Miami University’s Riley Barber headlines a list of Caps prospects at the NCAA Tournament (Photo credit: Rachel Lewis / Triple Deke Photography)

Washington Capitals prospects have been no strangers to the NCAA hockey tournament recently. A year ago, four of them (including then-UFA Cameron Schilling) made it to regionals. This year’s tournament includes six Caps prospects.

Regionals will be held in Toledo, OH; Providence, RI; Grand Rapids, MI; and Manchester, NH. The winners of the tournaments will face each other in Pittsburgh on April 11-13.

Grab yourself a bracket and let’s learn about our competing Caps prospects.

Riley Barber, RW, Miami University

Strong and skilled, Barber has made a statement in his freshman year. One of the biggest surprises for the Caps organization this year, Barber has built tremendous chemistry with fellow Michigander Austin Czarnik on the RedHawk’s first line.

Barber is among an impressive group of players who have won CCHA Rookie of the Year honors. He is the last name on a list that starts with George McPhee and includes Max Pacioretty, Brendan Morrison, and Rod Brind’Amour.

The RedHawks will face Minnesota State at 5 PM Eastern on Saturday.

Patrick Wey, D, Boston College

The big, rugged, stay-at-home defenseman Wey contributes to his team more than his statline suggests. As Wey completes his NCAA career, he has a chance to win his third national tournament. The Pittsburgh native usually plays on the right side of the Eagles’ first pairing, next to Teddy Doherty.

Wey’s outstanding defensive play this spring earned him Hockey East’s Defensive Defenseman of the Year title.

The Eagles start their road to the NCAA title on Saturday at 9 PM against Union.

Thomas DiPauli, RW, University of Notre Dame

DiPauli has been eased into NCAA action by the Notre Dame coaching staff. As the end of the season neared, DiPauli’s role increased and his production improved dramatically. A two-way forward, the Italy native has a chance to make a name for himself in the tournament. Thomas’ older brother, Theo, is playing for Union. They could play one another in the Frozen Four.

Notre Dame will begin the tournament at 1:30 PM ET on Saturday.

Travis Boyd, C, University of Minnesota

Boyd has mostly been a bottom-6 player on a stacked Gophers squad. It’s difficult to get more than that when Erik Haula and Nick Bjugstad are ahead of you on the depth chart. Boyd is a solid penalty killer and plays a balanced, two-way game.

The Gophers will face Yale on Friday at 2 PM.

Austin Wuthrich, RW/LW, University of Notre Dame

Just like DiPauli, Wuthrich has been up and down the lineup all season. Wuthrich had a tough second half and missed a considerable amount of time due to a head injury. Wuthrich was back on the Fighting Irish’s first line again during the CCHA Tournament, where he scored the tournament-winning goal and was named to the All-Star Team.

Greg Burke, RW/LW, University of New Hampshire

Burke is not expected to play this weekend due to a concussion. His NCAA career has been injury-filled: during four seasons with the Wildcats, Burke has been limited to 97 games. When he is healthy, however, he is an important player for his team.

UNH will battle Denver on Friday at 8 PM.

All games will be on ESPN3 in the US and ESPN Player outside North America . Most will also be available on ESPNU.

Caps prospect Patrick Wey (left) poses with the Lefty Smith – “Snooks” Kelley Memorial Trophy. (Photo credit: BC Eagles Facebook Page)

On Friday night, three Washington Capitals prospects participated in the Holy War on Ice, the annual game between Boston College and Notre Dame. Boston College held on to win 3-1, riding two goals from Calgary Flames draft pick Johnny Gaudreau. Caps defensive prospect and Eagles’ assistant captain Patrick Wey helped on Boston College’s first goal of the night, scored by Pat Mullane, while Capitals 2012 fourth-round draft pick Thomas DiPauli scored Notre Dame’s only goal. The Capitals other fourth-round pick of 2012, Austin Wuthrich, didn’t get on the scoresheet for Notre Dame.

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.