Capitals Sign Johansen, Williams, Mitchell To Entry-Level Contracts

12:03pm: The team has also signed Mason Mitchell out of the University of Alaska-Anchorage to a two-year contract. The college free agent will join the Hershey Bears for the rest of the season on a tryout. The 22-year old forward had 12 goals in 31 games for his college team this year.

11:10am: Following the Chicago Blackhawks announcement that they’d signed Matthew Highmore, the Washington Capitals have handed out a couple of entry-level contracts of their own. The team announced today that they’ve signed Lucas Johansen and Colby Williams.

Unlike Highmore, both of these players were drafted by the Capitals, with Johansen being their first-round selection last summer. The 28th-overall pick earned himself a three-year deal and will remain with the Kelowna Rockets for the rest of the season. With 36 points in 60 games, the left-handed defenseman has been focusing more on his defensive game this season and is beginning to show the makings of a solid top-four defender in the NHL.

His first pass out of the defensive zone is already great, and he says he’s trying to model his game after Nicklas Lidstrom and Roman Josi—the latter of which currently plays with his brother Ryan in Nashville.

Williams is a different story entirely. Drafted in the sixth-round in 2015, the 22-year old was passed over two years in a row before finally hearing his name from the podium. The right-handed defenseman jumped into the AHL this season and has had a successful year. The Capitals have given a two-year deal to the former Regina Pats captain.