Jaynen Rissling chases down Erik Benoit. (Photo credit: Kevin Hiscock/Calgary Hitmen)

As the CHL regular season winds down, a few Caps prospects are heating up. Three of four are playing on powerhouse teams and will be looking to make a splash come playoff time.

Recently, Caps prospects Jaynen Rissling (a seventh round pick in the 2012 draft) of the WHL’s Calgary Hitmen and Tom Wilson (first-round selection in 2012) of the OHL’s Plymouth Whalers, each posted big performances.

Jaynen Rissling, a punishing defenseman from Edmonton, has been hovering near the half-point-per-game mark all year. Last night Rissling set new WHL career-highs with three points and plus-6 rating in Calgary’s 9-5 win over the Saskatoon Blades.

Jaynen’s goal is at 1:20 mark. Video: Calgary Hitmen

Rissling is 39th among WHL d-men with 28 points in 60 games. He’s also 19th in WHL in plus-minus (plus-34) and 16th in penalty minutes (122). The Whalers are third in their conference with five games to go.

Tom Wilson has been impressive on a line with gritty playmaker Ryan Hartman and OHL’s second best goal-scorer, Vince Trocheck. Wilson had two points in Plymouth’s 4-1 rout of geographical rival Saginaw Spirit. The Whalers haven’t lost consecutive games since December.

Wilson’s assist (along with another Caps draft pick, Connor Carrick) is at the beginning of the video. Carrick’s fight is at 0:39 mark. Wilson’s nice goal is at 1:40. Video: Plymouth Whalers.

Despite missing part of the season due to injury, Wilson is 40th in point scoring (58) and 13th in penalty minutes (104). His plus-36 ranks 3rd in OHL. His teammate Carrick is 9th in OHL defenseman scoring with 43 points.

Caps prospect Jaynen Rissling is a man of many talents. Not only is the Capitals 7th round pick on pace to have a career year with the Calgary Hitmen, the 6’4″, 223-pound defenseman is also a natural in front of the camera, as evidenced by the holiday video below.

Around the 13-19 second mark, watch as Rissling uncomfortably mouths a few words of Brenda Lee’s “Rockin’ Around the Christmas Tree” and also hangs symbolic mistletoe — which in this case is his jockstrap — in his locker. I’m sure Karl Alzner is proud of his former team.

Also, that wolf is playing the bejesus out of that saxaphone.

Merry Christmas, everybody!

Caps draft pick Thomas DiPauli.(Photo credit: Dave Sanford)

After trading their second round pick and Cody Eakin to the Dallas Stars in exchange for center Mike Riberio, Washington did not move any of their other ten picks in the 2012 NHL Entry Draft. In the first round, they acquired talented winger Filip Forsberg and rough-and-tumble power forward Tom Wilson; through the next six rounds, they would go on to acquire four US players, a Canadian player, a Swedish player, and a Russian.

Notably, the Caps selected three players from the U.S. developmental team, and one player recently of the U.S. developmental team. “I asked [the scouts] ‘What are we doing here?” said McPhee about this trend. “Are we drafting the whole team?’”

“We made a lot of picks today,” McPhee said of the second day overall. “I don’t know those kids very well. [...] It’s nice to sort of restock this year, and we’ll see how they are in a couple of years.”

Chandler Stephenson, 3rd Round, 77th Overall

With the 77th selection in the 2012 NHL Entry Draft, the Washington Capitals selected Chandler Stephenson of the Regina Pats. Stephenson is a center/left wing and is known as a creative, skilled forward. In two years with Regina, Stephenson has scored 29 goals and notched 61 points, including a 22-goal performance this year. Stephenson’s stat line is very similar to Cody Eakin’s in his two years in the WHL before the draft, however Stephenson has more than 10 pounds of weight over Eakin already. He is 5’10 and 192 lbs.

Thomas DiPauli, 4th Round, 100th Overall

With the 100th selection in the 2012 NHL Entry Draft, the Washington Capitals selected center Thomas DiPauli of the US developmental program. In three years with US developmental program, DiPauli has scored 21 goals and had 62 points. He is 5’11 and 188 lbs. “Best moment of my life,” DiPauli said of the draft. “Dream come true. It was incredible.”

Austin Wuthrich, 4th Round, 107th Overall

With the 107th selection in the 2012 NHL Entry Draft, the Washington Capitals selected Austin Wuthrich. Wuthrich is a right wing formerly of the US developmental program, now playing college hockey for Notre Dame. In 36 games with Notre Dame, Wuthrich scored 7 goals and had a total of 17 points. He is 6’1 and 190 lbs.

Connor Carrick, 5th Round, 137th Overall

With the 137th selection in the 2012 NHL Entry Draft, the Washington Capitals selected Connor Carrick of the U.S. developmental program. Carrick is a defenseman who is known for his skating and work ethic. In two years with U.S. developmental program, Carrick scored 8 goals and had 18 points. He is 5’11 and weighs 185 lbs. “Yeah, it’s got to make going to camp and things like that easier, to see familiar faces and such,” Carrick said of having his teammates drafted alongside him. “As far as the future, I hope we can all make the team, that would be great.”

Riley Barber, 6th Round, 167th Overall

Photo credit: Dubuque Fighting Saints’ flickr

With the 167th selection in the 2012 NHL Entry Draft, the Washington Capitals selected Riley Barber of the U.S. developmental program. Barber is a right wing and projects to be a skill player with good size. In two years in the USHL, Barber scored 34 goals and notched 63 points. He is 6’0 and 194 lbs. You can follow Barber on twitter at @rileybarber94.

Christian Djoos, 7th Round, 195th Overall

With the 195th selection in the 2012 NHL Entry Draft, the Washington Capitals selected Christian Djoos of the Swedish under-18 league. Djoos is a defenseman who projects to be a defensively responsible player with some offensive punch. In three years in Swedish junior leagues, Djoos has scored 23 goals and had 99 points overall. He is 5’11 and weighs 158 lbs.

Jaynen Rissling, 7th Round, 197th Overall

Photo credit: Brendan Miller

With the 197th selection in the 2012 NHL Entry Draft, the Washington Capitals selected Jaynen Rissling of the Calgary Hitmen. Rissling had 10 goals, 52 points, and 238 PIM with the Hitmen. His uncle, Gary Rissling, played for the Capitals from 1978-81, before being traded to the Pittsburgh Penguins. Rissling is 6’4 and 223 lbs.

Sergei Kostenko, 7th Round, 195th Overall

The Capitals picked their only Russian and their only goaltender of the draft with their last pick of the day, selecting Sergei Kostenko at 203rd overall. Kostenko is a goaltender playing for Kuznetskie Medvedi in the Russian junior league, and was the third-string goalie for the World Juniors tournament this year. He is also apparently friends with Dmitry Orlov.