Goaltender Vitek Vanecek, 21, was drafted by Washington in the second round (39th overall) in 2014. After spending one more season in his native Czech Republic, he came over and started playing in the minor leagues, which has proven to be a great training ground for former Caps prospects, including Braden Holtby, Philipp Grubauer, Michal Neuvirth and Semyon Varlamov.
“His English was very raw,” former Stingrays head coach Spencer Carbery said of Vanecek after he joined the Caps’ ECHL affiliate. “You could tell it was a culture shock.