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Alexander Urbom claimed off waivers by the Washington Capitals

Young defenseman Alex Urbom has been claimed by Washington Capitals. TL;DR: Urbom gone. Other fish in the sea.

By Nate Pilling
So long, Alex.
So long, Alex.
USA TODAY Sports

Alexander Urbom has been claimed off waivers by the Washington Capitals, per Elliotte Friedman:

In case you missed it, Urbom was placed on waivers yesterday to make way for Patrik Elias to rejoin the team off Injured Reserve:

The 22-year-old Swedish defenseman was a 3rd round Devils pick in the 2009 draft. Devils faithful know that the young Swede had been up and down a few times over the last few years, but had spent most of his time in the minors with the Albany Devils.

Here are his career numbers from HockeyDB:

He had a fair amount of potential, but thanks to the depth the team has at the big club and at the prospect level, Urbom never really stuck with the team for any meaningful amount of time.

Frankly, the fact that the Devils even had to make this move is a testament to the depth the organization has at this position:

As Lou said, it's never fun to lose a prospect, but that's the way the system works. Urbom needed more development time to play in this organization, and the only way to get that was going to be in the AHL. Thankfully for the Devils there are more fish in the sea (two of which are named Gelinas and Merrill).

While it stinks that the Devils have to lose a guy with potential like this, it's probably the best for Urbom's career. The depth the Devils have at the blueline would probably have made it difficult for him to become a regular for a few more seasons, if that.

With all that said, let's hear from you. Was placing Urbom on waivers the right decision? Should someone else have been moved? Does this do anything to dampen your spirits on this the first gameday of the season?

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