A low spot in the EP Rinkside Prospect Pool Rankings series might sting for a lot of NHL franchises. It could be the result of poor drafting, mortgaging the future for the betterment of the present or it could just be that lady luck has forsaken them — perhaps even a combination of all three.

The Washington Capitals, however, don’t really check off any of those boxes. Sure, they’ve fed the prospect pool and their draft ammunition body blows over the years, but never a knockout punch. That’s the price one pays for consistently icing a contender and trying to push it over the top. Just one playoff ago, it paid off in the form of a Stanley Cup. If that was the price; I don’t think anyone is going to complain too heartily.

The Capitals system, to its credit, has depth at every position. What the