it forward and it’s really contagious. You have that kind of energy around you and it just makes you want to continue to work to get better.”
Now coaching an NHL team that already has a roster full of veteran players who fully expect to bounce back in 2023-24 and return to the playoffs, Carbery is tasked with striking a balance between putting the best lineup on the ice on a given night and providing opportunities for younger players to establish themselves.
That being said, nobody is just going to be handed a roster spot. Carbery already showed in Hershey he fosters a culture that dictates a strong work ethic and rewards players who buy in. Aliaksei Protas, a 2019 third-round pick, plans to report to camp ready to start over and earn his place even after appearing in 58 games for the Capitals this season.
“There’s a battle for the spot so everybody has gotta show their best in the NHL camp and you never know what’s going to happen,” Protas said. “So, nobody’s spot is guaranteed down there so everybody is going to have to go there and compete for the spot, do their best to prove they can be in the NHL.”
