The Washington Capitals had an off day on Thursday but their front office remained active. Capitals general manager Brian MacLellan pared down the Capitals’ Training Camp roster from 62 to 44 in their first major cuts of the preseason.

The biggest news was that Connor McMichael (London; OHL) and Aliaksei Protas (Prince Albert; WHL) were loaned back to their respective junior teams. Both 18-year-old picks from the 2019 NHL Draft were impressive in their two preseason games with the Capitals. The mammoth Protas scored three points in his NHL preseason debut, including his first goal at the big league level.

McMichael was in the running to remain with the team and fill in during Evgeny Kuznetsov’s three-game suspension to start the regular season.

The two draft picks commented on social media.

Great few weeks in DC, see you soon @GoLondonKnights let's go pic.twitter.com/FsP63lvNIN — Connor McMichael (@con91mcmichael) September 19, 2019

Here were all of the cuts, which includes Damien Riat who remains under contract with the NLA’s Biel. Riat scored the first goal of the preseason for the Capitals after a nifty assist from McMichael.

The following players have been loaned to their respective junior teams: Connor McMichael (London; OHL), Aliaksei Protas (Prince Albert; WHL), Eric Florchuk (Saskatoon; WHL), Alex Kannok-Leipert (Vancouver; WHL). — CapitalsPR (@CapitalsPR) September 19, 2019

Damien Riat has been returned to his European team (Biel; Swiss NLA). — CapitalsPR (@CapitalsPR) September 19, 2019

The following players will continue injury rehabilitation in Hershey: Kody Clark (upper body) and Riley Sutter (upper body) — CapitalsPR (@CapitalsPR) September 19, 2019

The following players have been sent to Hershey: Casey Bailey, Erik Burgdoerfer, Tommy Hughes, Kale Kessy, Chris McCarthy, Matt Moulson, Logan Thompson, Matthew Weis, Steven Whitney. — CapitalsPR (@CapitalsPR) September 19, 2019

The following players were released from ATO: Beck Warm and Hayden Hawkey. — CapitalsPR (@CapitalsPR) September 19, 2019

The Capitals will now move forward with 24 forwards, 16 defensemen, and 4 goalies in Training Camp.

Never forget.