The Iowa Heartlanders announced that 19 players with Heartlanders ties will attend 2025 Iowa Wild training camp. The Wild are AHL affiliates of the Iowa Heartlanders.

Of the 19 players, 10 are signed to 2025-26 contracts with the Heartlanders. The other nine are former Heartlanders signed to AHL contracts with the Iowa Wild or NHL contracts with the Minnesota Wild.

The Heartlanders will begin their training camp next Monday, Oct. 6. They open the team’s fifth season at Xtream Arena on Friday, Oct. 17 vs. the Tulsa Oilers.

Here are the players attending Wild training camp with Heartlanders ties.

Goaltenders (3)

Samuel Hlavaj (played with Heartlanders in 2024-25)

Dante Giannuzzi (ECHL contract with Heartlanders)

William Rousseau (AHL contract, played with 2024-25 Heartlanders)

Defensemen (8)

Mike Koster (AHL contract, played with 2024-25 Heartlanders)

Will Zmolek (AHL contract, played with 2024-25 Heartlanders)

Thomas Stewart (ECHL contract with Heartlanders)

Elliott McDermott (ECHL contract with Heartlanders)

David Spacek (NHL contract, played with 2023-24 Heartlanders)

Lordanthony Grissom (ECHL contract with Heartlanders)

Carter Allen (ECHL contract with Heartlanders)

Kyle Masters (NHL contract, played with Heartlanders 2023-25)

Forwards (8)

Matthew Sop (AHL contract, played with Heartlanders 2024-25)

Ryan McGuire (AHL contract, played with Heartlanders 2024-25)

Isaac Johnson (ECHL contract with Heartlanders)

Ryan Sandelin (AHL contract, played with Heartlanders 2024-25)

Jaxon Nelson (ECHL contract with Heartlanders)

Keltie Jeri-Leon (ECHL contract with Heartlanders)

Jack O'Brien (ECHL contract with Heartlanders)

Adam Capannelli (ECHL contract with Heartlanders)

The Columbus Blue Jackets have 12 days until opening night at Nationwide Arena. Today, we look at the history of jersey #12. 

Let's take a look.

Ted Drury - 2001 - Drafted by Calgary in 1989.

Drury played a single game for the Jackets during the 00-01 season. He never played another NHL game after Columbus and would retire in 2007 after playing five seasons in Germany.

Ted is the brother of former New York Rangers Captain and current President and General Manager of the Rangers, Chris Drury.

Sean Pronger - 2002 - Drafted by Vancouver in 1991. 

The brother of Hall of Famer Chris Pronger played 104 games in Columbus and had 17 points. He retired in 2005 after playing in Germany.

The brother of Hall of Famer Chris Pronger played 104 games in Columbus and had 17 points. He also attended Bowling Green State University in Ohio. 

After his two seasons in Columbus, he played for Vancouver and then left for Germany, where he played one season before retiring. 

Mathieu Darche - 2003 - Undrafted out of Saint-Laurent, Quebec.

Darche played 24 games for the CBJ over their first three seasons, totaling two points. Darche played until 2012, retiring with the Montreal Canadiens. 

He is now the Assistant General Manager and Director of Hockey Ops for the Tampa Bay Lightning. He started with Tampa Bay in 2019 and has held various positions. 

Jiří Novotný - 2008-2009 - Drafted by Buffalo in 2001. 

Novotný played 107 games for the Jackets and had 29 points. He never played another NHL game and left for Europe where he played until 2023.

Novotný spent time in Russia, Czechia, and Switzerland until he retired. He is now the Sports Manager for HC Motor České Budějovice.

Elite Prospects said about Novotný "Novotný is a center with a sound two-way game. With good vision and passing ability, he is more of a playmaker than a shooter. Handles the puck and skates well, too. Can kill penalties and win faceoffs."

Mike Blunden - 2010-2011 - Drafted by Chicago in 2005. 

Blunden played 41 games with the Jackets and totaled 4 points.

He retired in 2020 after playing the last two years of his career in Germany and Italy. He finished his NHL career playing in 127 games. Blunden has been a Pro Scout for the Tampa Bay Lightning for the last four season. 

Ryan Craig - 2014-2015 - Drafted by Tampa Bay in 2002. 

Craig played 8 games for the Jackets and had zero points. He was also the Captain of both the Springfield Falcons and the Cleveland Monsters. He retired in 2017 and went into coaching for the Vegas Golden Knights. He is currently the head coach of the AHL's Henderson Silver Knights. 

Owen Sillinger - 2025 - Undrafted out of Regina, Saskatchewan. 

Sillinger has played one career NHL game and has zero points. The older brother of Cole has spent his career playing for the AHL's Cleveland Monsters. In parts of four seasons, he has a total of 114 points. 

Owen will be looked at as a vet on an otherwise very young Monsters team. Expect Sillinger to be called up should the CBJ need him. 

One scouting report said of Sillinger. "Sillinger is a pure sniper. He might be the best shooter in this draft class. His wrist shot is powerful and accurate. He has quick hands and is able to get the shot off quickly. Sillinger also does a good job of changing the angle on his shot, fooling goaltenders. His snapshot is also very good and features a similar quick release. Sillinger also has a knack for getting open for a one-timer, especially on the power play. His slap shot is also very good. He can even score with a good backhand. Sillinger has the hands to get deflections and pounce on rebounds in front of the net. His lateral agility and hands allow him to move laterally to open up shooting lanes."

Another scouting report said of his defensive game, "Sillinger also needs work in his own end of the ice. He can become too focused on the puck away from the play, losing his man and getting out of position. He also seems to take risks at times, leaving the zone early and trying to create offence. Sillinger could improve by using his size and strength to help contain in the cycle game but is not always committed to working down low in the defensive zone. These are areas where he will need some strong coaching in helping out his defense."

There are 12 days left until opening night at Nationwide Arena. 

The pre-season schedule is as follows:

Saturday, Oct. 4 at Washington Capitals, 7 p.m. ET

After that, the Blue Jackets will open the regular season on the road against the Nashville Predators at Bridgestone Arena.

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The Buffalo Sabres practiced at KeyBank Center on Tuesday, and while the club got back center Jiri Kulich after he sat out for a week with a muscle tweak, the club was still without four regulars, as defenseman Owen Power joined forward Jordan Greenway, and defensemen Bowen Byram and Mattias Samuelsson on the sidelines.  

"Owen just strained something yesterday, and so we held them out today," Ruff said. 

Power was described as being day-to-day, but it is in question whether the Sabres will risk putting him in the lineup for the first of their final home-and-home preseason games against the Pittsburgh Penguins on Wednesday. Byram was injured in the Sabres 5-2 victory over Detroit on Saturday and has not practiced the last two days, but did skate prior to practice according to Ruff. 

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Kulich and goalie Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen will play on Wednesday, although it is not certain that the Sabres goalie will play the entire game since it is his first action of the season. Greenway has not taken part in any camp workouts after he suffered an recurrence of the mid-body injury that he had surgically repaired over the summer, but has started to ramp up his work on the ice. 

 "(Jordan) skated at Harborcenter. He's progressing nicely and (it's) just probably a short period of time before he joins us in practice." Ruff said. "(We're) just trying to do the right thing, but he's feeling good."

Without Power or Byram, the Sabres top pairing at practice was Rasmus Dahlin and Michael Kesselring, Ryan Johnson partnered with Conor Timmins, and 2025 first-rounder Radim Mrtka partnered with Vsevolod Komarov. 

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It was just a matter of time until a talented player would reset the market, but few expected it to be Minnesota Wild winger Kirill Kaprizov. The Russian star signed an eight-year, $136 million contract on Tuesday. The deal, which takes effect at the beginning of the 2026-27 season, sees the player earn $17 million in Average Annual Value (AAV) per season.

Kaprizov didn’t just become the new NHL leader in AAV; he smashed the previous high of $14 million per season that Edmonton Oilers star Leon Draisaitl received in his eight-year extension. Perhaps a player like Mitch Marner could have approached that number. His agent, Darren Ferris, indicated he wanted to take the player on a tour around the NHL to see what was out there, but the former Toronto Maple Leafs player was set on joining the Vegas Golden Knights agreeing to a sign-and-trade deal worth $12 million per season. The Wild didn't want to let Kaprizov walk, and after reports that the player turned down $16 million, here we are at $17 million.

This $17 million contract is the new benchmark, and there is one player who is an even bigger threat to reset the market: the hard-to-dispute No. 1 player in the NHL, Connor McDavid. While reports suggested McDavid could take less money with the Oilers if he chooses to stay, it’s hard to know if that's true after Kaprizov set the market into a state of uncertainty. The salary cap is projected to be $104 million for 2026-27. If McDavid took the maximum allowable percentage of the cap, he could command as high as $20.8 million per season. And while he probably doesn’t demand that much, how do you not command $17.5 million per year if Kaprizov got $17 million?

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This financial escalation directly affects the Maple Leafs, who are still looking to improve their forward depth and would like to acquire a top-six winger following Marner's absence. What does this escalation mean for other players in the top-10 or top-20 in the NHL?

The Maple Leafs have about $20.3 million in cap space for 2026-27 based on a roster of 18 players. Their defense and goaltending are essentially locked in; they need forwards. A player like Kyle Connor would certainly fit that bill of an elite winger. With 97 points in 82 games with the Winnipeg Jets, he certainly could have commanded $11 million per season in his next contract. But maybe that’s now $14 or $15 million after seeing what Kaprizov got. Jack Eichel is in the final year of an eight-year contract. Perhaps Vegas gets a discount to keep the player and flex the tax advantage, but he’s probably a $14–$15 million guy otherwise, if not more. What about second-line forwards? Does a player like Alex Tuch get $9 million in this new financial landscape? It’s hard to argue against it based on what we’ve seen.

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Suddenly, $20.3 million doesn’t look like a ton of money for Toronto to work with, though they could certainly clear out more. In this instance, the Leafs weren’t the market setters, as Minnesota paid what they had to for the player to not entertain offers. But it doesn’t mean they are thrilled about seeing Kaprizov get that kind of salary. Just think about the money Auston Matthews will command when he’s eligible for a contract extension on July 1, 2027.

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It’s been 20 years since Quebec City lost its beloved Nordiques thanks to the need for a new building and the weakness of the Canadian dollar, but last night at Centre Videotron, Quebec showed it was ready for another team. The Centre Videotron was filled to the brim for the preseason tilt between the Montreal Canadiens and the Ottawa Senators. While the Sens were technically the local team, the Habs were clearly the crowd’s favourite.

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A Fantastic First

Martin St-Louis had decided to test some new lines in this second-to-last preseason game, and one of his newly formed combinations wasted no time in paying dividends. Ivan Demidov may not have gotten an assist, but it was his play that led to the only goal of the first frame. The puck went from him, to Mike Matheson, to Alex Newhook, to Oliver Kapanen and finally, to the back of the net. The crowd erupted with joy as the Canadiens took a 1-0 lead.

Still fighting for a place in the lineup, Florian Xhekaj dropped the gloves against Jan Jenik, and if the younger Xhekaj couldn’t get a win against Nicholas Deslauriers last week, he certainly did this time. It was a spirited fight that saw him get the better of his opponent, much to the delight of everyone in attendance, especially the Canadiens players who weren’t playing but were watching from a box above the press gallery.

By making changes to his lines, the bench boss was clearly hoping to see a renewed level of effort from his men, and he certainly did. Demidov was relentless on the forecheck, forcing two turnovers. Kirby Dach dove in desperation to break up a shorthanded chance he created by missing the puck on a back pass. After 20 minutes, the Canadiens were up 1-0, and spirits were flying high in Quebec.

The Pack Mentality

St-Louis said earlier in camp that he wanted to see a pack mentality, and he was served in the second frame. After the Canadiens had scored another two goals, Hayden Hodgson hit Alex Newhook from behind, and the Habs collectively took exception. Carrier (who had scored the third goal) flew to his teammate's defense. Once that tilt was over, Xhekaj and Struble were talking to the Senators by center ice, and whatever was said led to two more fights breaking off. Jenik came out of it worse for wear, bleeding profusely.

It seems like the days of the Canadiens being labelled “soft” are truly over. Of course, being three defensemen down is not a brilliant outcome, but the coach wanted to see his team play harder to be more physical. Based on tonight, that box can be checked.

After the game, the bench boss said:

I liked how we behaved as a pack; we stuck together from a physical and grit standpoint, but what I liked even more was how we played hockey together as a pack. I think we played an excellent game, and we were there for one another.

- St-Louis on his team's performance

When Things Go Too Far

There’s a line that shouldn’t be crossed, especially when it comes to preseason hockey, and tonight, former Hab Nick Cousins crossed that line. To quote Friends, he was so far over the line that the line was a dot to him. In the final frame, the Canadiens’ rookie avoided his hit by the boards, and the Senators forward then decided to slash the Russian player in a very aggressive manner. St-Louis didn’t seem overly worried about Demidov in his post-game press conference, but things could have turned out very badly.

Ivan Demidov first dodged a boarding hit by Nick Cousins, then he was slashed on the arm/wrist with a dirty two handed axe chop.

He looked in visible pain afterwards. pic.twitter.com/PyZkv7mWrt

— /r/Habs (@HabsOnReddit) October 1, 2025

What should be taken away from this 5-0 win over the Senators, though, is not only the rough stuff, but the fact that several Habs players shone brightly. Demidov was an absolute force, and the truth of the matter is, if you let him control the puck too much, he will burn you. He finished his night with two assists, but was also instrumental in a couple of other goals. Kapanen had a strong game as well, putting six shots on net and scoring a goal. Newhook also picked up a pair of assists, and the line meshed very well.

As for Patrik Laine, who found himself on a line with Joe Veleno and Owen Beck, the coach said he thought he played very well at even strength throughout the game. The big Finn also scored a power-play goal and got three shots on net; it was a good response to what was a significant demotion.

Dach also had a solid game, not only because of his backchecking effort in the first frame, but offensively, he was very much involved and chasing the puck hard when the Habs weren’t in possession. He had two shots and got a goal and an assist, the lamplighter was a fantastic piece of hand-eye coordination as well, batting in a saucer pass for the goal. As always, Lane Hutson was very noticeable, with plenty of twists and turns that led to him scoring a goal and an assist as well.

(つ•—•)つ 🚨

MTL 5, OTT 0#GoHabsGopic.twitter.com/hRr5czvL80

— Canadiens Montréal (@CanadiensMTL) October 1, 2025

Jakub Dobes saved the 16 shots he faced for the shutout, and it was also an excellent night for Brendan Gallagher, who was named the first star of the game thanks to his three assists and heard the sold-out building chant “Gally, Gally, Gally!” as it was announced.

Will tonight’s events alter St-Louis’ plans for the last preseason game? He’s giving himself a few days to think about it…

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