Matt Kessel

Although he was set to join the Hershey Bears, goaltender Mitchell Gibson will instead be joining the Washington Capitals on an amateur tryout deal. Gibson will serve as a backup tonight for Darcy Kuemper, as goaltender Charlie Lindgren is out with an illness.

Gibson was selected 124th overall in the 2018 NHL draft by the Capitals and has spent the last four years playing for Harvard University. In what will now be his last season in the NCAA, Gibson played in 27 games for Harvard, producing a record of 18-7-2, garnering a .919 SV% and a 2.25 GAA. Unfortunately for Gibson and Harvard, the team was knocked out in the first round of the 2023 DI Men’s Ice Hockey Tournament, losing to Ohio State University in a blowout contest.

Gibson will join a particularly interesting situation in Washington, as the team has its goaltenders locked up for at least the next three seasons. The Capitals signed Kuemper to a 5-year, $26.25MM contract, and they also signed Lindgren to a 3-year, $3.3MM deal, giving Gibson a difficult pathway to the crease. As the Capitals were sellers at this year’s deadline, they may need to move out one of their goalies shortly or let Gibson primarily grow in the AHL.

Other notes from around the league this morning:

• Continuing with goaltending news, Bruce Garrioch of TSN reports that the Ottawa Senators have recalled Leevi Merilainen from their AHL affiliate Belleville Senators, as Mads Sogaard will be out of the lineup with an illness. Although the Senators have dealt with a goalie carousel this season, this will mark Merilainen’s first official call-up to the NHL, although it remains to be seen if he will play in any games. In his first and only start in Belleville, Merilainen recorded a shutout.
• Because defenseman Marco Scandella left Saturday’s game with a lower-body injury, the St.Louis Blues have recalled Matt Kessel on an emergency loan. Kessel currently has 31 points in 66 games played this year in the AHL but has yet to crack the Blues’ roster.