Andre Szmyt’s Future Sealed as Browns Prep for Baltimore

The Cleveland Browns appear ready to roll with Andre Szmyt for another week after his miserable debut against the Cincinnati Bengals.

Szmyt missed two very important kicks against the Begnals during a 17-16 loss. He sailed an extra point and a 36-yard field goal wide right. The chip-shot field goal would have given the Browns the lead with just over two minutes left in the fourth quarter.

While many predicted that the Browns would be searching for a new kicker this week, Cleveland appears set to give Szmyt another shot. The Browns did not try out a kicker on Tuesday, per Mary Kay Cabot of cleveland.com.

The move would be in line with what the Browns have said this week, backing Szmyt despite the misses.

Obviously, Andre knows we trust him, knows that he’s got to come through for us in those moments,” Browns head coach Kevin Stefanski said on Monday. “I thought he had a really good warm up. Banged a couple early in the game and, you know, missed those two at the end and those are kicks that we expect him to make. But I’m really just focused on that game and we expect him to come through for us.”

Not trying out a kicker on Tuesday does not mean Szmyt is completely safe. But as it stands, it appears he’ll be looking for redemption on Sunday on the road against the Baltimore Ravens.

Browns Kicker Andre Szmyt Won Battle in Training Camp

The matchup with the Bengals marked Szmyt’s NFL debut. He was signed as an undrafted free agent by the Chicago Bears in 2023 but didn’t make the roster. He has also spent time in the UFL, where he played for the St. Louis Battlehawks. Szmyt had a strong college career at Syracuse, winning the Lou Groza Award in 2018.

He beat out incumbent Dustin Hopkins for the gig with a perfect preseason. Hopkins hit a career-low 66% of his field goals (18-of-27) last season and also missed three extra points. That was a sharp decline from 2023, when he went 33-of-36 overall and a perfect 8-of-8 from 50-plus yards. His strong showing that year earned him a three-year extension, placing him among the league’s highest-paid kickers at the time. Hopkins remains a free agent.

“I think Andre (Szmyt) did a nice job since he’s been here, took advantage of every opportunity that we gave him,” Browns special teams coordinator Bubba Ventrone said last week. “And just made a decision, felt like it was the right thing to do for our team.”

Browns Shuffle Practice Squad Players

The Browns did make a fringe roster move on Tuesday, shuffling practice squad players. Cleveland signed defensive tackle Ralph Holley to the practice squad and released RB Trayveon Williams from the practice squad.

Holley (6-foot-0, 285 pounds) is officially in his first NFL season out of Western Michigan. He spent all offseason and preseason with the Browns this year. He has also spent time in the USFL and CFL.

The Browns will head to Baltimore this week looking to bounce back from the painful Week 1 loss. Cleveland is a 12.5-point underdog for the matchup, per ESPN BET.

Next-Gen Capitals: 5 Young Guns Poised to Impress

The Washington Capitals will hold their 2025 Rookie Camp from Sept. 12-15 in Annapolis, Maryland, at the McMullen Hockey Arena, home of the Navy’s men’s hockey team. Several Capitals’ recent draft picks will be eligible to attend the camp.

Under the leadership of former general manager (GM) and current president of hockey operations Brian MacLellan, as well as current GM Chris Patrick, the Capitals have restocked their talent pool with some highly skilled prospects. This is good news, since the team’s perennial regular-season success means they have not had many high draft picks. However, management and Capitals scouts have shown a keen eye for evaluating talent, making several strong selections in recent years.

Here are five top prospects to watch at Washington’s Rookie Camp.

Ryan Leonard

As the Capitals’ only top-10 draft pick since Karl Alzner in 2007, expectations for Ryan Leonard are high. The 2025 Hockey East Player of the Year and World Junior Championship MVP got his first taste of the NHL last season, playing nine regular-season and five playoff games in Washington.

The former Boston College Eagle was selected eighth overall in the 2023 NHL Entry Draft. Central Scouting ranked Leonard fifth among North American skaters, and he was the fourth non-European player selected, behind Russia’s Dmitriy Simashev (Arizona Coyotes) and Matvei Michkov (Philadelphia Flyers).

The 20-year-old Leonard is intent on making the opening-night roster. With a few pounds added over the summer and building on the confidence he gained with his short stint as a pro at the end of last season, he just might. He also gave Capitals fans a lot to be excited about at last year’s World Junior tournament, as he captained the US team to a gold medal and tied for second in tournament scoring. What was more impressive was how he dragged his team into the battle, playing with physicality and emotion.

His tenacious style and innate ability to get under the skin of his opponents earned him the ire of the Canadian crowd. Capitals fans hope he can bring the snarl and skill he exhibited on the world stage to Washington.

Andrew Cristall

Vancouver-born winger Andrew Cristall was taken 40th overall in the second round of the 2023 NHL Entry Draft. The 20-year-old Cristall put up gaudy numbers in the Western Hockey League (WHL) last season, posting 132 points in 57 games split between the Kelowna Rockets and the Spokane Chiefs.

Cristall was traded to Spokane for their playoff run just before the trade deadline and delivered an incredible performance. In 19 playoff games, he scored 21 goals and 41 points – ranked third all-time in a WHL postseason.

Cristall impressed the Capitals coaching staff and management at last summer’s development and rookie camps, and followed that up with a strong showing in the preseason. He was the last player cut from the opening-night roster.

The Hockey Writers’ Peter Baracchini called Cristall, “One of the top playmakers in this class,” adding that, “he’s very creative and evasive, possessing high-end offensive IQ. He’s very deceptive and shifty with his movements as he maintains great control of the puck, handling it confidently in high traffic areas and even beating defenders one-on-one.”

After dominating in his final year of juniors, the 5-foot-10 winger will either be playing for the Capitals this season or their American Hockey League affiliate in Hershey. If he can repeat his success from last season, look to see the highly skilled Cristall in the lineup to add an offensive spark.

Terik Parascak

Terik Parascak, the Capitals’ 17th overall pick in the 2024 NHL Entry Draft, put up big numbers with the WHL’s Prince George Cougars the last two seasons, including 105 points as a rookie in 2023-24. The 6-foot winger possesses impressive puck skills and a high offensive IQ that the Capitals are hoping will translate to the professional game. In his draft year, NHL Central Scouting ranked him 15th among North American skaters and third among right-wingers.

Jesse Courville-Lynch wrote that Parascak, based on his offensive skill alone, was “arguably one of the strongest players in his draft class.”

At the end of last season, Parascak was loaned to Hershey as an 18-year-old. He played in their last regular-season game of the season and was a black ace in the playoffs.

The biggest knock against Parascak is his skating, and if he can grow his game so that it catches up to his offensive instincts, he will be challenging for a regular spot on the Caps in the future. Look for him to continue to develop in junior this season, where he’ll work on his skating and bulk up for a future in the NHL.

Lynden Lakovic

Another prospect from Western Canada, Lynden Lakovic, was taken in the first round, 27th overall, by the Capitals in 2025. The 6-foot-4, 201-pound winger from Kelowna, British Columbia, captained the WHL’s Moose Jaw Warriors last season.

Two seasons ago, Lakovic helped lead the Warriors to their first Western Hockey League championship, scoring four game-winning goals in the playoffs, including three in overtime. Last season, with a roster depleted of much of its offensive talent, Lakovic led the team in scoring despite missing over a month due to an injury.

The Hockey Writers’ Dayton Reimer said of Lakovic: “He’s built like a power forward, he plays much more of a finesse game, giving him a unique blend of size and skill not seen in any other players at the top of the draft class.”

The big winger will return to junior for the 2025-26 season, where he will hopefully add some bulk to his frame while developing some of the skills the Capitals are looking for, namely more grit and physicality. If he can become more of a complete player this season, his future in Washington looks good.

Ilya Protas

The younger brother of Capitals’ star Aliaksei, Ilya Protas, is becoming a star in his own right after dominating the Ontario Hockey League last season. He finished second in the league, with 50 goals and 124 points in 61 games for the Windsor Spitfires. He also added 25 points in 12 playoff games for good measure.

The Hockey Writers’ Jordan Orth said, “When he has the puck on his stick, Protas has shown that he is more than capable of being an offensive weapon. He maintains possession thanks to his size and patience with the puck.”

After a solid, but not stellar, first North American season in the United States Hockey League in 2023-24, Protas had a breakout campaign in Windsor last year. Many teams that passed on him in his first year of eligibility are cursing their bad luck now.

The 6-foot-5 Belarusian winger just turned 19 in January, but he was not included on the Spitfires’ preseason roster, so there’s a possibility he’ll be spending the season in Hershey, unless he makes the Capitals out of camp. Protas was drafted out of the USHL, so he is not compelled to stay with his junior team another year.

Adding muscle to his frame and playing against bigger, stronger players should be his mission for this season, and if he’s anything like his brother, Capitals fans have cause for excitement. The elder Protas had a breakout year of his own last season, with 30 goals and 36 assists.

Some of the rookie camp attendees will join the Capitals’ preseason training camp, which opens on Sept. 18 at the MedStar Capitals Iceplex in Arlington, Virginia. Optimism is high as the Capitals look to build upon their successful 2024-25 campaign. With the offseason departures of Andrew Mangiapane, Taylor Raddysh, and Lars Eller, there should be spots available for these rookies to earn if they show up and compete as expected.

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