MARYLAND
HEIGHTS, Mo. -- Maddox
Dagenais had only one regret going into his first NHL action –
albeit a preseason game – on Saturday for the St. Louis Blues
against the Dallas Stars.
His
father, former NHL player Pierre Dagenais, was supposed to fly in and
see his son play. Unfortunately, his flight got canceled but
he will be able to watch the game on the Blues website.
Other
than that, the first-round pick (No. 16 overall) in the 2026 NHL
Draft was just going to let it rip on Saturday and soak in the
experience, take back with him whatever knowledge he can and make
marked improvements while playing for Quebec of the Quebec Major
Junior Hockey League for the third season.
“Yeah
for sure. There’s some veterans with us,” Dagenais said before
the Blues hosted the Stars in their preseason opener. “Just
ask some questions, how is it to play in an NHL rink. Just have fun.
When you have fun, you always play good.”
Dagenais
has been good in his first pro training camp.
Blues
coach Jim Montgomery said, “he’s a little bit of a 10 to 2 skater
on a clock and his feet are going that way and that makes it hard
because the angles are completely different and he’s going to be
very deceptive, I think.”
And
that playing in Saturday’s game, “gives
him a taste of what it’s really like, the speed of it, the electric
building, our fans, and then also what the strength and speed of what
the opposition is and what they can build towards.”
It’s
been a relatively smooth transition for the 18-year-old, who’s fit
in well in his first training camp. The 6-foot-4, 194-pound forward
was a bit of a sleeper pick by the Blues at No. 16 who is eager and
anxious to make good on the Blues investing in him.
“It’s
nice to see the pro guys and how they act, how they go to the gym,”
Dagenais
said.
“It’s nice to meet them also. I think it’s been going well.
“I
think there’s a lot of different areas of the game that I’m just
trying to ask the coaches and also the players. It’s (going
to be) my
third year in junior and I’m trying to be a leader out there. I
think the game’s also faster. I’m just trying to bring that pace
over there and show an example.”
Montgomery
has high praise for the kid but also wants to make sure everyone is
guarded before adding too much pressure on the teenager.
“It’s
real early, you know what I mean,” Montgomery
said. “I’m
obviously excited that he can score goals, that he’s an offensive
player because you can teach defense, but it’s real early for me to
be overly excited. But I’ve really liked what I’ve seen.”
Dagenais,
who was a point-per-game player last season with the Remparts (30
goals, 32 assists in 62 games), wants to continue to use the tools
that’s gotten him to this point.
“I’m
just trying to use what I’m good at for sure,” he
said.
“I’m just trying to work on everything in my game.”
As
for what’s to come after the 2026-27 season, that will be up to the
Blues and Dagenais. College is always an option but so is turning
pro.
“I’m
not there yet. I think I’m taking a day at a time,” Dagenais
said. “This year, right now I’m in St. Louis and making it as far
as possible. If I’m going back to Quebec for sure, our goal is to
win this year and next year’s going to be next year. I’m focusing
on this year.”
Dagenais finished with three shots on goal and one hit in 14:23 of ice time in a 2-1 loss.
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For the first time in nearly a year, Pyotr Kochetkov is in line to be back playing on NHL ice.
Obviously the stakes aren't as high as it was 274 days ago, given that Sunday's game against the Florida Panthers is the Carolina Hurricanes' preseason opener, but regardless, it's a huge step for the Russian netminder who has missed so much time.
"I'm excited of course because last season was not too good, not too fun for me," Kochetkov said. "Now I just see not too far. Just taking it day-by-day and wait for preseason games. After that, just live step-by-step."
Kochetkov, 27, underwent hip surgery in December of 2025 to address a nagging injury and by the time he was cleared to return, the playoffs were already underway and there was no time to get him back up to speed.
The netminder did dress for parts of the Stanley Cup Final following Frederik Andersen's injury, but he has yet to step foot into the crease for an actual NHL game since his procedure.
Mentally, the inactivity has been tough.
Kochetkov has dealt with injuries before, having dealt already with a myriad of issues in his short NHL career, but a midseason surgery was a new one for him.
"It was tough," Kochetkov said. "I was very happy for the guys, but if you ask about how I felt, of course it was tough. Never in my career have I played only 10 games. First time in my career where I lose so much time. It was so tough mentally, but I have motivation this season to show who I am."
However, the time off has also given him a different perspective on his career and his game.
"After last season, I never think about 'I want this many games.' or stuff like that," Kochetkov said. "I just try and think about practice, recovery and next day. Nothing more because all my career, I looked too far every time. At first, I want to go to the NHL. After that it's I want to be first goalie, I want to play more, blah, blah. When you're older and you see a little bit of a different angle of your life and your game, now I just want to be excited for what I do and play games. That's what I think about."
That attitude is going to be a helpful one for him to have, especially given the fact that the unorthodox goalie will be entering a relatively new situation in net.
For first time in Kochetkov's career, there's not an established veteran in front of him.
Even though tandem mate Brandon Bussi is older than him by a year, Kochetkov has five years of NHL experience compared to Bussi's one, making him the veteran presence now.
But Kochetkov doesn't see it as anything different. He's just ready to play when his name is called.
"For me, not much changes," Kochetkov said. "Whether it was [Frederik Andersen], [Antti Raanta], now [Brandon Bussi], I have my own individual [thoughts] about what I think about myself. For me, it's just play game and coach think who play next game. For me, nothing changes between this season, last season and the seasons before."
Regardless, this season is a huge opportunity for Kochetkov to reestablish himself as a long-term option for the team though.
The Russian goalie has arguably the highest ceiling amongst all of the organization's netminders, having posted already 11 career shutouts (nearly 10% of his total games played) and carrying the load in multiple seasons already.
However, he's also been very inconsistent at times too, falling victim to multi-game slides and confidence struggles throughout his career.
Finding a way to up the overall consistency factor and be a dependable asset night in and night out will be the biggest key for Kochetkov and it's going to be especially important for himself too as he's entering the final year of his contract.
"For me, it's an interesting season," Kochetkov said. "I have last season on my contract and so I'm excited. We have lots of games soon and hopefully I'll have lots of game time."
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The Carolina Hurricanes have made their first cut of training camp, reassigning goaltender Zach Jovanovski to Guelph Storm of the OHL.
The 2026 draftee was skating with the C1 group, which primarily consists of the NHL regulars and so this will allow Pyotr Kochetkov and Brandon Bussi to get the full reps for the remainder of camp.
Before the opening of camp, Jovanovski took part in the 2026 Prospects Showcase, playing in one game against the Tampa Bay Lightning.
The 18-year-old netminder was never in any consideration to play at any part of the preseason, but he got a bit of experience with the big boys and hopefully he picked up some pointers he can carry with him.
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LAS VEGAS, NEVADA - SEPTEMBER 09: Gabriel Landeskog #92 of the Colorado Avalanche is recorded by TNT during the NHL/NHLPA North American Player Media Tour. (Photo by Ethan Miller/Getty Images) | Getty Images
Following a spirited day one of training camp when the 2026-27 Colorado Avalanche held their first official on-ice team activity, the squad was back after it on day two and three. Every training camp day follows the same basic schedule with the roster of 56 players (minus the injured folks) split into two groups with a mix of NHL regulars, AHL contracts, young prospects and Avalanche hopefuls. Each session lasts close to 90 minutes with a lunch break in between. The structure of the practice is a third for warm up drills, a third for controlled 5v5 and then the last third is some small area work around the net.
There was a focus and purpose in executing the drills Jared Bednar laid out for the players. Many returnees are already familiar with the system but the reality is a preseason game is just days away and they must prepare for it.
The groups were switched for this session and the Group 2 roster was on the ice in the morning. This collection is more of the depth players and they bring a bit more physicality. Zach L’Heureux has consistently shown he has a different energy and approach to the game. Fabian Lysell had a few more aggressive moments than he did on the first day. Jaden Schwartz also showed he can make some skillful plays.
Cale Makar joined the first group again in the red non-contact jersey as part of his rehab on the lower-body injury he suffered. The superstar defenseman did stay out longer than he did the previous day and looked good completing drills, he should be back to full-go soon.
Zachary L'Heureux has a very good shift in this 5v5 drill. Lots of discipline. He attacks below the net to put the pressure on and then heads straight to the front of the net. 🙌 #Avs#GoAvsGopic.twitter.com/sSujIbwOfy
It was a surprise that to conclude the practices on this day there still was a mandatory skate which consisted of a few heats of speed skating style figure-eights and then the traditional mountain. There are new rules in the CBA about fitness testing and conditioning in training camp but perhaps there are certain parameters where it’s still accepted.
Saturday Skate
To conclude the official camp portion of the new season’s preparations, a smaller group of Avalanche players gathered. Taylor Makar, Nikita Prishchepov, Alex Gagne and Ilya Nabokov were given the day off as they are expected to participate in both of the upcoming back-to-back preseason contests.
With Trent Miner injured and not even taking shots in his rehab sessions yet, one name to watch has been goaltender Nikita Novosyolov. Ever since development camp he’s been consistently solid and showing improvement. He’s going to see a fair bit of AHL action with the Colorado Eagles if he keeps this up.
Nikita Novosyolov, who signed an ELC this summer, has been look great during camp. Over the last couple of weeks he has been working closing the 5-hole and squaring to the puck. #Avs#GoAvsGopic.twitter.com/m1tuKaNidN
Cale Makar didn’t skate as it was a scheduled day off for him. The goal is for him to keep skating and get in a game at the end of the week. Speaking of, how the Avalanche manage their two sets of back-to-back games this week will be interesting as new CBA rules prevent anyone with 100 games of NHL experience cannot play in more than two preseason games. This impacts even a guy like Fedor Svechkov who is over the threshold. Bednar also indicated the Avalanche regulars would more likely play at home, which includes Sunday’s home game against the Utah Mammoth at 5:00 p.m. MT.
First Cuts
If that wasn’t enough news to digest, the Avalanche announced their first wave of cuts, trimming the training camp roster by 11 and a reduction of the active players to 45. The AHL contracted Jayson Megna, Yanick Turcotte, Jake Wise Hank Kempf and goaltender Nikita Novosyolov were sent to the Colorado Eagles camp. Also, Shawn Carrier, Teddy Lechner, Ondrej Ruml, Linus Funck, Alexandre Raymond and Tobias Tvrznik were sent back to their junior clubs. This means that Beckett Hamilton is still with the Avalanche and should get in an upcoming preseason game.
The following players have been reassigned to the Colorado Eagles (AHL) training camp:
Hank Kempf, D Jayson Megna, C Nikita Novosyolov, G Yanick Turcotte, LW Jake Wise, C
Additionally, the following players have been reassigned to their respective junior clubs:
The Buffalo Sabres played a split squad scrimmage in front of about 3,000 fans at Key Bank Center on Saturday afternoon, giving the club a workout before setting out on their abbreviated preseason in Pittsburgh on Monday. The two sides were divided equally with likely NHLers and players bound for the AHL Rochester Americans, and Team Gold won the three-period scrimmage 3-1, but Team Blue won the shootout 3-2.
Noah Ostlund, Mattias Samuelsson, and Jack Quinn scored for the Gold squad, while Beck Malenstyn scored for the Blue. In the shootout, Tage Thompson, Josh Doan and Owen Power scored for the Blue, while Josh Norris and Rasmus Dahlin tallied for the Gold.
After the game, head coach Lindy Ruff, who watched the game from the press box, said he was happy with the pace of the contest.
Noah Ostlund signs eight-year deal with the Sabres
The scrimmage marked the debut of defenseman Olin Zellweger, who was acquired from Anaheim in June. The 22-year-old was paired with Owen Power and flashed a nice spin move in the second period. The Sabres are hopefully that Zellweger can fill some of the gap created by the departure of Bowen Byram.
"I thought (Olin) closed really well. I think you're looking at guys trying to get used to how we play or want to play and how we close.” Ruff said. “I thought he closed in a lot of plays. I thought offensively , he tried to jump up in that third period where their team needed a goal. He joined on several occasions, where I thought he deferred to maybe a little bit of too much of a fancy play where I thought he probably could have delivered, but a lot to like there for sure.”
The contest also marked the return of Jiri Kulich, who played only 12 games last season due to a blood clot issue. The 22-year-old was able to get back on the ice in July, and the Sabres seem to be easing him back into the lineup, as he has been skating on a fourth-line unit with Sam Carrick and Malenstyn.
"I thought as the game went on, he looked more and more comfortable. Made some good plays, had a couple great chances." Ruff said. "I think there are opportunities. There's a few more plays out there he could have made, but I thought overall he skated really welll (and)he was noticeable.”
Throughout the careers of most NHL players, there are, at least, a few different uniforms that they sport until the day they decide to hang up the skates. Some are NHL legends themselves, and some have the rare opportunity to suit up next to NHL legends on teams that folks talk about for a long, long time.
For new Pittsburgh Penguins Hendrix Lapierre and Trevor van Riemsdyk, having legends as teammates and being part of winning organizations is the only thing they've known.
The 24-year-old Lapierre was dealt to the Penguins from the Washington Capitals a few days prior to free agency this summer, which means he's had the opportunity to skate with the two biggest stars of their respective generation in Alex Ovechkin and Sidney Crosby. The same goes for the decade-older van Riemsdyk, who was the first confirmed signing of NHL free agency this summer with his two-year, $8 million deal and who also won the Stanley Cup with the Chicago Blackhawks in 2015 during his rookie season.
Lapierre and van Riemsdyk are good friends, so when they learned they were both going to Pittsburgh - a very familiar foe - it eased the transition.
"It's always a nice thing to have a familiar face when you go somewhere new," van Riemsdyk said. "My first day here, I walked in with Hendrix, so I felt a little less... I don't even know how to describe it. But it's always good to have a buddy."
Granted, both just arrived in Pittsburgh a few weeks ago, and they are still new to everyone and everything here. But, given the air of living hockey legends and the respective places Washington and Pittsburgh find themselves directionally, they see similarities between the organizations, their veteran players and their approach to competitive rebuilding.
After winning the Stanley Cup in 2018, the Capitals experienced four consecutive first-round exits before missing the playoffs in 2023 - the same year that Pittsburgh had their first miss since 2006. The Penguins were also ousted in the first round four times in a row beforehand, and when the early playoff exits became a pattern, both teams started to hold onto higher-value draft picks.
The Caps got a bit more ahead of it than the Penguins, as they selected Alexander Alexeyev (31st overall), Connor McMichael (25th overall), and Lapierre (22nd overall) in consecutive drafts from 2018-20, although none of them are still with the club. They traded their first in 2021 and have kept every first since, selecting left wing Ivan Miroshnichenko (20th in 2022), right wing Ryan Leonard (eighth in 2023), right wing Terik Parascak (17th in 2024), left wing Lynden Lakovic (27th in 2025) and center Oliver Suvanto (18th in 2026) consecutively.
The Penguins didn't start keeping their first-round picks with some consistency until 2022, when they took Owen Pickering 22nd overall. They selected center Brayden Yager with their 14th pick in 2023 - he was later traded to the Winnipeg Jets one-for-one for a different first-round selection in Rutger McGroarty - before dealing their 2024 first for Erik Karlsson, although they probably got first-round value out of one of their second-rounders in Harrison Brunicke (44th overall). Then, the last two years, they have selected Ben Kindel (11th overall) and Liam Ruck (22nd), both of whom figure to be part of their future.
Pittsburgh may be a bit behind Washington timeline-wise with how they're building out, but the approach is the same: Keep the NHL roster competitive with a few all-time great veterans and acquisitions, and make sure they're mining gold in the drafting, scouting and development departments along the way despite lacking lottery-zone picks.
Lapierre has confidence in the way Pittsburgh is building because he's seen it happen with some success so far in Washington, even if the Capitals missed the playoffs last season. He said that all the organizations have known is winning, so they know how to add playoff assets and grow young talent simultaneously.
"You can kind of see both teams trying to add some good players, some assets to try to make the playoffs," Lapierre said. "At the same time, I didn't know much about the young players here, and watching them play, I'm super impressed. And it was the same thing in Washington. So, I think it's two teams that are kind of doing the same thing, which is very good.
"In the last couple of years, the good trades that have happened around the league, or the good contracts, a lot of them involve these two teams. So, I think they're just very two well-driven, good-cultured teams, and they've had success for a number of years because of that."
Of course, the success the organizations have had in staying relevant and generally competitive as long as they have starts with the championship culture that has been cultivated in the last two decades.
And that tone is set by some of those NHL legends mentioned earlier.
"[The Penguins] have core players that have been here for 20-plus years. Same thing in Washington," van Riemsdyk said. "I think people probably expected both organizations to fall off maybe a little bit more than they have. I know, two years ago in Washington when we had a great season, I don't think many people were expecting that from us. And then, last year here in Pittsburgh, I don't think many people predicted the season that they had, and they had a ton of guys step up.
"It just shows with both organizations how much that culture can carry you even when there's a lot of turnover in players."
It's worth repeating that the Penguins are a few years behind the Capitals in terms of what they're trying to accomplish. Washington's hand was forced two summers ago when longtime veteran forwards Nicklas Backstrom and T.J. Oshie both hit long-term injured reserve and, eventually, retirement, giving them cap room to acquire defensemen Jakub Chychrun and Matt Roy as well as forward Pierre-Luc Dubois. Those guys helped elevate them to a first-place finish in the East with 111 points during the 2024-25 season.
This summer - after taking a step back last season - Washington decided to take advantage of the rising-cap environment and use some of its assets and young players, including McMichael, to acquire high-end talent up front in veterans Jordan Kyrou, Alex Tuch and Boone Jenner. The Caps are at a point where they have infused their system with enough talent that they can begin to take swings in the trade market to help keep them competitive, perhaps even after Alex Ovechkin calls it a career.
As for the Penguins, they find themselves facing some decisions about moving on from key veterans in Bryan Rust, Rickard Rakell and Erik Karlsson in order to infuse a similar youth movement both internally and externally. They have some key complementary young pieces on the verge of full-time NHL minutes, but they still need some elite young talent at center and on defense in addition to promising young players in Kindel, Brunicke, and goaltender Sergei Murashov, who could be core pieces for them moving forward.
Like the Caps, eventually, they will probably need to say goodbye to some of their good young players and those veterans not named Crosby - like Ovechkin in Washington - in order to reach a point where their cornerstone generational talent marries with the organization's youth and high-end talent acquired via trade to build a true winner, hopefully, with said living legend still on the roster.
But the bottom line for both teams is this: Neither organization plans to go the traditional route of "tear-it-to-the-studs" in order to accomplish sustainable contention. They both have young pieces in place and plan to keep adding them as the timing, acquisition cost and market make sense.
And that culture of refusal to "lose in order to win" still makes both places a favorable destination for players - even if both teams, to different degrees, have some work to do in building toward consistent Cup contention, even if unconventionally.
"Obviously, when you get traded like me, you don't really have the option to choose which team you're going to. But, I think being a free agent, or even just getting traded, you're super happy to come [to Pittsburgh]," Lapierre said. "I've only been here for a week and a half or two weeks, but it seems like it's super well-ran."
And, as a 35-year-old free agent veteran who had a ton of say in where he ended up, there are a couple of reasons why van Riemsdyk signed with the Penguins so quickly: the organization's promising outlook for the future played its part, but so did the guys who have always made it a winner's destination - and could continue to.
"Obviously, I was part of a Cup team my rookie year. It's 13 years later now, and haven't gotten back," he said. "You realize how hard it is, and when you get older, you realize the chances are going to be limited. So you want to go places where success is on the forefront, and here, it is always like that. Sid is always pushing guys, Geno, Karl, Tanger... they've been part of great teams.
"As long as they're around, I think they're always going to be pretty damn successful."
Ahead of their first preseason game of 2026 on Monday, the Philadelphia Flyers did some major trimming to the training camp roster, cutting 15 players who will either head to the minors or go back to junior hockey.
The headliner of the 15-player group is 2026 first-round pick Maksim Sokolovskii, who practiced mostly with NHLers in Group A to start training camp.
Sokolovskii, 18, did not feature in Saturday's intrasquad scrimmage and instead skated with Group C, which has now been eliminated entirely with the exception of injured forward Nikita Grebenkin.
On Saturday, the Flyers cut Devin Kaplan, Alex Ciernik, Zayde Wisdom, Brady Berard, Nathan Quinn, KJ Sauer, Owen McLaughlin, Ilya Pautov, Luke Vlooswyk, Jackson Edward, Andrew Perrott, Marek Sklenicka, Martin Psohlavec, and Brek Liske from the roster, going from 57 players to 42.
From a prospects perspective, it is interesting that Devin Kaplan, who already has a game of NHL experience under his belt, did not even earn himself an opportunity to play in a preseason game.
Kaplan has been leap-frogged on the depth chart by Noah Powell, who survived the first round of cuts, as well as veterans (and some newcomers) like Garrett Wilson, Zach Aston-Reese, Danila Klimovich, and Nolan Foote.
Also of note, 2025 second-round pick Matthew Gard survived the first round of cuts. He's the only prospect the Flyers could have sent back to juniors but chose not to.
Additionally, Pautov, who could go to the QMJHL this season, is going to the Lehigh Valley Phantoms' training camp for now.
Pautov, 20, signed his three-year, entry-level contract with the Flyers back on June 1, and while he can go play in the AHL, the Russian winger was drafted eighth overall by the Gatineau Olympiques in the most recent CHL import draft.
That's a high pick to burn on a player who may not play for your team, whereas someone like Adam Nemec, a 17-year-old eligible for the 2027 NHL Draft, went 13th overall to Brantford.
In any event, the Flyers have now clearly established which players are still in the running for an NHL job, as well as which prospects they are presently most interested in seeing in preseason action.
The Vancouver Canucks hit the ice at the South Okanagan Events Centre on Saturday for the annual training camp scrimmage. After regulation, the score was tied 3-3, with Team White picking up the win over Team Blue in the shootout.
Liam Öhgren's Shot Is Dangerous
The star early on in the scrimmage was Liam Öhgren. The 22-year-old scored twice, including a hard wrister that went post-and-in. Öhgren has been a standout throughout training camp thanks not just to his shot, but his confidence with the puck.
Based on line combinations, Öhgren appears set to start on a line with Marco Rossi. The two showed some chemistry at the end of last season and will likely be joined by either Brock Boeser or Jonathan Lekkerimäki. While it is still very early in the campaign, Öhgren looks ready to break out this season.
Zeev Buium Mobility On Full Display
Zeev Buium has always been known as a strong skater with high-end puck-handling. Both those skills were on full display Saturday. Buium not only broke up plays in the defensive zone, but he also took every opportunity to jump up into the neutral zone and join the rush.
Buium also appears to be developing some chemistry with his partner, Luke Schenn. Having a stay-at-home defender on his right side may be beneficial for the 20-year-old as it would allow to take more chances knowing that the extra layer of protection is there. Overall, Buium looks energized and ready for the start of the campaign.
Brendan Gallagher Comes As Advertised
Brendan Gallagher is the type of player young guys should be learning from. He never takes a shift off and can push the pace in practice. Even though Saturday was just a scrimmage, Gallagher was up to his old tricks, as he was one of the most noticeable players on the ice.
On top of battling hard against the board, Gallagher crashed the net and demanded the puck all game. He also spoke to the crowd afterward, which drew a huge cheer from the fans. Gallagher's ability to lead on and off the ice will be key to building an environment where young players can thrive in the future.
Elias Pettersson's Engagement Level
There was a scary moment during the scrimmage where Elias Pettersson was hit into the boards by Cole Clayton. That moment appeared to wake him up, though, as he had a strong scrimmage overall. Pettersson made plays at both ends of the ice, including scoring the game-tying goal for Team Blue.
Pettersson is always going to be a storyline as long as he is with the team. Overall, he has looked decent in training camp, but we all know his performances don't matter until the puck drop on the regular-season. That being said, it was a positive to see him moving his feet and shooting the puck in Saturday's scrimmage.
Luke Schenn Shootout Moment
The moment of the shootout involved Schenn. After receiving a loud cheer from the crowd, the 36-year-old defenceman scored, beating Ty Young up high. Not only were the fans in attendance excited to see the goal, but so were both benches.
Schenn is expected to play a key role for the organization this season, not just on the ice, but off it as well. He will be a leader in the dressing room and has already received plenty of praise from both his teammates and Manny Malhotra. The question now is: will we see Schenn get a chance in the shootout this year?
Vancouver Canucks 2026 Training Camp (Photo Credit: Izzy Cheung/The Hockey News)
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The Pittsburgh Penguins wrapped up their third day of training camp before a packed house at the UPMC Lemieux Sports Complex on Saturday.
Team 1, featuring Sidney Crosby, Rickard Rakell, Nick Robertson, Owen Pickering, and Harrison Brunicke, kicked things off, followed by Teams 2 and 3.
This was the final day of group practices before the Penguins play the Buffalo Sabres in their first preseason game on Monday,
With that in mind, here's a look at some observations from the three groups.
Team 1
- I know I probably sound like a broken record, but Nick Robertson has had a fantastic camp. He was lights out again on Saturday, showcasing his release and his agility. He roofed a puck past Arturs Silovs during an offensive-zone drill, then made a great diving play to keep another puck in the zone.
He also continued to get more reps with Sidney Crosby and Rickard Rakell on the top line. There's a decent chance it sticks once the regular season starts on Sept. 30.
- Elmer Soderblom was promoted to this group and had a strong session. He scored a couple of really nice goals, including one at the end of a drill when he went around Owen Pickering and sniped the puck into the top corner of the net.
His camp got off to a bumpy start after he misread the schedule on Thursday and practiced with Team 3, but he followed it up with two great days in a row. He's very much in contention for that 12th forward spot.
- Taylor Gauthier had his best day yet in the crease. He made a ton of nice saves and looked confident in each drill.
It's highly unlikely he makes the main roster, but he should get plenty of starts in Wilkes-Barre/Scranton this year.
- Owen Pickering was great defensively throughout the session, breaking up several odd-man rushes and maintaining great gap control. His skating also looks improved compared to last season.
He'll get some NHL time this season, but I doubt it's going to be right away.
Apr 9, 2026; Newark, New Jersey, USA; Pittsburgh Penguins center Ben Kindel (81) skates with the puck against the New Jersey Devils during the first period at Prudential Center. Mandatory Credit: Luther Schlaifer-Imagn Images
Team 2
- Ben Kindel was sniping the puck with authority throughout Saturday's session. It didn't matter whether it was Joel Blomqvist or Sergei Murashov in the crease; he peppered pucks to the top corner.
He definitely got bigger over the summer, which will only help him moving forward. There's a real chance he pots 20+ goals this year.
- Rutger McGroarty had a strong session on Friday and continued that momentum into Saturday. He skated on the fourth line with Blake Lizotte and Ville Koivunen and made several strong defensive plays during 5-on-5 drills.
In one play, he applied pressure at the point and knocked the puck away from Ilya Solovyov with ease.
He also forechecked hard and scored a few nice goals, including one where he went forehand, backhand through the five-hole. He scored another at the end of a 3-on-3 drill with the same move, but he lifted the puck over Blomqvist's glove.
He's competing his tail off out there.
- Bryan Rust was absolutely flying out there and, like Kindel, was scoring at will. He got more reps with Kindel and Kuzmenko, and there's a real chance the Penguins open with those three on their third line when the season starts.
- Tanner Howe and Bill Zonnon were finding each other pretty frequently in the offensive zone. They showed great chemistry, which fans should look forward to in WBS this year.
- Carter Sanderson scored some nice goals at the Prospect Tournament last week and brought that ability to Saturday's practice. He has a quick release and isn't afraid to use it.
It will be fun to track his progress with the WHL's Calgary Hitmen this year before he heads to the University of North Dakota in 2027-28.
The Penguins have an off day on Sunday before they play the Sabres in their first preseason game on Monday. The lineup will be revealed sometime before Monday's morning skate.
Through the early days of training camp, the Philadelphia Flyers are quietly working to decide how the center depth will shake out as the beginning of the regular season approaches.
This is less a question of which players make the NHL roster after final cuts, and more about who plays where.
As far as the first few days of training camp are concerned, there are a few obvious players who will be sticking at center, and a few wildcards who muddy the picture a bit.
During Saturday's scrimmage, Trevor Zegras and Sean Couturier reprised their roles as the first- and fourth-line centers with Zegras playing with Owen Tippett and a rotation of Zach Aston-Reese and Jack Studnicka and Couturier playing with Noel Acciari and Carl Grundstrom.
Surging prospect Denver Barkey was the third center on that Orange team, while the Black team featured Jett Luchanko, Christian Dvorak, and Noah Cates down the middle.
If we include Luchanko as part of the equation and roster battle, the Flyers have six centers vying for four spots, and some players will be sent to the AHL (Luchanko) or be forced to play the wing.
Barkey was that guy who shifted to the wing last season, but that may not necessarily always be the case going forward.
"I think it takes a lot of work to be an established NHL centerman, but I think something I've always taken pride in is being a versatile player, someone that can play up and down a lineup, and someone that can play center or wing," Barkey said after Saturday's scrimmage.
"I haven't played [center] too much since I was younger in junior, but given the opportunity here now, I know the task at hand for what a center needs to do in all three zones throughout a game. So, having that opportunity here to show them that I can maybe play center and hold my own. It's just another opportunity for me, and looking to run away with it."
Barkey, 21, spent much of his time last year with Noah Cates and Sean Couturier as his centers, two players who are defensively sound and can chip in offensively when things are doing well.
Flyers turn to Barkey, linemates for better offensive look?
Denver Barkey (left) played as the center for Alex Bump (right) during Saturday's training camp scrimmage. (Photo: Charles LeClaire, Imagn Images)
On Saturday, Barkey was interestingly slotted in between two fellow youngsters in Alex Bump and Matvei Michkov, which speaks to what Rick Tocchet and the Flyers' coaching staff think of the former third-round pick's discipline and ability to play responsibly in all three zones. His two wingers are in the NHL for their offensive prowess, but no so much for the defense.
After a tentative start, the fascinating trio found some chemistry and eventually cashed in for two of their team's four goals.
Tocchet acknowledged the nature of the scrimmage and how rosters had to be divvied up between two teams, but feels there is real potential for Barkey at the center position regardless.
"There's also something there that we got to look at, because he's a smart guy. I don't think he hurts you defensively," Tocchet said. "What I liked about that, the line started out slow, and then if you watch, they got cooking, and they started having puck possession. There's a lot of factors into that, and we'll see. We have some other centers, too. So that's something that we're going to have to really look into."
The Flyers also used Saturday's scrimmage as an opportunity to work on the power play for the first time this training camp.
Tocchet also spoke about "deception" being the key to a successful unit that scores goals and generates chances; Barkey featured on the first unit alongside Trevor Zegras, Matvei Michkov, Jamie Drysdale, and Owen Tippett and believes his best attributes can shine with such an opportunity.
"My vision and my IQ has always been something that's separated me for most, and I think on the power play, you have a little more time and space, and you have that extra second to maybe sell a pass and shoot, or make it look like you're passing somewhere that you're not," Barkey assessed. "I think, yeah, as time goes on here, you get more comfortable and continue to grow as a team. I think definitely that'd be something that you look to help this team win games."
The former London Knights captain finished 11th on the Flyers in total power play ice time last season, playing 69:16 in just 43 regular season games, per Natural Stat Trick. His 1:36 of power play time per game ranked 10th among Flyers forwards, trailing the top dogs and veterans like Michkov, Travis Konecny, Zegras, Tippett, Cates, Christian Dvorak, Porter Martone, Tyson Foerster, and the now-departed Bobby Brink.
Of course, the Flyers' usage of Barkey in training camp thus far suggests that they have an expanded role in mind, both in terms of position and 5-on-5 play, as well as offensively with increased power play time.
Throughout the summer, GM Danny Briere and the Flyers have mentioned the growth and maturity of their young players as keys to the upcoming season, especially with the overall lack of offseason additions, and Barkey will be as big a piece in that puzzle as anyone as training camp thunders onward.
MARYLAND
HEIGHTS, Mo. -- It’s go time for the NHL preseason on Saturday, and
the St. Louis Blues and Dallas Stars will kick things off after
opening respective training camps just two days ago.
The
Blues and Stars will open preseason play at 6 p.m. at Enterprise
Center, and from a Blues perspective, there’s no time to get
extended looks at potential players looking to crack the opening
night lineup or prospects getting a lot of time with the big club.
But
the Blues will do so on Saturday before getting more time in with
those that will make the club.
Headlining
the lineup tonight includes what is projected to be the opening night
fourth line of Ross Johnston, Pius Suter and Alexey Toropchenko.
“(Tonight),
it will probably be the least amount of veterans dressed,” Blues
coach Jim Montgomery said. “We’ll get a look at some of our young
prospects. Then game two (Monday in Dallas), we’re going to have
our first power play unit go, then game three (Thursday at home
against the Chicago Blackhawks), we’re going to have our second
power play unit go and the last game’s going to be both units going
(Sept. 26 at Chicago). That’s going to be our team playing in the
last game.”
There’s
a good sense of what the lineup will look like Oct. 2 in Dallas when
the Blues and Stars open for keeps, but what’s going to be a battle
is the spots for the 13/14 roster spots among the forwards, and it
includes Oskar Sundqvist, Nathan Walker, Dillon Dube, Otto Stenberg and Jack
Finley all vying for two spots.
“I
think it’s always different with what do you have up front,”
Montgomery said. “Do you have enough offense where you’re just
going to look for checkers and grinders? Or are you lacking offense
where maybe you bring in a guy that’s had some skill to go up in
the second line and you have one guy that’s going to be a grinder.
It’s not your typical guys you’re just looking for that are going
to be just physical guys and other attributes would be can they play
center and can they play wing? Can they win draws? Do they penalty
kill or do they power play? It all depends on the makeup of your team
and I just love the fact that we’ve got a lot of different elements
that we can choose from right now. It’s very competitive.
“You
don’t want two guys that look the same. That you don’t want
unless you had a team that your four lines are set and you have a
fourth line that is an identity line like we had two years ago and
then you have a third line that’s a pure checking line that’s a
hard 200-foot line and then you have two scoring lines and then
you’re just looking for certain things, but we need versatility
right now because as we look through our lineup, we think we have a
first line, we think we have a fourth line. The second and third
line, they have to find an identity and that’s [because] we have
new bodies, we have new people, we have other opportunities too with
players that have been coming in.
“I
think everybody that has an opportunity to earn those spots have
shown really well. Whether it’s ‘Walks’ or ‘Sunny,’ Dube
had an excellent day [Friday]. (Dylan) Peterson I thought was
excellent [Friday]. (Aleksanteri) Kaskimaki’s been really good and
Stenberg I thought had a really good day [Friday] after an average
day yesterday.”
It
makes the limited time on ice and practice sessions so important for
all these players.
“I
think with such a short camp, every practice means a lot,”
Montgomery said. “We don’t have a lot of time to make decisions
so they don’t have a lot of time to impress. It’s either you’re
coming here to fight for a job and grab a job, or you’re watching
your job disappear. If you’re not playing with any kind of
intensity and any kind of purpose out there, you’re going to be
left behind.”
-
- -
Maddox
Dagenais, the No. 16 pick in the 2026 NHL Draft, will make his Blues
debut and more than likely, get sent back to juniors where he will
play a third and likely final season with the Quebec Remparts of the
Quebec Major Junior Hockey League.
“Pretty
excited,” Dagenais said. “Since I was a little kid, I’ve been
watching those games. You’re going on the ice on an NHL rink, so
it’s pretty nice. I’m just going to give it my all.”
Dagenais's father, former NHLer Pierre Dagenais, was supposed to come in to St. Louis for the game to see his son play but his flight was canceled.
Montgomery
really likes what the 6-foot-4,
186-pound can bring and feels there’s some unique traits there.
“Real
intelligent player,” Montgomery said. “You can tell that he’s a
gifted offensive player because he always knows what he’s going to
do with the puck before he gets it. Incredible release and he’s
really deceptive because he’s a little bit of a 10-to-2 skater on a
clock and his feet are going that way and that makes it hard because
the angles are completely different and he’s going to be very
deceptive, I think.
“It’s
not unique, no, but Ulf Dahlen was the most famous one for it, but it
makes him slippery.”
Will
have more from Dagenais in a separate story.
-
- -
Blues Projected Lineup:
Alexey
Toropchenko-Pius
Suter-Ross Johnston
Aleksanteri
Kaskimaki-Zach Dean-Justin Carbonneau
Maddox
Dagenais-Jack Finley-Otto Stenberg
Juraj
Pekarcik-Jakub Stancl-Dylan Peterson
Arseny
Koromyslov-Tyler Tucker
Colin
Ralph-Theo Lindstein
Quinton
Burns-Lukas Fischer
Jordan
Binnington will start in goal and play the
first two periods;
Georgii Romanov will back up and play the final period.
-
- -
Stars Projected
Lineup:
Matthew
Seminoff-Arttu Hyry-Cameron Hughes
Dylan
Hrychowian-Artem Shlanie-Emil Hemming
Curtis
McKenzie-Jack Becker-Justin Ertel
Michael
Sgarbossa-Christian Fitzgerald-Charlie Paquette
Jack
Anderson-Kyle Capobianco
Trey
Taylor-Kyle Burroughs
Jakub
Vanecek-Ben Gleason
Remi
Poirer is
projected to start in goal; Brandon
Halverson would
be the backup.
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With plenty of eyeballs on Gavin McKenna, the 18-year-old was skating with the second projected power-play unit for the most part.
He was on the left flank, with Emil Andrae at the point, Matthew Knies in the bumper, Bo Groulx on the right flank, and Tinus Luc Koblar as the net-front presence.
Maple Leafs head coach Jim Hiller explained his reasoning for positioning McKenna on the second unit.
"I just think, you know, probably for him and us, just get out there and play," he said after morning skate at Scotiabank Arena. "We don't want to put extra pressure on. If you asked him, he'd probably say, 'I want to play 22 minutes, I want to run the first power play.' And that's exactly what he should say. But for us, we just want to get him started in the NHL, see what it feels like."
While Toronto will slowly get an assessment of what McKenna looks like in the NHL, he got some opportunity with the big guns on Saturday morning.
"There'll be a chance over time, whether that's one game, two, 10, 20, where his role will increase in different areas," Hiller said. "But yeah, we just have a lot of good players. So fortunately, he doesn't have to start there."
Knies remained in the bumper position, but McKenna was hanging around the net. He wasn't always positioned directly in front of the goaltender, but he received pucks beside and behind the net, exercising his playmaking ability.
"I'm just looking forward to seeing him play his first NHL exhibition game, and then we'll see what that looked like," the Leafs coach added. "He's looked great in practice, but let's just see what it looks like for everybody. And we might say, 'hey, he has less deficiencies than we even thought.' He adjusted right to this. And then the plan can change from there.
"Again, the second point is we have a lot of really good players on the team. A lot of offensive players that have played important roles, have had great careers. So anytime you do one thing, you adjust something else. You just have to take all that into account."
In other circumstances, on the second unit on the left half-boards, McKenna and the rest of the group moved around the zone a lot. Rather than stationary puck movement, the players on the second unit cycled through their positions, which allowed McKenna to see the entire zone with or without the puck.
He often looked for cross-seam passes and made quick touches on the puck. His combination of smooth stickhandling, vision, and confidence should, in itself, make him a considerable threat to the opposition, even without a single professional hockey game under his belt.
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For every team in every sport, hope springs eternal as a new season approaches.
Everyone is tied for first place. Everyone thinks this could be the year. Everyone is tanning themselves on the bright side of things.
But in hockey, unless your best goalie is healthy and on his game, that well of hope can dry up quickly.
Linus Ullmark spoke Friday about his team's growth as an organization over the past few years (Senators YouTube).
In Ottawa, if the Senators are going to succeed this season, it will be because Linus Ullmark has carried his late-season resurgence into a new year.
Speaking to reporters on Friday, on day two of training camp, Ullmark appeared noticeably lighter and more relaxed than he did through much of last year. He looked like a man enjoying the vibe of a fresh start... for everyone.
“Everybody’s very eager, very energetic,” Ullmark said. “Just like every single camp I’ve been to, it’s the same thing. Everybody comes out hot, blazing and excited about what’s to come.”
As Sens fans know very well, that enthusiasm wasn't always evident last season. Ullmark had more than his share of hard moments, on and off the ice, before taking a month-long leave of absence to address his mental health.
Through his final start before that leave on Dec. 27, Ullmark had gone 14-8-5 with a 2.95 goals-against average and an .881 save percentage. The winning record was decent, but there were also too many nights when the boys needed a save that didn’t come.
After returning at the end of January, Ullmark made just two starts before the NHL paused its schedule for the Olympics. That gave him two extended breaks in the middle of the season, which appeared to be just what the doctor ordered.
From the end of the Olympic break through to the end of the regular season, Ullmark went 12-4-3 with a 2.51 goals-against average and a .902 save percentage in 19 starts.
He was even better in the playoffs.
Sure, the Sens were swept by the eventual Stanley Cup champion Carolina Hurricanes and scored only five goals in four games, but Ullmark gave them every opportunity to win. He stopped 124 of the 133 shots he faced, producing a .932 save percentage and a 2.03 goals-against average.
Combined, Ullmark posted a .908 save percentage and a 2.42 goals-against average over his final 23 regular-season and playoff appearances following the Olympic break. That was much closer to the level GM Steve Staios believed he was getting when he acquired him from Boston in 2024.
And despite his leave, Ullmark still started 49 regular-season games.
Sometimes, there's concern raised about the fact that Ullmark has never appeared in more than 50 games in any NHL season. But this is no longer a league where Martin Brodeur types are powering past the 70-game mark.
Utah’s Karel Vejmelka was the only NHL goalie to reach 60 appearances last season. Most of the league’s busiest starters finished somewhere in the 50s.
In other words, playing approximately 50 games is no longer an unusually light workload for a No. 1 goaltender.
Ullmark’s own history also suggests that less is more.
When he won the Vezina Trophy with Boston three years ago, he appeared in exactly 49 games, with an outrageous record of 40-6-1, a 1.89 goals-against average, and a .938 save percentage.
Based on that history and his performance in last spring’s playoffs, the goal shouldn't be for Ullmark to start more than 60 games, which is what he was on pace for when he stepped away in December. The goal is availability and whatever it takes for him to play at a high level.
That leaves Ullmark's backup to play 30-35 games, which is a huge chunk of the season, so the Senators had better be right about Samuel Ersson.
The Sens signed Ersson to a two-year contract at $2.2 million a year. At 26, Ersson is a younger option than James Reimer, who took over the position here last year but wasn't re-signed.
But just based on the stats from last season, Ersson isn't an obvious upgrade.
He went 14-11-5 with a 3.12 goals-against average and an .870 save percentage in 33 appearances for Philadelphia. Reimer went 7-4-2 with a 2.42 goals-against average and an .886 save percentage in 14 games for the Sens.
Of course, Reimer is due for the hard regression that comes for every 38-year-old goalie. Meanwhile, the Sens' goalie whisperers love the way Ersson plays the position, and naturally, they hope his numbers improve in a new organization.
Ullmark first got to know Ersson when they represented Sweden together at the 4 Nations Face-Off last year.
“He made a good impression on me at that point,” Ullmark said. “Once everything was said and done, and he was going to be a part of this organization, I was very happy. It’s always fun to have a fellow Swede join the ranks, but also for me, as a Swedish goaltender, it’s nice to have that conversation with him on a daily basis.
“Hopefully, I can show the way for him as well, being an older guy, which I feel like I’m more comfortable in now than I used to be.”
Leevi Meriläinen also remains in the mix after signing a one-year, one-way contract worth $1.1 million. The 23-year-old went 8-10-1 with a 3.51 goals-against average and an .860 save percentage in 20 NHL appearances last season.
The question now is whether the Ullmark we saw following the Olympic break and during the playoffs can carry that form into the new season.
He acknowledged that the summer passed too quickly and was filled with family responsibilities, travel and preparations for another season.
“It felt like I said goodbye to the people here in June,” he said. “And then, bam, the next time I woke up, I was back here in Ottawa. So that was both very nice, but also a little bit bittersweet in a way that I didn’t get to enjoy it as much at home as I would like to.”
Last season actually ended in April for the Senators, but no one who deals with Ottawa winters would ever describe their summer as being anything but short, no matter what.
Whether Ullmark is affected by the busy summer that went by too fast remains to be seen, but his outlook was certainly positive on Friday. He appears to be entering this season in a much better place.
And for a fan base that's been starving for a great goaltender, that's encouraging news.
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 Carolina Hurricanes opening night lineup is going to be a very hard one to crack given that the team is returning nearly every single player from their 2026 Stanley Cup Championship roster.
However, there is one spot that is definitely up for grabs, that being the sixth defenseman position.
RFA blueliner Alexander Nikishin and the Canes' front office are seemingly at a standoff, and with the Russian not being present for the opening of training camp, there's no telling what a resolution may look like.
So for now, that spot is wide open and there's a lot of players looking at that as their opportunity.
Up and Comers
The Hurricanes have a pair of blueline prospects in Charles Alexis Legault and Joel Nystrom who are very much in the running to make the team this year, especially given the fact that they were getting in fairly regularly last season.
Legault, 23, presents one of the more unique options for the team.
The 6-foot-4 defender is perhaps the most physical of all of the team's prospects, being both an effective checker and a willing pugilist.
"I prepared a lot this summer," Legault said. "I feel physically ready and hopefully that shows in camp. I feel like I can find my way to contribute. Just keeping it simple and be a reliable guy out there."
But beyond that, Legault has also continued to grow his defensive game and while he doesn't have very much offensive talent, he's got the dependable style you'd look for in a third-pairing guy.
"His physical element has increased drastically," said Chicago Wolves coach Spiros Anastas. "How quick he closes, how hard he hits, he's becoming more of a man. He still needs to continue to get better on his puck touches, which we worked on a lot with him last year, but it's a confidence piece too. He wants to be in the NHL, he knows he can be and we have that belief in him too. Having a real strong camp, led by his confidence, will give him a good shot at a spot up here."
It's that defensive work and physicality that could give Legault an edge over the competition.
"I just want to focus on what I can do and be the best version of myself every day," Legault said. "At the end of the day, that's what I can control."
Nystrom, 24, isn't anything flashy, but the Swedish blueliner is dependable.
He didn't really look out of place in his 38 game stint in the NHL, providing a reliable presence with his strong skating and high hockey sense.
"I did [feel like I belonged] and the guys on the team really helped me," Nystrom said. "My goal is to just play as good as I can and do what I'm good at. Use my feet and my skating a lot and keep playing hard and simple in the D-zone. That's for sure the things I can do."
It was a quick transition for Nystrom last year, going from only a few games of North American experience to quickly having to find his way in the NHL, but he was able to adapt fairly quickly.
"I'm a smaller guy, so I was trying to play tougher and close my gaps and be hard on the sticks in front of the net and everything," Nystrom said. "That's for sure one thing I can keep improving on this year. This is a good place to be and to develop. Just focus on what I can do."
For Nystrom, his game is built on his hockey sense and his ability to read plays quickly, but as he's grown and matured, adding strength and working on his skating has allowed him to take huge strides.
“The hockey sense was always there," said Carolina Hurricanes associate general manager Darren Yorke. "That was really the concurrent thing. But the skating has gotten better as it does with most players when you get a little bit stronger, the body control and body positioning on retrievals has improved to allow him to handle the bigger, faster players in the NHL and that's all really only enhanced his game now that he can go back for the puck, make those reads with his vision and transition the puck into the offensive zone.”
Now, it's going to be about continuing to show that he can be an everyday NHLer and prove that his dependable game is what will help the team the most.
"I'm looking just to be better every day," Nystrom said on his goals entering camp. "As I did last year, just focus on what I can do and try to play as good as I can. I feel I'm in a good place to keep developing."
NHL Veterans
The organization brought in a trio of UFA defensemen this offseason, signing Mike Reilly, Juuso Valimaki and Pierre-Olivier Joseph to one-year deals.
Reilly obviously has a leg up on the competition given his familiarity with the team and having been a part of the championship roster, but Valimaki, who had a strong bounce back season in the AHL coming off of his ACL injury, and Joseph, who had good underlying numbers on a bad Vancouver team, both present interesting options too.
Reilly, 33, it the oldest of competing players, but that also goes hand-in-hand with an extensive history in the league.
A veteran of 11 seasons, Reilly has played in 460 games in his career, with 19 goals and 133 points to his name.
The 6-foot-2, left-hander was a late signing by the team, but the fact that they brought him back and that he's been skating alongside Shayne Gostisbehere to open camp says a lot about his chances.
"Definitely excited to get going," Reilly said. "This is definitely where I wanted to be and obviously when I signed, I knew there was an opportunity and obviously that's all you can ask for. I feel like I'm in good shape here coming into camp — obviously a different preseason this year in terms of the games you can play and whatnot — but I think I was comfortable coming back here having been here last year and them getting to know me and all that. Excited for the opportunity and obviously just trying to take advantage of it."
Reilly's biggest edge in the competition is, again, that fact that he's familiar with and to Carolina.
The blueliner appeared in 44 total games for the Hurricanes (42 regular season and two playoff) and played a steady role.
"I kind of got to the point where I was just staying as ready as I could, which is easier said than done," Reilly said about being the seventh defenseman last season. "But I was in that position and I was fine with it, in a way. Obviously you want to play every night, but I think you learn a lot and you kind of feel comfortable in an uncomfortable situation a little bit."
This year though, he's looking to take on a bigger, more consistent role as an everyday player.
Valimaki, 27, has perhaps the highest ceiling out of the three players.
The Finnish blueliner was a first-round pick, going 16th overall to the Calgary Flames in 2017 and his offensive game is one of his biggest upsides, having posted a 34-point campaign before.
"I like [the system]," Valimaki said. "It's simple and you can just see when you're on the ice with these guys, everyone is just doing the right things. I consider myself a smart player and I think this system, when everyone is doing the right thing and are playing smart, I think it's a great system and obviously it works and can complement my game. I think I can fit into it really good."
The 6-foot-2 lefty joined the organization midway through last season, being traded by the Utah Mammoth shortly after recovering from an earlier ACL tear, and played the rest of the year with the Chicago Wolves.
"Obviously I missed a lot of time over the last year and kind of the year before, so just in general, to be playing games again was the biggest focus for myself," Valimaki said. "We made a big playoff run as well, so got some really good experience there. Lot of good games, the people down were awesome and it was a good year for myself."
Valimaki had a really strong run with the Wolves, putting up six goals and 20 points in 24 regular season games. He then turned things up to another level in the team's run to the Calder Cup Final, producing five goals and 14 points in 21 playoff games.
"It was kind of nice to play a little bit more like myself too," Valimaki said. "I found some offensive rhythm and I'm feeling really good. There's been a lot of ups and downs in my career with injuries and kind of a lot of other things going on, but I think last year was finally where I felt like myself again and I was in a really good head space. Just trying to play hockey, enjoy it. There's been times where you kind of forget the fun part and for me, at least, when you're having fun and enjoying what you're doing, I think that's when you play your best. Just trying to carry the momentum now and ride that wave."
It won't be easy to crack a Stanley Cup winning roster, but Valimaki has belief in himself and his goal is to get back to the NHL, something he hasn't done since January of 2025.
"I'm here to stay here," Valimaki said. "That's the sole focus for me. To do everything I can as good as I can every day. I think the one thing I tell myself now is to just be yourself on and off the ice. Don't try to change who you are, the way you play. That's the way I want to be everyday, but obviously the focus and the goal is to stay up here, be on the roster and get back into the NHL."
Joseph, 27, is another first-round pick, having been selected 23rd overall in 2017, that has bounced around a bit.
After spending a few years in the Pittsburgh Penguins' system, he wound up in St. Louis and spent the past year with the Vancouver Canucks, where he played just 31 games due to injuries and scratches.
Despite that, Joseph had some fairly strong underlying numbers, something that an analytically driven team like Carolina definitely would have taken notice of.
"I've played against these guys for a bit here and it just felt like a great group of guys to join," Joseph said. "It takes a little bit to join a group, but everyone is so welcoming and has been great. The chemistry, you can see it right when you come in. I'm just excited to try and do my part here."
The Laval native has played in parts of six NHL seasons, having played in 225 games, but he's still trying to break his way into a consistent position in the league, having played more than 60 games in a season only once.
"I've definitely learned on both sides, from some good teams and some not so good teams, but [for me, the next step] is just the consistency," Joseph said. "That's where I'm trying to get to. I think I'm a solid skater, I think I can move the puck pretty well and I think that will work well here with playing quick and fast and up north."
And even though he's one of nearly half a dozen players all vying for one spot on a championship roster, Joseph has embraced the challenge before him with a lot of positivity.
"It's a healthy competition," Joseph said. "I think everyone is just trying to jump on this boat and everyone is supporting each other, everyone wants the best for each other. But at the end of the day, it's a training camp and you're trying to show that they made the right decision to call you and to sign you here. Just trying to do my part and show the best that you can."
But what the three have done in the past has little bearing on what they can bring today.
"You want to come in with an open slate," said Carolina coach Rod Brind'Amour. "A year ago, I was watching those guys and got an idea for how they play, but now, it's how can they play in our system and how well do they pick up stuff that we're throwing at them. That's all part of it."
Practice is one thing, but the biggest thing that is going to determine who's left standing at the end of camp is whether or not they can show their skills in the preseason games.
With only four on the schedule, and veterans capped at playing in only two, it will be interesting to see how it all shakes out and who can showcase enough to impress.
"They just need to know how to play the way we want to play," Brind'Amour said. "I think they all get that, it's just that somebody is going to have to step up. At the end of the day, we have to take the best guys. I think it's good to have a little competition sometimes. Haven't really seen a lot of that over the years, and so it's good to have."
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Talk is cheap when discussing the Rangers. So is optimism.
But that doesn't mean that optimism is bad. In fact it could make your day. Here's how a lucky ten positive things could happen to your Blueshirts and even put them in the playoffs.
REPEAT; EVEN PUT THEM IN THE PLAYOFFS
1. No matter how you shake it, the Rangers – in Igor Shesterkin – have one of the NHL's beststoppers.
2. Adam Fox will be injury-free and a Norris Trophy finalist.
3. Braden Schenider will show his critics that he was worth drafting after all.
4. Mika Zibanejad may not look like a No. 1 center; but, at last, he'll play like one.
5. Alexis Lafrenière will pick up where he left off late last season and prove that he was worth being an overall first draft pick.
6. Miracles Happen: J.T. Miller will recall his halcyon days in Vancouver and play his heart out for Old New York. And Newer Slobbovia. I'll go three steps further – he'll be a captain's captain!
7. Gabe Perreault will emerge as a monster playmaker, power play pivot and penalty-killer all in one. (In fact he'll turn out to be a better player than his Old Man!)
8. Slava (Smiley) Gavrikov will not only be one of the NHL's best shutdown defenders but he'll go neck and neck with his pal Foxy as an offensive force.
9. Tye Kartye will be such a boisterously pleasant surprise that by season's end everyone will know how to spell his name.
10. Rookie owner – ergo boss' son – Quentin Dolan will burst out of the shadows and show both fans and media that he is THE BOSS!.
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