When Capitals general manager Chris Patrick acquired forward Juston Sourdif last June, a lot of fans were upset. Giving up a 2026 second rounder and a sixth in 2027 for a 23 year-old forward with only four games of NHL experience seemed a high price to pay, especially considering they only had to part with a second rounder to land Andrew Mangiapane from Calgary. Mangiapane had scored 14 or more goals in five straight seasons, with 35 back in 2021-22. What was Patrick thinking? Then I saw the newcomer play and it all made sense. Before the New Year, Sourdif established himself as a valuable addition to the lineup, where he could play on the wing or at center, which was important once the Caps lost Pierre-Luc Dubois for most of the season.
Sourdif was drafted by Florida in the third round, 87th overall, in the 2020 draft. He had a successful career in the WHL before playing for Florida’s AHL affiliate the Charlotte Checkers. Sourdif played well in Charlotte, averaging .5 points per game in his first year, and .8 points per game his third year. Injuries prevented him from earning a spot on the Panthers and they decided to cut bait and Patrick swooped in to grab him. When Dubois was lost for all but 29 games last fall, Sourdif moved up to the second line and clicked with linemates Tom Wilson and Aliaksei Protas. When head coach Spencer Carbery switched up the line combos, Sourdif played on the third line and found chemistry with Connor McMichael and Ryan Leonard. When Dubois came back, Sourdif solidified the third line. After a few years of trying to solidify the third line center position, the Caps seemed to have found the Caps answer.
Good third line centers are hard to find. They have to produce on the score sheet and have the ability to move up to the second line if needed. Sourdif did both. After trying a number of different players at the position, Sourdif made the most of his opportunity. Once Dubois came back and the Caps traded Nic Dowd to Vegas, they called up Ilya Protas from Hershey, pushing Sourdif down to center the fourth line. He excelled there as well. Suddenly, a team weakness had become a strength. Sourdif gave the Capitals much needed center depth and upgraded their bottom six.
Sourdif’s emergence kept the Capitals in the playoff race until the final game of the season. He gives the Capitals a deeper and more dangerous lineup. With Chris Patrick looking to add more skill to the top of their lineup, Sourdif could end up centering one of the best fourth lines in the NHL. That kind of depth could make the Caps a nightmare for other teams to face. While a lot of fans thought a second rounder was too much for the Capitals to give up for an inexperienced forward , that trade now looks more and more like a real steal.
