ELMONT, NY - MARCH 30: New York Islanders Defenseman Matthew Schaefer (48) skates with the puck against Pittsburgh Penguins Right Wing Anthony Mantha (39) during the second period of the National Hockey League game between the Pittsburgh Penguins and the New York Islanders on March 30, 2026, at UBS Arena in Elmont, NY. (Photo by Gregory Fisher/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images) | Icon Sportswire via Getty Images
HM: Adam Pelech, Damon Severson, Luke Hughes, Shayne Gostisbehere
10. Vladislav Gavrikov, New York Rangers. A lot went wrong for the Rangers last season but their big pickup wasn’t among it. Gavrikov shattered his career high in goals (14) and put up a personal best season of 35 points. Known for his stopping ability and positional play above puck skills, Gavrikov is a perfect stay-at-home type of partner for a top pair.
9. Dougie Hamilton, New Jersey Devils. Hamilton has had his ups and downs but continues to make a positive impact in games with his offensive abilities and special teams performances.
8. Jakob Chychrun, Washington Capitals. In the last two seasons, among NHL defensemen only Cale Makar (50) has more goals than Chychrun (46). His shooting ability and aggressiveness in the offensive zone makes him virtually a fourth forward that needs to be accounted for at all times.
7. Travis Sanheim, Philadelphia Flyers. Sanheim is a workhorse with game averages of 24+ minutes last season. He’s a bedrock player valued enough to make a Team Canada as a big guy who can do just about everything very well and very consistently.
6. K’Andre Miller, Carolina Hurricanes. Miller emerged in his first season with Carolina as a tremendous player. His PK impacts are some of the best in the league. He’s effective with his 6’5” frame and has the hands to move the puck pretty well.
5. Jaccob Slavin, Carolina Hurricanes. Slavin is arguably the top all-around/defensive defenseman in the game right now. Entering the zone against him when he gaps up is almost impossible. His positioning and stick is always on point and he defends the best players in the league with so much success. Slavin isn’t as much of an offensive weapon as some of the options above him, but he’s no less of a player.
4. Erik Karlsson, Pittsburgh Penguins. Karlsson played as good as any defenseman in the league in the second half of last season. Though a little long in the tooth, his effectiveness and mastery of the puck looks about as strong as ever.
3. Matthew Schaefer, New York Islanders. Schaefer burst onto the scene with 23 goals and 59 points last season as an 18-year old while playing almost 25 minutes per game, almost unheard of numbers for that age in the modern era. The sky is the limit for him given his immense talents and tremendous skating ability.
2. Adam Fox, New York Rangers. Last year was frustrating for Fox, but he still managed to put up 53 points in 55 games. Fox finished top-5 in Norris voting from 2020-24 and will be looking to re-establish himself in that rare air this season. Given the revamped NYR blueline, there’s a good chance he gets there.
1. Zach Werenski, Columbus Blue Jackets. The reigning Norris trophy winner takes first place here. Werenski is the total package, he can do it all. 81 points last year. Played 26:37 per game. Dangerous on the power play. Strong enough in his own end, then lethal once his team has possession.
Ahead of Pittsburgh Penguins' training camp, there is understandably a fair amount of buzz surrounding the usual suspects in contention for NHL spots on the blue line.
As always, top prospect Harrison Brunicke is garnering a lot of attention, as the 20-year-old showed out well in this first two camps, made the NHL squad out of training camp last season, and looks more ready than ever. Owen Pickering, 22, gained substanital momentum in the back half of his AHL season last year, and he is developing more consistency and steadiness in his own zone while still providing some upside the other way.
But there is another name that fans should be on the lookout for in the weeks leading up to final NHL roster decisions. And that's 20-year-old defenseman Tomas Galvas.
Galvas was selected 54th overall by the Penguins in this year's draft, and it was his third attempt at the draft. Undersized at 5-foot-11, 168 pounds, many teams were worried about the blueliner's size and lack of dimension prior to the 2025-26 season.
He proved many wrong last season, though, registering eight goals and 24 points in 32 games for Bili Tygri Liberec of the Czech League. Pitted up against grown men, Galvas showed extraordinary poise and transitional ability, and he also manned the first power play unit to some success.
All of a sudden, it's not just Brunicke and Pickering that Penguins' fans - and the organization - are touting as a legitimate higher-upside prospect on the blue line. Galvas has entered that conversation, as his mobility, speed, distribution skills, and ability on breakouts are things that define his game. He also has the ability to evade the opposition with ease, which is something that may or may not get more difficult for him as he progresses through professional hockey.
His defensive game, though, is what saw the most growth over the last year and added more dimension to his game. If he can continue to add some size, he could establish himself as a top-four upside option for Pittsburgh on the left side, which is something that they could definitely use.
So, does Galvas have a chance to break camp?
Honestly, it might not be that much of a stretch.
For one, the battle on the left side for the Penguins is going to be a legitimate one. With the departure of top-pair left defenseman Parker Wotherspoon this summer, there are many questions about how the Penguins will choose to fill out the left.
They added veteran Trevor van Riemsdyk - a righty who primarily plays the left side - and Declan Carlile to help offset that loss, and as far as returning cast, Sam Girard and Ilya Solovyov are still around. Beyond that, Pickering and Jake Livanavage should be making a push, and if Brunicke wows in camp on the right side, it very well could force either Kris Letang or Kaedan Korczak to the left.
There may be a handful of defensemen competing for a few spots on the left side, but there are no givens. No one is a true No. 1 defenseman like Erik Karlsson is on the right side, so quite literally anyone could secure that left side spot on the top pairing, and quite literally anyone could secure one of the other two spots.
With a standout camp, Galvas may just have a shot at cracking the roster. Stranger things have certainly happened, so don't count him out when final NHL roster cuts are announced prior to the season opener against the Philadelphia Flyers on Sept. 30.
Chicago Blackhawks prospect camp began on Friday. There are a lot of well-known players participating in this event, including AJ Spellacy, Sacha Boisvert, and Marek Vanacker. There are also players who are less well-known but have interesting stories as they try to reach their dream of making it to the NHL.
One of those players is defenseman Ty Henry. Last camp, Henry sustained a scary leg injury that caused him to miss his entire season with the Erie Otters of the OHL. It was a tough break for him and his development, but he managed to work his way back.
#Blackhawks defenseman prospect Ty Henry takes a hard spill into the boards and leaves the ice with assistance from the training staff. Looks like he couldn’t put much weight on his leg. pic.twitter.com/tFIy66c9nt
During last season, while injured, Henry committed to the University of St. Thomas to play NCAA hockey. However, things have changed. Instead, he will head back to Erie this fall to continue playing in the OHL. Henry confirmed this news following the first prospect practice on Friday.
The Blackhawks selected Henry in the 6th round (163rd overall) in the 2024 NHL Draft. He may have lost a year of his pre-pro career, but that adversity is his reality, which he must overcome if he's going to find himself playing hockey at the highest level.
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If the Philadelphia Flyers have a wealth of talent anywhere in their prospect pool, it's on defense, and soon enough, everyone will get to see that.
The rookie camp roster already features the likes of Denver Barkey, Alex Bump, and Porter Martone up front, and while they're still young, they're also established pros at this point.
The trio of wingers will put their time in ahead of the start of main training camp next week, but for all intents and purposes, they've graduated from the prospect pipeline and can now be considered NHL players.
On defense, a slightly different picture has been painted.
Second-year pro Ty Murchison joins the group after his first full professional season, looking to recover from a season-ending injury suffered in the middle of the year.
Jackson Edward has some pro experience, but Spencer Gill, Brek Liske, Luke Vlooswyk, and Riley Steen do not.
Newcomer Maksim Sokolovskii, the Flyers' 2025 first-round pick doesn't either, but that hasn't stopped Lehigh Valley Phantoms head coach John Snowden from putting him with a more seasoned partner.
Flyers unite London Knights defenders
The Flyers drafted Maksim Sokolovskii 27th overall in the 2026 NHL Draft. (Photo: Timothy T. Ludwig, Imagn Images)
Oliver Bonk, a 2023 first-round pick who made his NHL debut and Stanley Cup playoff debut at the end of last season, was paired up with the brolic Sokolovskii on Friday evening as Snowden matched up London Knights defenders of past and present.
Bonk, 21, starred for London for three full seasons, capturing the Memorial Cup and finishing as an OHL champion twice.
Sokolovskii, 18, will play for London for one more season before making the jump to the NCAA's University of Maine next year.
But through the Knights, the two talented young defenders are familiar with each other.
"We haven't really decided what the lineup's going to look like tomorrow, so we kind of just put some pairs together of what it would look like. I think Bonk's an incredibly intelligent guy, got a year under his belt playing the pro game. Soko, he's a young guy coming in. He's massively huge and raw. Bonk's really good at talking and helping guys through it," Snowden said of the duo.
"They have a little bit of a connection, obviously, they played in London. They understand where they came from. I don't think there was a whole lot of thought process in going behind it, but it was, here's Sokolovskii, let's put Bonk with him, let's help him through this first day and then we'll see what we're going to play with tomorrow."
At the same time, Gill is just one year younger than Bonk and impressed at training camp last year, so he's got some experience, too.
Snowden and the Flyers ultimately went with Bonk and Sokolovskii, whose skillsets could end up complementing each other quite well.
In highlights, we've seen Sokolovskii's ability and willingness to transport the puck with his legs and pull off dekes against defenders, while Bonk's hockey IQ keeps him prepared for any situation at either end of the ice, where he can contribute equally.
Like Snowden said, it's still unclear if this pair is here to stick, but the potential for the Flyers, now and in the future, is tantalizing to say the least.
Former San Jose Sharks defenseman John Klingberg has officially announced his retirement from professional hockey after 700 NHL games.
Klingberg, who rose to prominence as a member of the Dallas Stars in the mid-2010s, was one of the league's top offensive defensemen during his prime, which was unfortunately shortened by injuries.
“Bottom line is my body doesn’t allow me to do it anymore, and I’ve been trying everything to get it to a point where I can be the best version of myself, but I haven’t seen any positive feedback of my body wanting me to do it anymore," Klingberg told The Athletic's Eric Stephens. “When I had my last surgery, when I re-did my entire hips, (my doctor) said when they opened me up — he’s had like 5,000-plus surgeries — he said this is some of the worst hips I’ve ever seen, and you’re only 30 years old,”
Although he was a shadow of his former self after leaving the Stars organization, Klingberg leaves behind a strong legacy in Dallas. All things considered, at least in the offensive zone as his defensive play was difficult to watch at times, Klingberg had a respectable final chapter in San Jose as well. 27 points in 56 games is certainly no small feat for an offensive defenseman, even in this day-and-age.
Klingberg, 34, ends his NHL career with 700 games played, 92 goals, and 351 assists. According to Stephens, Klingberg is planning on returning to Sweden where he will become a broadcaster covering the Swedish Hockey League, NHL, and international play.
Graeme Clarke wasn't a Senator for long last season, but he did enough in Belleville for fans to think he might earn a longer look.
At the NHL trade deadline back in March, the Senators acquired the Ottawa native from the Washington Capitals for forward Wyatt Bongiovanni. Clarke was a 2024 AHL All-Star who had back-to-back 25-goal seasons for Utica.
He found out about the deal a minute before the deadline passed.
At the club's annual golf tourney this week, Thomas Chabot was asked about the Sens captaincy.
"I get a call in a hotel room that I'm traded to Ottawa, and it was amazing," Clarke told TSN 1200 this week. "Like, I grew up going to Sens games as a kid, wearing Alfie's jersey and all this stuff.
"So just that, that itself was super cool."
Clarke was clearly energized by a chance to maybe play for his hometown team. He rolled into Belleville and immediately put up seven points in his first two games. He also credited a return to the centre-ice position, which he says he hasn't played for a couple of years, and relying more on his instincts.
Clarke closed the season with impressive AHL totals (19 points in 15 games), but despite that, he wasn't able to find a deal with an NHL organization this summer, at least not one he liked enough to sign.
So for Clarke, an Ottawa kid who grew up cheering for Daniel Alfredsson, he didn't get to play for Alfie's NHL team, but he will get to play for Alfie's old Swedish team.
Frölunda HC announced this week that it has signed Clarke to a one-year contract for the coming season. That club produced both Alfredsson and Erik Karlsson, probably the finest two players in modern Senators history.
“I’ve only heard good things about the club and the fans," Clarke said. “Frölunda is one of the best teams in Europe, with a clear goal of winning. I’ve also gotten a good impression of Gothenburg as a city. This will be exciting.”
Clarke does have a little experience in Europe. He and his younger brother, Los Angeles Kings defenceman Brandt Clarke, briefly played in Slovakia during the pandemic-shortened 2020-21 season. Graeme also represented Canada at the Spengler Cup last December and will compete in the event again this year, this time with his Swedish team.
Clarke wasn't part of Ottawa's NHL organization for long, but his Ottawa hockey roots run deep. He not only played AAA hockey here, but he also played for three years with the OHL's Ottawa 67s.
At 25, Clarke's NHL hopes aren’t necessarily over. A productive season in one of Europe’s best leagues could put him back on the radar of North American teams.
For now, being on the same path as the Senators' greatest player isn't a bad place to be.
By Steve Warne The Hockey News
This article was first published in The Hockey News. For more Sens coverage at The Hockey News, click on one of the latest THN Ottawa headlines below:
ALLENTOWN, Pa. — The Flyers don’t have an inexperienced group at 2026 rookie training camp.
Porter Martone, Denver Barkey, Alex Bump, Jett Luchanko and Oliver Bonk are all on the roster. Those five players saw action in the NHL playoffs last season, a good development for the club’s future.
“Going into camp again with a chip-on-your-shoulder mentality,” Barkey said after Friday’s practice at PPL Center, home of AHL affiliate Lehigh Valley. “That’s always something that has separated me, just bringing that compete, that motor. Coming into camp again with something to prove, not being satisfied with what I did last year.”
“Obviously it was really cool, it was great experience, I learned a lot and was able to grow a lot this summer coming back in now,” Barkey said. “But I’ve still got something to prove, got to earn your spot. I just want to continue to grow as a player and do whatever it takes to help the team win.”
Martone is undeniably the rookie camp headliner after fueling the Flyers’ playoff push at 19 years old. The winger is a slam dunk for a huge role this season, but he doesn’t act like it. The Flyers really like his humility and maturity.
“He asks a lot of questions, he’s always looking to better himself wherever it is on the ice,” Lehigh Valley head coach John Snowden said. “Even in practice today, ‘Can we do this? Can we look at something differently on this? What can I do different?’ He asks those questions, he wants to be a hockey player.”
“In fairness, he played at the end of the season last year, he got a very, very small taste of the NHL level,” Snowden, who runs rookie camp, said. “He should ask those questions and he should find every single resource and avenue to make himself a better player. He’s a very good player, he showed what he can be in the NHL, but he wants to be a superstar player. And those are the type of things that you’re going to have to ask.”
The 2025 sixth overall pick has been a busy and well-traveled teenager. His whirlwind year continued after the playoffs when he represented Team Canada at the IIHF Ice Hockey World Championship. He was also at development camp this summer. But he found some downtime.
“After the world championships there, I went home for probably about a month,” Martone said. “It was nice to kind of lay low, spend it with my family, see my siblings, my friends and kind of just be a kid again. I went back to Michigan State for about three weeks to a month this year and trained. Then I went home for a little bit, about two weeks, and then I’ve been in Philly for the past few weeks, kind of getting ready, getting back into the city and kind of getting rolling here.”
Similar to Barkey, the 22-year-old Bump is coming off his first full season at the pro level. He joined the Flyers after the March trade deadline and opened eyes. He recorded nine points (five goals, four assists) over 17 regular-season games and added two goals in six playoff games.
Last fall, the winger felt the pressure of his first NHL training camp.
“I kind of know what to expect more now,” Bump said. “More experience. Going into last camp, I didn’t really know what to expect and I just got overwhelmed almost. I think I just know what to expect and the experience definitely helps.”
He wants to make up for last year’s camp.
“This year’s big, I think this is kind of the next step for me, to make the NHL full-time,” he said. “This camp is big and kind go into it with a chip on my shoulder.”
Luchanko and Bonk also have a lot to prove. They had to miss last year’s rookie games because of injuries.
In a drill Friday, he scored on a nice rip from the slot. Snowden said Luchanko was “absolutely snapping the puck in the net” and that his shot looked “really, really good.”
“He’s a very responsible player, he has got a very high hockey IQ,” Snowden said. “The one thing that we all talk about is we want to squeeze that offense out of him. Today, seeing him shoot the puck and scoring goals from distance in some different scenarios, that’s a huge plus.
“He can make plays, we know he can make plays, but can we find that scoring touch? Can you be selfish in some situations? Where maybe you defer to pass, maybe now you’ve got an opportunity to shoot the puck in the net or create a secondary chance by shooting the puck.”
Toronto Maple Leafs general manager John Chayka told The Canadian Press on Friday that forward Max Domi will not be ready when the team opens training camp, remaining out indefinitely because of complications from off-season surgery.
“Max is going to come and be evaluated. He’s not going to be ready to start training camp. He’s going to be out indefinitely. At the right time in the near future, he wants to address it himself, and I think that’s best for him to do … we’ll leave it at that,” Chayka said, according to Josh Clipperton of The Canadian Press, who shared the quote on his X account.
The update comes four months after the Maple Leafs announced on May 25 that Domi had undergone a procedure to address an undisclosed issue he played through during the 2025-26 season and that complications had left him out indefinitely. The club said at the time he would continue working with team medical staff and be re-evaluated at the start of camp.
Domi, 31, appeared in 80 games last season and finished with 12 goals and 24 assists. He signed a four-year, $15-million contract with Toronto in July 2024 that carries a $3.75-million cap hit through 2027-28. The Winnipeg native has two seasons remaining on that deal.
Spoke with John Chayka today. The Maple Leafs GM says Max Domi will not be ready for the start of training camp due to complications from off-season surgery: pic.twitter.com/aGKCflBpVm
Domi has not spoken publicly about the surgery or the complications. Chayka indicated that the player intends to do so himself “at the right time in the near future.” The nature of the procedure and the exact complications have not been detailed by the organization.
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ST. LOUIS -- The NHL and NHLPA announced on Friday that St. Louis Blues prospect Adam Jecho will be unavailable to his club for an indefinite period while he receives care from the Player Assistance Program of the NHLPA and NHL.
Under the terms of the joint program, he will return to the club when cleared for on-ice competition by the program administrators.
Jecho, 20, was a third-round pick in the 2024 NHL Draft who played for Edmonton of the Western Hockey League the past three years and was projected to play in Springfield of the American Hockey League this season after putting up 36 points (10 goals, 26 assists) in 47 games with the Oil Kings last season.
Last season, Blues prospect Zach Dean was in the player assistance program before returning to the Thunderbirds for the final 36 games of the season.
Jecho was slated to be at training camp when it opens on Sept. 17 and was on the roster of prospects to face the Chicago Blackhawks on Monday and Tuesday in Chicago.
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A fresh start in Calgary has given Simon Nemec plenty to be excited about.
The 22-year-old defenceman is getting set for his first season with the Calgary Flames after being acquired from the New Jersey Devils on June 23. Since arriving in Calgary, Nemec has had time to settle into his new surroundings, get to know the city and begin building relationships with his new teammates.
Credit: Jerome Miron-Imagn Images
Having a couple of familiar faces around the organization has helped.
Fellow Slovakians Martin Pospisil and Samuel Honzek are already part of the Flames, giving Nemec an immediate connection inside the locker room.
“It’s really helpful,” Nemec said of having his fellow Slovakians around.
“Calgary’s a great city, the people are awesome here, so I’m really excited about this new opportunity here,” Nemec said.
The move also means playing in a Canadian hockey market, something Nemec is eager to experience.
“I can’t wait for the start. It’s different, it’s Canada. I feel like the fans have more passion here, it’s going to be a little different, but I’m really excited.”
There is plenty riding on Nemec’s first season in Calgary.
Selected second overall by New Jersey in the 2022 NHL Draft, Nemec arrived in the NHL with considerable expectations. He spent three seasons with the Devils, including a 2025-26 campaign in which he recorded 11 goals and 15 assists for 26 points in 68 games.
Now, he gets a chance to reset.
In Calgary, Nemec sees an opportunity to take on a larger role, earn more ice time and continue developing into the kind of defenceman the Flames believe he can become.
Credit: Ed Mulholland-Imagn Images
“It’s a new team for me, everything’s new, so it’s been exciting,” Nemec said. “I feel like getting more ice time and more opportunities here… that’s another exciting thing.”
The upcoming training camp was always going to be a big one for David Reinbacher. The fifth-overall pick in the 2023 draft hasn’t been very lucky since being picked by the Montreal Canadiens. He’s dealt with a lot of injuries, but last season he played 57 games with the Laval Rocket and two more with the Habs. Now it’s time to prove what he can do and whether he’s ready to take the next step.
While we’ve yet to get official confirmation on Kaiden Guhle’s status, that should come at the team’s golf tournament on Monday; however, as reported by Anthony Marcotte, the defenseman had to undergo surgery this summer and is still rehabbing. If that’s the case and he has to miss some time in the preseason or in the season itself, it means there’s a door wide open for Reinbacher to step into a roster spot with the big club.
Furthermore, Arber Xhekaj still hasn’t signed a new contract, so you have to wonder whether he will be there when training camp opens. If he isn’t, the battle for a roster spot on the blueline will get a bit easier with Jayden Struble, Adam Engstrom, and Reinbacher fighting for Ghule’s spot and the sixth defenseman role. Three defensemen for two chairs. That’s better than four defensemen for one chair.
Given how Martin St-Louis used his defensemen in the playoffs, it’s clear that he doesn’t feel like Struble or Xhekaj can handle playing as much as his other blueliners, meaning that if a youngster can earn his trust, he might get to play an important role and get meaningful minutes.
Reinbacher being the only right-shot defenseman of the bunch gives him a bit of an edge, even if Engstrom can play on his off side; in an ideal world, Reinbacher would grab the opportunity being offered with both hands, and the Canadiens could finally have a balanced blueline including three right-shot defensemen with Noah Dobson and Alex Carrier.
On Thursday, three groups skated in Brossard: a first group which featured the players who will take part in the rookie camp, a second group which included the players who played in Laval last season, such as Alex Belzile, Owen Beck and Florian Xhekaj; and a third group which was solely made up of NHL players and Reinbacher. Of course, this was an informal practice, which means that Martin St-Louis didn’t get a say in who played with which group, but it’s still a positive sign for the young defenseman.
Dalibor Dvorsky is set to enter year two in the NHL from the get-go, and after a decent showing in his rookie season, expectations are growing.
Dvorsky has excelled at every level leading up to the NHL. He was dynamite at every junior level while playing for Slovakia and even captained their world junior team. In Sweden, he played in the HockeyAllsvenskan in his draft year and posted a respectable six goals and 14 points in 38 games.
The following season, he moved to the OHL and posted 45 goals and 88 points in 52 games. His final stop before becoming an NHLer was in the AHL, where he scored 21 goals and 45 points in a strong rookie season.
Wherever he's played, he's put up strong results, offensively and defensively. But in those previous situations, few players, if any, rivaled his skill set. The NHL is a different beast, and for a player to be as effective as possible, they can't have holes in their game.
Dvorsky possesses a lethal shot, both with power and accuracy. He has the puck-handling skills to be a threat in transition and on the cycle, and has the size and instincts to be a shutdown center. But if there was one area Dvorsky needed to improve, it's his speed.
Dvorsky isn't a poor skater. He uses his edge work effectively and has no issues pivoting, but his footspeed is lackluster, to say the least.
In his rookie season, NHL EDGE recorded Dvorsky's maximum skating speed as 21.58 miles per hour. That was below the 50th percentile, and it was Dvorsky's only skating burst above 21 miles per hour.
Additionally, the 21-year-old posted just 15 skating bursts between 20 and 22 miles per hour, below the 50th percentile, and also ranked below the 50th percentile in skating bursts between 18 and 20 miles per hour.
Being a speedster isn't the only way to be effective in the NHL, but it's hard to be effective and reach your potential when you are below average at best. Given that Dvorsky is defensively responsible and finds himself low in the defensive end, he needs the speed to work his way back into the play.
If Dvorsky can be a league-average or above-average skater, Dvorsky's 5-on-5 play will drastically improve. In his rookie campaign, Dvorsky demonstrated that he will be a consistent power-play threat, scoring five of his 12 goals on the man advantage. But with the off-season additions, Dvorsky won't find himself on the top unit just yet, so those power-play opportunities will diminish.
He needs to produce at 5-on-5 to stay in the NHL, and speed improvements will help him do so. He has plenty of admirable NHL tools, but improved footspeed will take his game to the next level.
Whether he incorporates more crossovers to generate power like Chicago Blackhawks superstar Connor Bedard has, or trains to be quicker in a straight line, he's a step away from breaking out.
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Matvei Gridin is one of the more familiar names in the group.
The 2025 first-round pick appeared in 37 games with Calgary as a rookie last season, recording six goals and 20 points. After getting his first taste of the NHL, Gridin enters this season looking to take another step and push for a larger role offensively.
Matvei Gridin. Credit: Isaiah J. Downing-Imagn Images
On the blueline, Abram Wiebe will get another opportunity to show what he can bring. Wiebe joined the Flames organization following his college career at North Dakota and made his NHL debut last season, appearing in four games after arriving in Calgary in the Rasmus Andersson trade.
Goaltender Arsenii Sergeev also gives Calgary another player worth watching.
Sergeev made his NHL debut late last season against the Los Angeles Kings, stopping 27 of 28 shots in a 3-1 Flames victory. He is expected to continue his development with the Calgary Wranglers in the American Hockey League this season.
Monday’s game isn’t just about the final score.
Arsenii Sergeev. Credit: Sergei Belski-Imagn
For players on the edge of the NHL picture, the NextGen showcase is another chance to make an impression in front of the organization before training camp gets underway.
With the Flames and Oilers sharing the ice at the Saddledome, there should be no shortage of familiar rivalry energy, even with plenty of young faces on both sides.
The Flames and Oilers meet Monday, Sept. 14, at the Scotiabank Saddledome.
The location of the event is part of the Sens' ongoing marketing efforts to win over hockey fans on the other side of the river. Close as it is to Ottawa, most of Gatineau's allegiance lies with the Montreal Canadiens so their fans will be out in full force to support their team (which makes you wonder why the Sens keep inviting the Habs to their Quebec-side preseason gatherings).
But the event also includes Toronto so it will also be teeming with Leafs fans.
But if they bought tickets hoping to see Gavin McKenna's first game in a Leaf uniform, they're going to be disappointed.
NHL.com had reported earlier that McKenna would play in the event, but Toronto Marlies head coach Steve Sullivan told reporters on Friday that McKenna will not attend so he can be fully ready for main camp next week.
For the record, skipping on the event wasn't McKenna's idea.
“I was just doing whatever the team wanted me to do,” McKenna told TSN. “It’d be fun to play some games, but they think me staying here is best, and I’m okay with that. I’ll listen to what they want.”
McKenna was selected first overall by Toronto in June, and everyone expects him to make the NHL team as an 18-year-old. McKenna recorded 51 points in 35 games as a Penn State freshman last season and added 14 points in seven games while helping Canada win bronze at the World Junior Championship.
The Sens made a similar decision with defenseman Carter Yakemchuk, keeping him out of action this weekend. Yakemchuk has an excellent chance to win a full time NHL job in Ottawa this fall.
Sens fans will get a chance to see McKenna soon enough.
On Wednesday, Sept. 23, a portion of the Senators players participating in training camp will travel to Toronto to face the Maple Leafs. At the same time, the Maple Leafs will send a group to Ottawa to face the Senators at CTC.
Then the Senators will face McKenna and the Leafs on the road in their regular season opener. That will be Toronto's third game of the season, so it won't be his NHL debut.
That means Sens fans won't have to endure the inevitable nostalgia billowing out of Toronto about the 10-year anniversary of Auston Matthews's NHL debut, when he scored four goals on the Sens.
Small victories count too.
By Steve Warne The Hockey News
This article was first published in The Hockey News. For more Sens coverage at The Hockey News, click on one of the latest THN Ottawa headlines below:
The start of the 2026-27 season is rapidly approaching and while the Stanley Cup Champion Carolina Hurricanes look ready for another run at the crown, there's one piece of business still left unfinished.
Russian blueliner Alexander Nikishin is the Hurricanes' last player without a deal for the upcoming season and it hasn't seemed like there's really been much progress on that front.
His name has been out there plenty in the rumor mill, with reports stating that he's looking for north of $8 million per year and that the Canes have shopped him around plenty as well.
But with training camp just a week away, will the time crunch force someone to give?
And what will a new contract even look like for the Russian defenseman?
Nikishin was just on the outside of the league's top-50 most productive defensemen, registering 33 points in 81 games in his rookie year, however, he was in the top-25 in terms of goal scoring, having found the back of the net 11 times.
That's substantial production and better than a plethora of guys that wound up with significant contracts this summer.
However, he's also a 24-year-old rookie and so the question is, how much more room does he have to grow?
Obviously he had trouble adjusting to a lot of factors given the fact that he was playing in North American and a new league for the first time in his career, as well as not speaking the language fully.
So from that standpoint there is the potential for him to take another step, but the fact remains that he struggled a bit defensively, especially with the way the Hurricanes play, and so it's a question of if the organization thinks he's capable of taking a big step.
AFP Analytics does projections for pending free agents and their data projects both a long and short term deal for players.
For Nikishin, AFP projects him at both a six-year, $38.641 million ($6.44 AAV) deal or a two-year, $7.43 million ($3.715 AAV) deal.
In my opinion both of those seem fairly low for the Russian blueliner, but I can also see why the analytics wouldn't be too much in Nikishin's favor.
Despite solid production, Nikishin wasn't much of a play driver for Carolina according to the underlying numbers and he had his fair share of struggles defensively too.
Alexander Nikishin's 2025-26 Microstats
And while he was quite productive in the regular season, Nikishin struggled to put up points in the playoffs.
In addition, Nikishin has virtually no leverage in the current negotiations.
On top of only having one year of NHL experience under his belt, he's also a 10.2(c) restricted free agent, meaning that he can't be offer sheeted nor could he file for arbitration.
The Hurricanes hold all the cards in the negotiations and the only potential option Nikishin has is to sit out, which is very rare to see in today's game.
However, while he and the team have continued to go back and forth in negotiations, other players have landed deals that have more than likely only pushed Nikishin's ask even higher.
If we look at players in Nikishin's cohort (defensemen around the age of 24 who signed new deals) ones that jump out as comparables include:
Zeev Buium [20] - Eight-year, $75.04 million ($9.38 AAV)
Jamie Drysdale [24] - Four-year, $26 million ($6.5 AAV)
Simon Nemec [22] - Five-year, $36.25 million ($7.25 AAV)
Pavel Mintyukov [22] - Five-year, $36 million ($7.2 AAV)
Bowen Byram [25] - Six-year, $75 million ($12.5 AAV)
Brandt Clarke [23] - Five-year, $37 million ($7.4 AAV)
Of those players, only Byram (42 points) and Clarke (40) outproduced Nikishin.
Beyond them, other potential comparables in his cohort could include some players who signed deals last year, but the majority of them do play larger roles than Nikishin.
Philip Broberg [24] - Six-year, $48 million ($8 AAV)
JJ Moser [25] - Eight-year, $54 million ($6.75 AAV)
Thomas Harley [24] - Eight-year, $84.7 million ($10.587 AAV)
Jackson LaCombe [24] - Eight-year, $72 million ($9 AAV)
Luke Hughes [22] - Seven-year, $63 million ($9 AAV)
At the end of the day, Nikishin's price is more than likely going to end up at least somewhere above $7 million based on the market.
Carolina has just over $8 million in cap space according to PuckPedia, so they can fit him into the equation, but would the team really want to make him potentially their highest paid defenseman?
And if he stays, is it going to be a bridge or a long-term deal?
Carolina isn't a team that likes to take expensive risks and Nikishin definitely presents himself as one, especially at the price tag he's seemingly asking for.
There's also the case of, does Nikishin want to commit long-term to Carolina?
Coming from the KHL, the Russian defenseman was a 30-minute a night, all situations player. He hasn't gotten the opportunity to be that in Raleigh and there still isn't really a path for him to become that either.
The Hurricanes have a lot of options on the blueline currently too, bringing in Mike Reilly, Pierre-Olivier Joseph and Juuso Valimaki, while also having guys like Charles Alexis Legault and Joel Nystrom, all of whom could be options in that third-pairing role, so they have the insurance should this drag out through training camp.
And again, the Hurricanes don't have to budge.
It's a difficult situation and one that will be interesting to see how it ultimately resolves.
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