Tyler Lewington

History

2009-10: Tyler Lewington played for the Sherwood Park Squires Minor Midget team in suburban Edmonton. He scored 7 goals with 17 assists and had 49 penalty minutes in 33 games and in nine playoff games scored 2 goals with 5 assists and 8 penalty minutes.

2010-11: Lewington skated for the Sherwood Park Kings In the Alberta Midget Hockey League. He scored 4 goals with 22 assists in 34 games and had 46 penalty minutes. The Kings reached the provincial semifinals and in 13 playoff games Lewington scored 1 goal with 8 assists and had 4 penalty minutes.

2011-12: Lewington made his WHL debut as a 16-year-old, skating in 44 games for the Medicine Hat Tigers in his first season. He finished +7 with 3 assists and had 46 penalty minutes. Medicine Hat finished third in the Central Division and reached the second round in the playoffs. Lewington played in all eight playoff games and was -1 with 1 assist and 2 penalty minutes.

2012-13: Lewington skated in 69 of 72 games for Medicine Hat in his second season – missing three games due to a “lower body injury”. He scored 2 goals with 24 assists and was +14 while leading the Tigers with 131 penalty minutes. Medicine Hat slipped to fourth in the Central Division and again reached the second round in the playoffs. Lewington scored 1 goal in the playoffs and was -6 with 14 penalty minutes in eight games. He was ranked 66th amongst North American skaters in the Central Scouting final rankings and was selected by Washington in the seventh round (204th overall) in the 2013 NHL Draft.

2013-14: Lewington was one of four Medicine Hat defensemen to top the 25-point mark while once again leading the Tigers in penalty minutes in his third WHL season. He scored 7 goals with 31 assists and was +40 with 121 penalty minutes in 68 regular season games. Medicine Hat finished third in the Central Division before reaching the Eastern Conference finals against Memorial Cup champion Edmonton. Lewington had 3 assists and was +2 with 26 penalty minutes in 18 playoff games.

Talent Analysis

Lewington showed a bit of offensive ability over the last two years for Medicine Hat, hitting career-bests in goals, assists and points each of the last three seasons. That being said, his bread and butter remains his physical game. With quality size at 6’1 195, Lewington likes to hit. He is not afraid to drop the gloves and frustrate opponents as well. His mobility is a bit of a question mark and he can find himself positionally confused from time to time as well. Still, his physical game and willingness to do the dirty work in his own end set him apart from the majority of defensive prospects in the Capitals system.

Future

Lewington, after four years with Medicine Hat, is in his first season of pro hockey in 2015-16. He started the year with the ECHL's South Carolina Stingrays and will look to work his way into the lineup for Capitals' AHL affiliate Hershey before the end of the year. Going forward, Lewington will likely need another year or two of work after this before he is anything close to NHL ready. His demeanor and physical play should earn him extended looks from the Capitals and he could find himself in a bottom-pairing stay-at-home defender role for the Capitals in the future.