Capitals prospects' rights relinquished

Hanelt was a 2021 5th-round pick of the Capitals, while Hyland was selected in the 7th round by the Caps; neither player spent the 2024-25 season in the Washington Capitals organization.

Haakon Hanelt played last season in his native Germany, spending time between the premier Deutsche Eishockey Liga (DEL) and DEL2. In the top league, Haakon played for the Cologne Sharks, where he recorded just one assist, while in the tier-2 league, he recorded 7 points (4g, 3a) for the EC Bad Nauheim.

The 22 year-old Hanelt had been a regular at past Washington Capitals development camps, but never did get a chance to advance beyond the camps. He made an AHL debut with the Hershey Bears in 2023-24, and also played one NHL pre-season game for the Capitals. He was a member of the 2022 German World Juniors team.

Hyland, also 22 years-old, played this past season in the Canadian College circuit, at the University of Alberta, where he recorded 33 points (13g, 20a) in 21 games.

An Edmonton native, Hyland played 5 years with the WHL's Brandon Wheat Kings, where he was a teammate of Hershey Bears' defenseman Vincent Iorio.

Hershey Bears had signed Hyland to a 1-year AHL contract last July, but he didn't play with the team. Brett Hyland had also missed part of Washington's training camp last fall for personal reasons.

It is often a reality that draft picks do not work out for a particular team, and despite several years of development by the Capital organization, the two prospects were deemed expendable.

We wish both Haakon and Hyland all the best in their future endeavors.