Andre Burakovsky was reassigned to AHL Hershey on Friday, Alex Prewitt of the Washington Post reports.

Burakovsky was reassigned to AHL Hershey on Friday, Alex Prewitt of the Washington Post reports.

Analysis:

The fact that Burakovsky was dropped from the 23-man roster after he was a healthy scratch in five of the team's previous six games wasn't surprising; what was more odd was that the Capitals chose not to loan him to Team Sweden for the World Junior Championship. It does appear that coach Barry Trotz has his reasons, however, as he wants to keep Burakovsky in Hershey in the event that the Capitals require a call-up for injury purposes during the upcoming road-heavy stretch of games. While in Hershey, Burakovsky will also benefit from reclaiming top-six ice time, a luxury he hasn't been afforded since the middle of November.