Zac Funk & Terik Parascak NHL Prospect Watch: Washington Capitals
Ahead of the 2024-25 hockey season, we’re diving into the WHL prospect pool for each of the NHL’s 32 teams. Throughout the series, we’ll highlight WHLers who have been signed to an NHL contract, were recently drafted, or are included in the NHL’s definition of a rookie.
Today, meet the NHL hopefuls looking to *capitalize* on their potential with Washington.
Garin Bjorklund
Take two! After missing his rookie pro season to undergo major back surgery and recovery- including two months of bed rest- Garin Bjorklund turned in his first full professional season of hockey with the ECHL’s South Carolina Stingrays. The 6-foot-2, 174-pound netminder strung together a 14-11-1 record, a 3.33 goals-against average and a .882 save percentage, highlighted by a 36-save shutout against the Atlanta Gladiators for his first pro clean sheet and a 38-save effort in a 3-2 win over the Jacksonville Icemen. Drafted in the sixth round of the 2020 NHL Entry Draft, Bjorklund inked an entry-level deal with Washington in 2022. He closed out this season with a call-up to the AHL’s Hershey Bears, who went on to claim the Calder Cup. The Grade Prairie, Alta. product spent four years with the Medicine Hat Tigers, collecting 40 wins and three shutouts in the junior ranks.
"Not today." – Garin Bjorklund probably pic.twitter.com/CZwz71BB2h
— SC Stingrays (@SCStingrays) January 7, 2024
Andrew Cristall
For a second straight season, sniper Andrew Cristall led the Kelowna Rockets in scoring with a monster 40-goal, 71-assist campaign, tallying 111 points and a +23 rating in 62 games. The 5-foot-10, 175-pound winger finished fifth in the league in points and tied for fourth in assists. Cristall recorded the second-longest point streak in with WHL, racking up 17 goals and 28 assists for 45 points in 23 consecutive games stretching from November to January. The 19-year-old netted a pair of hat tricks and a career-high seven-point night (two goals, five assists) and tied with Tij Iginla with 15 points (four goals, 11 assists) to lead the Rockets in postseason scoring. Cristall, a 2023 second-round pick of the Capitals, was named a WHL B.C. Division Second-Team All-Star and snagged an invite to Hockey Canada’s National Junior Team Summer Showcase- the first step toward representing his country at the 2025 IIHF World Junior Championship. He signed his entry-level contract with Washington prior to the start of the 2023-24 season.
Andrew Cristall wants all of your hats. 🎩🎩🎩@Kelowna_Rockets | #WHLHatTricks@Capitals | #ALLCAPS pic.twitter.com/kKFi1oB122
— The WHL (@TheWHL) December 31, 2023
Zac Funk
WHL Player of the Year nominee Zac Funk helped launch the Prince George Cougars to the team’s best season since moving to the Northern Capital in 1994. A 6-foot, 210-pound right winger, Funk led the WHL- and the entire CHL- with a whopping 67 goals while adding 56 assists for 123 points in 68 games, finishing second in the league points race. Funk also led all skaters with 31 powerplay goals, set a league-high with eight hat tricks (!!) and tied for third in game-winning tallies. The Capitals signed the special teams whiz as an undrafted free agent in March. The WHL B.C. Division First Team All-Star finished the regular season on a 14-game point streak that saw him record 16 goals and 17 assists, which also earned him a spot on the CHL First All-Star squad. Funk, 20, also put up eight goals and 10 assists for 18 points in 15 postseason matches with Prince George, reaching the WHL Western Conference Championship.
Scratch that.
Zac Funk is a 61*** goal-scorer 🔥
(Give us time to type pls, Zac)#ALLCAPS | @PGCougars pic.twitter.com/NORbpJkDEg
— The WHL (@TheWHL) March 9, 2024
Ryan Hofer
You can’t ask for much more than lifting the Calder Cup in your first year of pro hockey! Centreman Ryan Hofer dipped into the AHL world by putting up four goals and four assists for eight points and a +5 rating in 40 regular-season games with the Hershey Bears. Standing 6-foo-3, 192 pounds, Hofer buried his first goal for the Bears in a 5-4 win over the Bridgeport Islanders in November. Washington snapped the Headingley, Man. product up in the sixth round of the 2022 NHL Entry Draft and signed him to an entry-level deal in 2023. Hofer played four seasons in the WHL, largely with the Everett Silvertips before being dished to the Kamloops Blazers in a blockbuster deal ahead of the Memorial Cup in his final year of junior hockey. He tallied 40 goals and 28 assists for 68 points and a +11 rating in 66 games in his graduating year, averaged more than a point per game in the 2023 WHL Playoffs and netted two goals and three assists at the Memorial Cup.
First pro goal for Ryan Hofer sends us into the intermission up by two! https://t.co/SVvl4NclDl pic.twitter.com/iFjtdUaHJd
— Hershey Bears (@TheHersheyBears) November 18, 2023
Brett Hyland
Brandon Wheat Kings Captain Brett Hyland is preparing to make his professional debut in 2024-25 after signing a one-year AHL deal with Hershey. The 21-year-old is coming off a career year in Brandon, leading the group with 32 goals and 59 points. His 27 assists ranked fourth and his four game-winning tallies were good for second on the team. The 6-foot, 194-pound forward notched his first WHL hat trick in a win over Regina in December and went on a seven-game point streak (seven goals, four assists) in the same month. The Edmonton, Alta. product added a goal and four assists in four playoff games before joining Hershey on an amateur tryout agreement. He didn’t see AHL game action, but the 2023 seventh-round NHL draft pick gained valuable experience practicing with the pros.
Oh captain, my captain!@Capitals prospect and @bdnwheatkings captain Brett Hyland lights the lamp in his final regular season game at home! pic.twitter.com/z4zaLlu8RC
— The WHL (@TheWHL) March 22, 2024
Vincent Iorio
Calm defender Vincent Iorio took big steps forward in his sophomore professional season, getting more reps in the regular season and playoffs with the Capitals while repeating as an AHL Champion. The 6-foot-3, 205-pound blueliner snagged four goals and 10 assists for 14 points in 60 regular-season tilts with the Bears, leading the team with a +26 rating and finishing fourth in points among defenders. It was enough to earn him a call-up to the Capitals in late March, where the 21-year-old averaged just under 10 minutes of ice time per game in six contests. Iorio made his NHL playoff debut against the New York Rangers, though he was sidelined by a hit that ended his stint with the big club. The Coquitlam, B.C. product was eventually cleared to re-join the Bears for their Calder Cup-winning playoff run. Iorio was selected in the second round of the 2021 NHL Entry Draft and played four seasons with the Brandon Wheat Kings, putting up 82 points (21 goals, 61 assists) over 191 career regular season games.
📬️ You have mail!
📩 Vincent Iorio's overtime-winning goal! pic.twitter.com/p9JQVP7u17
— American Hockey League (@TheAHL) December 14, 2023
Terik Parascak
WHL Rookie of the Year nominee Terik Parascak shot out of the gate in 2023-24 with three multi-point games in a row and didn’t slow down until he heard Washington call his name at 17th overall at the 2024 NHL Entry Draft. The 5-foot-11, 179-pound winger led all WHL rookies with 43 goals and 62 assists for 105 points in 68 games. He’s the first WHL rookie to break the 100-point mark since 1999 and finished eighth in scoring among all WHL players in 2023-24. Parascak notched his first WHL hat trick with an astonishing four-goal, two-assist performance against Victoria in September and scored his first playoff hat trick in his first major junior postseason tilt. The Lethbridge, Alta. product also scored at above a point-per-game clip in the playoffs, though he would duck out in the Western Conference Championship with an injury. Parascak signed a three-year, entry-level deal with the Capitals after attending his first NHL Development Camp in July.
🎥 TERIK PARASCAK – HIGHLIGHT REEL 🎥
A season to remember for the Super Rookie!@PGCougars | #NHLDraft pic.twitter.com/jXN0bU8zCS
— The WHL (@TheWHL) June 8, 2024
Henrik Rybinski
Another two-time AHL Champion? Check. 23-year-old Henrik Rybinski posted similar regular-season point totals to his rookie year in his second professional season with five goals and 11 assists in 52 games, but ended up doing his best work in the postseason. The 6-foot-1, 186-pound winger netted five goals (including the game-winner in his AHL playoff debut) and four assists for nine points in 19 games and a team-leading +7 rating. Drafted by Florida in the fifth round of the 2019 NHL Entry Draft, Rybinski signed with Washington as a free agent in 2022 after a successful career with the Seattle Thunderbirds and Medicine Hat Tigers. The Vancouver, B.C. product totaled 50 goals and 126 assists over five WHL seasons and helped the Thunderbirds reach the WHL Championship Series in 2022.
"O-M-G 😱"
– Bears color analyst Mitch Lamoureux
Yeah, what do we think about @SportsCenter Top 10 for this Henrik Rybinski goal?
🍎Sutter
🍏Limoges https://t.co/Y0WflZ6Bn2 pic.twitter.com/k5HQel3icH— Hershey Bears (@TheHersheyBears) January 7, 2024
Riley Sutter
AHL veteran Riley Sutter rounds out the trio of former WHLers who helped Hershey win a second-straight Calder Cup- and he earned a new contract to boot. Washington signed the 6-foot-4, 207-pound winger to a one-year, two-way deal after a career-best season in the minors. The 24-year-old set a career-high with nine goals and 14 assists for 23 points and a +9 rating in 66 regular-season games. He also established himself as a key feature of Hershey’s league-leading penalty kill. A third-round selection in the 2018 NHL Entry Draft, Sutter played all four seasons of his WHL career with the Everett Silvertips, tallying 60 goals and 77 assists for 137 points in 204 regular season games- including a 25-goal campaign in 2018 which saw Everett win the Western Conference Championship for the second time in franchise history.
Goals in three straight games for Riley Sutter makes him the perfect pick as our latest @psecu Player of the Week! pic.twitter.com/PrSDna0KQQ
— Hershey Bears (@TheHersheyBears) March 19, 2024
Alexander Suzdalev
After a promising season spent on a line with Connor Bedard and the Regina Pats, 6-foot-3, 175-pound winger Alexander Suzdalev kicked off the 2023-24 season with Mora IK in HockeyAllsvenskan, the second-highest league in his native Sweden. Suzdalev put up a pair of goals and an assist before returning to North America to join the high-flying Saskatoon Blades. The 20-year-old went off for nine goals- including a hat trick in his first home game as a Blade- and 16 assists for 25 points in 30 regular-season games, helping Saskatoon clinch the Scotty Munro Memorial Trophy as WHL regular season champions. Washington’s 2022 third-round pick added another 13 points (four goals, nine assists) in 16 postseason matches, six of which came in a dramatic Eastern Conference Championship, which saw Saskatoon eliminated in overtime in Game 7. Suzdalev joined Hershey on an amateur tryout agreement afterward and trained with the squad for several weeks.
Alexander Suzdalev with the *mic drop* Michigan goal 🔥🔥🔥@Capitals pic.twitter.com/kBcbdAFDco
— Saskatoon Blades (@BladesHockey) March 16, 2024
