The Washington Capitals have signed defenceman Leon Muggli to a three-year, entry-level contract with an annual cap hit of $940,833, the team announced on Thursday.
The Capitals selected the 18-year-old with their second-round pick (52nd overall) during the 2024 NHL draft. He is expected to return to EV Zug of the Swiss National League for the upcoming 2024-2025 season.
The six-foot-one blueliner appeared in 42 games with EV Zug throughout the 2023-2024 campaign, where he posted three goals and nine assists. These numbers put him at the top of the scoring list amongst all under-18 skaters throughout the league and made history as the most ever points by a defenceman aged 17 or younger.
Muggli represented Switzerland at the 2024 World Junior Championship, the 2023 Hlinka Gretzky Cup and captained the Swiss at the 2024 Under-18 World Championships.
Ahead of June’s draft, NHL Central Scouting had Muggli ranked fifth among international defencemen and 11th among all international skaters.