According to a team announcement, the Washington Capitals have recalled Ivan Miroshnichenko from the AHL’s Hershey Bears. In a corresponding roster move, the Capitals placed Justin Sourdif on the injured reserve with an upper-body injury.
Miroshnichenko’s story in Washington is well known at this point. The Capitals selected Miroshnichenko with the 20th overall pick of the 2022 NHL Draft, and he spent the following season with the KHL’s Avangard Omsk, scoring three goals and one assist in 23 games.
Despite the tepid scoring output, Washington brought Miroshnichenko to North America beginning in the 2023-24 season. He’s been a terrific scorer with AHL Hershey, but has failed to break out in any meaningful way with the Capitals.
In his first professional season in North America, Miroshnichenko finished with two goals and six points in 21 games with Washington, typically placed in a middle-six role while averaging 12:08 of ice time per night. Still, he showed quality production with the Bears, scoring nine goals and 25 points in 47 games. Additionally, after scoring seven goals and 12 points in 20 postseason contests, Miroshnichenko helped Hershey win its second consecutive Calder Cup championship.
Since then, he’s been largely isolated to an AHL role. He’s scored one goal and four points in 20 games for the Capitals over the last two years, usually being confined to a bottom-six role. Regardless, he’s kept up his strong performance in the AHL, scoring 29 goals and 58 points in his past 73 games.
Meanwhile, Sourdif formally heads to the IR after missing Washington’s last several games. He took a puck to the face in the Capitals’ recent loss to the Nashville Predators on January 11th. It was unfortunate timing for Sourdif, who had scored six goals and 12 points in 13 games leading up to the injury.