Carlsberg WHL Alumni Spotlight: former WHL champion Sourdif registers historic hat trick, five point game

Washington, D.C.- Right place, right time, right opportunity.

That just about sums up Justin Sourdif‘s historic five-point game- and his breakout rookie NHL season as a whole.

The 23-year-old put up a hat trick and two assists for the Washington Capitals in a 7-4 win over the Anaheim Ducks on Monday, January 5, 2026.

“Pure excitement,” Sourdif said of his first three-goal outing in the big show. “I saw Leno (Ryan Leonard) with his arms in the air, and yeah, he was super excited. I went to skate over to him because it was just such a nice pass, beautiful play. I thought he was going to unleash on a one-timer and (he) just slid it back door to me for a wide open net.”

Sourdif’s monster night makes him the ninth rookie in Capitals franchise history to tally a hat trick and the first since NHL all-time leading goal scorer Alex Ovechkin back in 2006 (Ovi’s three-goal night also came against the Ducks).

He also only needed 11:34 to complete the trio of tucks.

“He was a one-man breakout most times,” Linemate Connor McMichael added postgame. “Just carrying the puck up the ice, and he made it real easy on me and Lenny. Luckily, we were able to capitalize on a few chances.”

Perhaps even more impressive, he’s one of only two rookies since the turn of the millennium to pot a hat trick in a five-point outing, joining 2024 first-overall pick Macklin Celebrini of the San Jose Sharks.

“I don’t even know if I’ve had a five-point night in junior,” Sourdif recalled afterwards.

And he’s right- although in 199 regular-season WHL games spanning parts of five seasons, Sourdif did register five four-point games and capture a WHL Championship.

Only 18 NHL rookies since 1999-2000 have posted five-point games- a showstopping roster that includes former WHL stars like Connor Bedard, Ryan Nugent Hopkins, Mathew Barzal (who accomplished three five-point outings as a rookie) and Dan Hamhuis, and other high-profile NHL first-overall picks like Connor McDavid and John Tavares.

And to be quite honest, Sourdif didn’t have a whiff of the hype of those players entering his first season with the Capitals.

The Surrey, B.C. product was drafted by the Florida Panthers in the third round (87th overall) of the 2020 NHL Draft, but when the time came to make the jump to the professional ranks, untimely injuries and Florida’s stacked roster that went on to win back-to-back Stanley Cups didn’t have much room for an unproven rookie to crack the lineup.

With four NHL games in two seasons and one goal under his belt, Washington acquired the 6-foot, 195-pound winger in exchange for a second-round draft pick in 2026 and a sixth-rounder in 2027.

Sourdif didn’t find the scoresheet with the Caps until his eighth game- but his underlying numbers looked great while matching up against some of his opponent’s top lines- and when star forward Pierre-Luc Dubois went down with an injury, Sourdif seized his line promotion and earned the trust of Head Coach Spencer Carberry.

“He’s earned the opportunity that he’s getting with how he’s played and how he’s performed, because it wasn’t handed to him early in the season,” Carberry told reporters after the Anaheim victory. “Sometimes circumstance provides opportunity for young players, and then that opportunity, it’s on them to take advantage of that- and that’s exactly what he’s done.

It’s nice to see him get rewarded, because he’s been doing a lot of heavy lifting, and he’s playing at a real high level. He’s got a bright future.”

Sourdif has amassed eight goals and 10 assists for 18 points in 43 games in 2025-26, including nine points (5G-4A) in his last five matches, while averaging 14:21 a night in ice time (though that number is steadily climbing.”

How can you not cheer for a guy like that?

Even Florida Panthers Head Coach Paul Maurice took the opportunity to praise the youngster’s attitude earlier this season.

“He had some of the worst luck that you can have as a player here,” Maurice said during a scrum on December 29. “He’d have a great camp- break his wrist. He just had a run of injuries that kept him from being able to play regular. We had, coming back this year, next year, prior to our injuries, we were pretty set. Everybody was signed, and he had been such a good human being here that we wanted him to have an opportunity to go and play, and he’d earned it and he hit the right spot and he’s having great success, and we’re really happy for him.”

Sourdif looks to *capitalize* on his recent success and keep the momentum rolling as Washington visits the Chicago Blackhawks on Friday, January 9, at 6:00 p.m. MST.

The Capitals own a 22-16-6 record and enter Friday’s action sitting one point out of the second wildcard playoff berth in the Eastern Conference.