Get to Know the Newest Capital, Justin Sourdif

During the Checkers’ run to the 2025 Calder Cup Final, the British Columbia native scored four goals and totaled 10 points in 18 postseason games, including four points in the Final. Sourdif’s two game-winning goals in the 2025 AHL Playoffs were tied for the team lead in Charlotte. 

Sourdif “Boxed Out” of NHL Role in Florida

With high-powered wingers like Matthew Tkachuk and Brad Marchand in the lineup, there was no place for Sourdif to play in the two-time defending Stanley Cup Champions’ lineup in 2025-26. Therefore, Florida moved the forward for future assets before the 2025 NHL Draft. 

“He’s a guy we’ve liked for a few years,” Patrick said after the draft. “We’ve tried to get him a couple of times from Florida … in Florida, it was a situation where he was getting boxed out a little bit. They had a bunch of people calling on him, so it became a competitive situation.” 

With exits from the NHL roster due to free agency, like Andrew Mangiapane and Taylor Raddysh, Washington will look to plug lineup holes with younger forwards, such as Sourdif, Hendrix Lapierre, and Ryan Leonard. Sourdif’s high motor, work ethic, hockey IQ, and 200-foot game should help him stick in the bottom half of the Washington lineup next season. 

Expectations for Sourdif in 2025-26

According to his 2020 NHL Draft Prospect Profile, Sourdif projects as a high-effort role player in Washington. “When you watch Justin Sourdif play, the first things you notice are his relentless work ethic, hockey IQ, and 200-foot game. Combine that with his penchant for driving the net and planting himself there no matter the consequences, you get a forward that could one day become an impact player in the NHL.”  

Sourdif does not have eye-popping offensive statistics across 149 AHL contests. He has totaled 70 points, a 0.46 points-per-game average, in the minors. However, Sourdif’s athleticism allows the forward to position himself for success in the offensive zone whenever he is on the ice, which could lead to positive results at the game’s highest level.  

Sourdif has all of the tools to become an everyday NHL player based on work ethic, a dangerous shot from range, and enough playmaking ability to feed open teammates for scoring opportunities. A 10-goal and 30-point NHL season in 2025-26 would put the rookie on track to stick around in Washington.

The Capitals paid a premium, a 2026 second-round draft pick plus more, to add the restricted free agent forward to their group before handing him a two-year, $1.65 million contract extension. Now it’s up to the Capitals’ newest forward to seize his opportunity at NHL playing time during his first training camp in Washington.