Clay Stevenson will make his NHL debut for the Washington Capitals on Thursday night. Per the Washington Post’s Bailey Johnson, the 26-year-old backstop will get the nod in net against the Pittsburgh Penguins in the Capitals’ final regular-season game of the year.
The Caps recalled Stevenson on Monday when the club sent goaltender Hunter Shepard back to the AHL’s Hershey Bears. The Alberta native has been in the Capitals’ organization for the last three years after signing an entry-level deal out of Dartmouth College in 2022.
“It’s the dream since you were a young kid,” Stevenson said Thursday. “It’s kinda been a longer road for me, not exactly straightforward. I couldn’t be happier to do it with this group, that’s for sure.”
In 33 games for the Bears this year, Stevenson has an 18-8-4 record with a 2.94 goals-against average, a .888 save percentage, and two shutouts. He had far better numbers in his first full AHL season last year, going 24-10-2 with a 2.06 goals-against average, a .922 save percentage, and seven shutouts.
Stevenson told the media that his dad will be at the game to see his debut. He also spoke about how excited he is to match up with Penguins legends like Sidney Crosby and Evgeni Malkin.
“Childhood heroes that you get to now play against,” Stevenson said. “Childhood dream actualized.”
Stevenson and Shepard combined to win the 2024 Harry ‘Haps’ Holmes Memorial Award as the goaltending duo in the AHL that allows the fewest goals per game during the regular season. They were the team’s tandem during Hershey’s successful run to repeat as Calder Cup champions, with Stevenson backing up Shepard during the postseason.
The Capitals have been forced to use the two AHL goalies late in this year’s schedule due to starting netminder Logan Thompson suffering an upper-body injury against the Carolina Hurricanes on April 2. Thompson skated again ahead of Thursday’s game, but will not dress for a seventh straight game.
Charlie Lindgren will serve as Stevenson’s backup after he made 32 saves on 33 shots against the New York Islanders on Tuesday night.
