Madison Bowey

A second-round pick in the 2013 NHL Entry Draft, Bowey got his first taste of NHL action in 2017-18. The puck-moving defenseman managed 10 points (all assists) and averaged 13:43 of ice time during 51 appearances during the regular season, mostly on the third defense pairing before losing his roster spot to Michal Kempny following the trade deadline. The Capitals are awfully high on Bowey and he should be a more consistent presence in the lineup in 2018-19. However, he will be competing with Christian Djoos and Brooks Orpik for a lineup spot, so his place as an everyday participant is far from certain. Should he maintain consistent ice time, Bowey has enough skills and upside to warrant a look in deeper formats, but he may need another season to have much fantasy value in standard leagues.

The Caps' second-round pick in 2013, Bowey flashed tantalizing offensive ability in juniors, but he's yet to truly carry that over to the AHL level, where he owns 43 points in 104 career games -- not bad, but not the stuff breakouts are made of either. Of course, there’s some backstory to that, as Bowey suffered a brutal ankle injury in the AHL last season, lacerating a tendon; the injury required surgery that made him miss a huge chunk of the season, and then he absorbed a puck to the face that derailed him further. That’s particularly unfortunate because Bowey looked to be rounding into an NHL-ready prospect early in the season, but he’s put it all behind him and looking ahead to 2017-18, when he'll be given an opportunity to make the Caps out of training camp. It’s not likely that he'll return much fantasy value even if he does so, as there won't be much room for him on the upper pairings or on the power play to start out, but Bowey’s combination of size and skill should play well on the blue line in the long term.

A former second-round selection by the Capitals in 2013, Bowey could be the next great NHL defenseman to come from the WHL’s Kelowna Rockets. With 21 goals and 60 points in 70 games last season, Bowey certainly showed he has the kind of offensive upside from the blue line that scouts drool over. While he may not have the Norris Trophy potential of fellow Kelowna alumni Shea Weber or Duncan Keith, Bowey’s skill set is tremendous, and he has the right coach at the NHL level in Barry Trotz to make the most of his talent. With a crowded blue line ahead of him on the NHL depth chart, the Capitals seem content to let Bowey develop his game at the lower ranks for 2014-2015, but the Manitoban has all the tools to be a top-pairing defenseman at the NHL level.

Bowey is mobile two-way defender who has no major weakness and a decent amount of offensive upside. After a few more years of experience and some minor fine tuning to his game he should have a bright future in Washington. In the meantime this gritty performer will be a fan favorite wherever he plays. Keeper leagues take note.