Jakob Chychrun’s shot is the kind of thing that makes his Washington Capitals teammates lean forward on their bench to watch him unleash the puck.
“He scores goals where most other guys aren’t even thinking about shooting,” center Dylan Strome said.
It’s the kind of shot that coach Spencer Carbery still marvels at every time he sees it.
“This guy’s ability to finish from the back end is incredibly unique, even at this level. His ability to beat goalies clean with his snapshot or wrist shot is as elite as there is,” he said. “You just don’t see it from guys on the back end. There are some forwards in the league that can snap it like you can, but not a lot of defensemen that can. He’s just such a threat.”
It’s the kind of shot that has helped Chychrun score 15 goals in his first 38 games to lead all NHL defensemen, a goal-scoring pace that threatens to break Kevin Hatcher’s franchise record for goals by a defenseman (34), set in 1992-93. It’s the kind of shot that has put him in the conversation for the 2026 Winter Olympics, as Team Canada builds out its defense corps and is reportedly giving the 27-year-old defenseman a long look in the final days before the roster is finalized.
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He has made a convincing case. Chychrun has 35 goals and 41 assists in his past 112 games, skating to a plus-39. He can quarterback a power play, skate upwards of 25 minutes per game and thrive against other team’s top scoring lines both offensively and defensively.
“[Some say] he’s just an ‘offensive defenseman’ that can only be deployed a certain way and you’ve got to protect him a little bit,” Carbery said. “He wants no part of that mold. And that’s what I’ve really appreciated about his path in our organization.”
All of that earned Chychrun an eight-year, $72 million contract extension from Washington in March. He has responded with one of his best starts to a season. Outside of goalie Logan Thompson, Chychrun has arguably been the Capitals’ MVP.
“He scores big goals. He scores game-winning goals. He scores overtime goals. He’s just been a big player for us, a big presence,” said Capitals president of hockey operations Brian MacLellan.
Carbery has three potential Canadian Olympians — Chychrun, Thompson and forward Tom Wilson — on his team this season. “I give those guys so much credit for the mental fortitude. They’re human beings. They know what’s at stake. They know the decisions that are looming,” he said.
The Capitals coach spoke with them about the Olympic pressures early in the season.
“Just to acknowledge it: ‘Hey, what you’ve done has gotten you on the radar and that’s why people are asking and reaching out,'” he said. “Just continue to do the things you do and not overthink it. Don’t try to be someone you’re not.”
That has never been a concern for Chychrun, one of the more distinctive individuals on the Capitals and probably the only one who has gobbled raw animal heart to stay in shape.
“He’s got some philosophical things that are probably a little on the edge of most people,” MacLellan said. “He’s a little quirky.”
WHEN CHYCHRUN TALKS about his first years in hockey, as a young player in South Florida, his goal-scoring prowess starts to make more sense. He started out as a forward when he first laced up the skates. He played some defense out of necessity when his travel teams were short on the blue line. Other times, his coach — aka his father, former NHL defenseman Jeff Chychrun — would move him back to defense during games.
“He kind of steered me in that direction,” Chychrun said. “He never really pushed the transition too hard, but he definitely saw the value in playing D, playing extra minutes and just being out there a lot more.”
Given his history at both positions, did Chychrun ever think about going the Brent Burns route and playing forward and defense as a pro?
“Yeah, that’s a good question. Not really. But if there’s ever a moment where a coach feels like I need to be used up front, I mean, I would absolutely love it. I think it’d be a blast,” he said with a laugh.
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Jakob Chychrun scores power-play goal vs. Jets
Jakob Chychrun scores power-play goal vs. Jets
There’s more than a little Brent Burns in Jakob Chychrun, and not just because they generate so much offense from the back end. Chychrun said he’s had many conversations with the Colorado Avalanche defenseman about a mutual affinity for hunting and about visiting Burns’ compound in Texas. According to the Capitals, he also shares some of Burns’ idiosyncrasies.
“When he goes on a tangent, it’s like, ‘Wait, you’re actually Brent Burns,'” Carbery joked.
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Like Burns, Chychrun likes his own stuff. While he doesn’t lug around a giant backpack like Burns — one that contains everything from essential oils to a coffee maker — Chychrun has been known to bring his own food on the road as part of his well-curated diet.
“I always overhear [the players] giving him a hard time about all the unique practices that Chicky has. He’s always got his own personal stuff he’s bringing on the bus,” Carbery said. “And I’m like, ‘Man, that guy is dedicated to his body and his craft and is not going to leave any stone unturned.'”
Chychrun has been fascinated with diet and nutrition since his early teens. His father’s trainer was a family friend and set Chychrun up with a dietary plan to gain size as an athlete.
“At the time, I was so young to be doing that, but I loved it,” he said. “I was packing my own school lunches. I think all my buddies thought I was nuts back then. So, not much has changed.”
Chychrun used to be more extreme in his wellness routine. In October, the Washington Post wrote about Chychrun once having “the craziest biohacking routine” by hooking himself up to machines. He has moved on from that, and has been focused on “biologically trying to eat whatever’s in season” from local farms.
He’s not shy about sharing his nutritional philosophies or his dietary routine: Witness his Instagram reel from 2024 in which a shirtless Chychrun consumed an entire watermelon for hydration on his back porch:
“His physique is not like too many guys that I played with before in the NHL. He takes very, very good care of his body and is very detailed with what he puts into it,” Strome said. “He’s always checking the labels and the ingredients on things and then making sure that it’s good for him.”
It’s a protein-heavy diet that extends from the farm to the sea, and also includes raw animal hearts and livers. (For the record, he’s more of a heart guy when it comes to taste and texture.)
“Ever since grocery stores, I think we’re just all very insensitive and just out of touch with our food and where it’s coming from,” he said. “I mean, if you ever have to be on a farm and slaughter your own animal, you’re never going to be wasteful of that food.”
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Chychrun has tried a dozen different diets, but they all track back to the same thing: Cutting out as many processed foods as possible. In fact, he has tried to recreate some of the foods he misses, like candy bars, in healthier ways at home.
“If you want to do a diet, I think as long as you’re cutting out all the processed foods, anything could work,” he said. “I mean, I’m not a huge fan of the vegan or vegetarian diets, but at the end of the day, I think why people have success on them is because they’re cutting out a lot of processed junk.”
He and his wife, Olivia, have discussed eventually getting their own farm, to be “self-sufficient and just kind of live off the land” when his playing days are over.
“If [the food] has a label, we almost try to avoid it,” he said. “It’s mind-blowing when you’re reading them. You can’t even pronounce half the things on there. You have no idea what it is. They’re just adding a whole bunch of unnecessary stuff that’s clearly making everybody sick. So it’s definitely something to be conscious of.”
In other words, he has come a long way from making late-night doughnut runs with Strome in Arizona.
STROME HAS KNOWN Chychrun since they were teammates on Canada’s junior national team, which, admittedly, is a strange path for a young player from South Florida to have taken. But it explains why Chychrun is vying for a spot on Team Canada and not Team USA.
Chychrun has dual U.S. and Canadian citizenship. He grew up playing in Florida and then in Detroit. He tried playing in the USHL at 15 years old and was drafted as an underage player by Youngstown. He went to camp, made the team and was preparing for the 2013-14 season. They were excited to have him. He was set to room with Kyle Connor, now a star winger for the Winnipeg Jets. The only hurdle left to clear was to get permission from USA Hockey to play as a 15-year-old, which Chychrun assumed was a mere formality — until it wasn’t.
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He didn’t hear from USA Hockey all summer. The silence extended into the beginning of training camp.
“Then USA Hockey just sent us a very brief email just kind of saying they wanted me to play with my own age group, that they didn’t want me to play in the USHL,” he said.
The first team to call him was the Toronto Junior Canadians, where he ended up playing so well that the Canada Ontario U17 team called him up as an underage player in a national championship tournament. Among his teammates were a young Mitch Marner, Travis Konecny, Lawson Crouse and Strome.
After battling in the OHL, Strome and Chychrun became teammates with the Arizona Coyotes. Strome was drafted third in 2015 and Chychrun was selected 16th in 2016. They’d live together in Arizona for a year, as Chychrun had rented out Max Domi’s old house and Strome needed a place to stay.
“He was great. We had a lot of fun. We played cards. We played a ton of golf together,” Strome said. “I don’t think he was as healthy back then, from what I remember. There were a few Krispy Kreme orders placed at night.”
Strome said when he was reunited with Chychrun in Washington, he found him to be “a little more mature” than in their days in the desert together. Strome credits some of that to Chychrun finding his faith.
“I think he has a lot of respect for everyone. His faith has shown a lot over the last couple years,” Strome said. “He’s very into going to church and very into God and everything like that. He’s a great human being, a great person, and I’m glad to call him a friend.”
Chychrun grew up with a Catholic father and a Jewish mother. Religion wasn’t a priority in the house, and they allowed him and his sister to find their own path to faith, he said. Chychrun was always curious about religion but didn’t find his way until later on in life.
“My wife’s family is quite religious and so that kind of helped me kick-start my journey,” he said. “We started dating, getting really serious just before COVID hit. And then once COVID came, I think that really opened the eyes of a ton of people and it kind of brought us right to the Lord together. We were able to really realize how important He was in our lives and how much we needed to lean on Him through just craziness.”
Chychrun was baptized this summer.
“It’s been definitely life-changing and yeah, it’s been incredible, man,” he said.
MACLELLAN TRIED TO acquire Chychrun a few times when he was playing for the Coyotes. Chychrun was a perennial name on NHL trade boards thanks to his offensive acumen and his potential, but mostly because he was signed to a six-year contract with a cap-friendly $4.6 million average annual value.
Arizona eventually traded him to the Ottawa Senators for three draft picks. MacLellan once again made a run at Chychrun after the Senators parted ways with GM Pierre Dorion and hired Steve Staios as his replacement. MacLellan recalls that the Sens had two left-shot defensemen they “really liked” but had a need for a right-handed shot. So off went Chychrun to the Capitals for a package that included defenseman Nick Jensen.
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Earlier in his career, Chychrun was known to force things offensively at time, taking risks to create scoring chances. MacLellan has been impressed with his gradual realization that “you can’t make something out of nothing in a tight game” for your team.
“He’s not doing the mistake part as much as he could have been criticized for before. Be patient, wait for your holes, wait for a mistake, wait for an opportunity to join the rush. I think he’s evolved that way,” MacLellan said. “So consequently, I think that makes him more consistent as a player.”
Carbery knew him as a highly touted prospect with the Coyotes whose career was kept on the launch pad because of injuries — he didn’t play more than 70 games in a season until 2023-24 with Ottawa — and Arizona’s futility as a franchise. After the 2023-24 season, Carbery and MacLellan discussed the need to add more scoring to their defense corps. MacLellan shared that Chychrun was a trade target.
“I was like, ‘OK, this is great.’ We’re going to get a real skill in the prime of his career, a young defenseman that can add a skating ability and an offensive punch to our back end,” Carbery recalled. “Needless to say, I had no idea what he was going to bring to our team over the next year plus. Just how great of a person, teammate, how coachable he is, how motivated he is to want to continue to develop as an NHL defenseman.”
And, potentially, an Olympian.
MacLellan said he has lobbied Team Canada management about Chychrun for the 2026 Games.
“We’re selling to them that, ‘Man, he’s played really well the last two years. He deserves consideration. It depends on how you guys set your lineup up and what you’re looking for, but he should be in the running with these guys. He’s played that good,'” he said. “You don’t aggressively push, but you make them aware [of] how good he’s been over the last two years since he got to us.”
Chychrun said his Team Canada status hasn’t been weighing on him. He wasn’t invited to Olympic orientation camp this summer, and the only times he has paid much attention to the selection process is when others have broached the subject with him.
“I feel like nobody really expected me to make that team or anything. It’s not like I was putting pressure on myself to show that I deserve to be there,” he said. “It’s been kind of nice, actually, not stressing about it.”
There is something else, however, that Chychrun is highly anticipating in the coming days.
“I’ve just kind of been enjoying staying in the moment,” he said. “I mean, my wife is expecting our first kid in less than 10 days here.
“That’s been by far what I’ve been most excited about: To become a father, to support my wife through that process and to welcome a baby into this world. And obviously, going to the rink every day with the great group that we have in Washington is just a blessing, too.”
As a Capital, fatherhood might be the least quirky thing about Chychrun.
“It’s like all dads in this group. It’s awesome. I love to see it,” he said.
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