The San Jose Sharks's 2026 Training Camp is set to start on Thursday, so let's take a look at each individual player and discuss a question surrounding each of them heading into the 2026-27 season.

Forwards:

Alex Barre-Boulet: Can he bring elite scoring to the Barracuda, or potentially even steal an NHL roster spot? 

Filip Bystedt: Is it finally his time to break into the NHL?

Ethan Cardwell: Has he been passed on the depth chart by too many players to ever have a chance at cracking the NHL roster?

Macklin Celebrini: How many of his own franchise records can Celebrini break this year?

Igor Chernyshov: It's clear he belongs in the NHL at this stage, so where does he fit and whose job does he take? 

Ty Dellandrea: Can he hold off some young guns pushing for a roster spot or will be be buried in the AHL?

Tye Felhaber: Can Felhaber get back to his AHL scoring pace from the 2024-25 season?

Andre Gasseau: Historically, Rookie Faceoff standouts tend to regress in training camp against stiffer competition. Can Gasseau be the exception?

Adam Gaudette: Does Gaudette's edge on goal-scoring save him from being the 13th forward or does he sit on most nights?

Patrick Giles: What does Giles need to do to move from a fringe player to legitimately competing for an NHL job? 

Barclay Goodrow: If enough young players outperform Goodrow in training camp, how far can his leadership and off-ice qualities go toward keeping him in the lineup?

Collin Graf: Considering Stenberg seems set for the first line in an ideal scenario and both Marchment and Chernyshov are expected to get top-six roles which line makes sense for Graf?

Jake Gustafson: How much can Gustafson learn in his first NHL training camp and what effects does it have on his WHL performance this season?

Donavan Houle: Can Houle establish himself as a full-time AHL option or is the ECHL in his future once again? 

Jimmy Huntington: Can Huntington's experience and leadership help him earn a few depth call-ups this season?

Brett Leason: After a season spent mostly in the AHL, can Leason return to his previous form and force himself into an NHL role once again?

Cam Lund: While it's clear he's a talented player, can Cam Lund stay healthy enough to earn another chance in the NHL at some point this season?

Mason Marchment: Many on social media have stated that they feel signing Marchment was unnecessary given the Sharks' logjam of forwards, can he prove them wrong?

Michael Misa: The Sharks are banking on Misa being their second-line center of the future, but after a relatively disappointing Rookie Faceoff, can he take that role right out of the gate?

Quentin Musty: Does Musty's new style of play, which embraces the grit required to play a bottom-six role, help him break into the NHL?

Zack Ostapchuk: Even though his new contract carries a relatively low cap hit, signing any bottom-six player with just over 100 games of NHL experience for four years is risky. Can Ostapchuk show that he's worth that commitment?  

Kiefer Sherwood: Sherwood's goal-scoring dropped off considerably after joining the Sharks, can he return to the same pace he had with the Vancouver Canucks last season?

Will Smith: Is this the season that Smith joins Macklin Celebrini in superstardom and massive contracts?

Ivar Stenberg: How quickly can he adapt to the North American style of play and do the Sharks follow the same development plan they've used with Smith and Misa?

Tyler Toffoli: Is age starting to catch up with Toffoli or was last season just an outlier?

Anthony Vincent: Can Vincent maintain his role with the Barracuda despite the new additions?

Alexander Wennberg: How long can Wennberg hold off Misa and remain the Sharks' 2C?

Carson Wetsch: Can Wetsch use his momentum from the Rookie Faceoff to snatch away a bottom-six role at the NHL level in his first professional season?

Defensemen:

Nolan Allan: Allan hasn't played in the NHL since the 2024-25 season when he appeared in 43 games for the Chicago Blackhawks, can he take the final defensive job?

Luca Cagnoni: Are the Sharks confident enough in Cagnoni's ability to play with on his off-hand side to give him the final spot on the blue line?

Sam Dickinson: Early last season, Dickinson seemed like he wasn't quite ready for the NHL but had to be there due to a lack of options. Is he truly ready now?

Libor Hajek: North American hockey fans haven't seen Hajek in roughly four years, is he an NHLer or AHLer at this stage?

Mattias Havelid: Havelid missed some time with the Barracuda last season, appearing in just 44 games. Can he stay healthy enough to provide a boost to the blue line?

Alexander Karmanov: Karmanov's size was a huge advantage and helped overcome his skating issues in the Rookie Faceoff, will he look out of place against NHL level talent?

Michael Kesselring: Last season, Kesselring struggled to get anything going in Buffalo. Will he bounce back to being the player we saw in Utah?

Roland McKeown: Can McKeown's leadership help the Barracuda when times get tough?

Darnell Nurse: Will Nurse's change of scenery truly be beneficial?

Mack Oliphant: Will Oliphant be able to secure himself a full-time role with the Barracuda or is he Wichita bound?

Dmitry Orlov: Heading into the final season of his contract, do the Sharks look to prioritize youth and play the veteran in a lower role or do they give Orlov substantial ice time on a nightly basis?

Eric Pohlkamp: Pohlkamp looked solid at the Rookie Faceoff and his shot seems to be a game-changer on the power play, can that elevate him into the NHL right away?

Leo Sahlin-Wallenius: How quickly can Sahlin-Wallenius adapt to North American hockey, especially in a rough league like the AHL?

Phillip Sinn: Coming out of the DEL, not much is truly known about Sinn at this point in time. What does he bring to the table and at what level?

Jacob Trouba: Trouba's contract has earned the Sharks a lot of flak this summer, can he prove that he's worth his cap hit?

Goaltenders:

Yaroslav Askarov: Can Askarov truly step up and prove that he deserves to be the Sharks' long-term starting goaltender or should they start looking toward a future with Ravensbergen?

Eric Comrie: While many feel like Comrie is destined for the AHL, he's been in the NHL for quite a while at this point. Can he use his experience to unseat one of the Sharks' other goalies?

Matt Davis: Can Davis do enough to convince the Sharks to sign him to a two-way deal or will he remain on an AHL contract moving forward?

Brady Knowling: At the Rookie Faceoff, Knowling seemed to be playing well above expectations. Can he keep the momentum rolling?

Alex Nedeljkovic: Can Nedeljkovic unseat Askarov as the starting netminder, will he remain the backup, or will he be passed by Comrie?

While quite a bit of the Sharks' roster already seems set, there are a lot of questions that still need to be answered and only time will reveal the true answer.

]The Buffalo Sabres’ 2025-26 season was a huge relief to long-suffering Sabres fans, as they finished first in the ultra-competitive Atlantic Division. They also beat the Boston Bruins in their first-round Stanley Cup playoff series before falling to the Montreal Canadiens in Round 2. Things are definitely looking up for this Sabres squad.

Meanwhile, here at TheHockeyNews.com, we're analyzing the Sabres’ Eastern Conference opponents in an online series titled “Know Your Enemy”. For the second straight season, we’re breaking down how Buffalo played against each East team, as well as how they’re likely to fare against them in 2026-27. And in this particular file, we’re focused on the New Jersey Devils. 

The Devils made some notable changes – first and foremost, in net. But what can we expect from New Jersey this year?.

BUFFALO SABRES VS. NEW JERSEY DEVILS

NEW DEVILS PLAYERS: Sunny Mehta (GM), David Rittich (G), Anthony Mantha (LW), Evan Rodrigues (RW), Jesper Boqvist (LW), Luke Evangelista (RW)

2025-26 SERIES: Sabres 2-1-0, Devils 1-2-0

2026-27 GAMES AGAINST EACH OTHER: December 26, at Buffalo; January 12 at Buffalo; February 20 at New Jersey

CAN THE SABRES BEAT THIS TEAM? The Devils dealt veteran Jacob Markstrom to the Florida Panthers, and to replace him, New Jersey signed journeyman Rittich, who posted a save percentage of .894 or worse in each of the past two seasons. That shouldn’t cause Devils fans to be overly optimistic about their chances of making the playoffs this year – unless, say, new GM Mehta pulls off a blockbuster trade for Winnipeg Jets superstar netminder Connor Hellebuyck. If that happens, all bets are off for the ceiling for New Jersey. 

However, as it stands, the Devils are a very beatable group. The Hughes Bros., Luke and Jack Hughes, may be waiting on brother Quinn Hughes if he leaves the Minnesota Wild. And again, if that’s the caliber of player Mehta can bring in, suddenly New Jersey rockets near or at the top of the Metropolitan Division. 

The Sabres will see the Devils three times in less than two months, beginning on Boxing Day and ending 55 days later. But two of the games against New Jersey will take place in Buffalo, and the Sabres need to take advantage of that. Buffalo’s home record last season was a solid 26-10-5, and that means there’s no excuse for them not to make the most of their games at KeyBank Center. And that goes double against the Devils, who were a thoroughly-mediocre 21-20-0 on the road.

New Jersey is clearly still a work-in-progress, so the Sabres can’t take their foot off the gas simply because the Devils aren’t particularly imposing at the moment. If Buffalo is to repeat as Atlantic regular-season champs, they have to make the most of games against teams they ought to beat – and right now, the Devils are most-definitely a team they ought to beat this season.

Giving up valuable standings points to non-elite teams will only hurt the Sabres, and coach Lindy Ruff must ensure his team are stone-cold killers against weaker opponents.

On Thursday, the Philadelphia Flyers will kick off their on-ice portion of their 2026 training camp, and with a shorter overall camp and preseason this year, the roster battles and jostling for ice time will be as fierce as ever.

But, before anywhere, we have to establish the present to give context to the future. After all, the NHL roster is already looking considerably different than it did this time last year.

Rookies Porter Martone, Alex Bump, and Denver Barkey are all primed to stick out of the gate this year, while players like Noah Juulsen, Egor Zamula, Sam Ersson, Garnet Hathaway, Nick Deslauriers, Rodrigo Abols, and Bobby Brink are all out of the picture entirely.

Until we see how things stack up, it'll be nearly impossible to predict how the Flyers will line up and who will play with who, which is why an assessment of the overall depth chart will be our most useful tool in the meantime.

As a reminder, these aren't line combinations or predictions, but more of a representation of a given player's role and usage in the lineup.

Forwards

Tyson Foerster - Trevor Zegras - Travis Konecny

Owen Tippett - Christian Dvorak - Matvei Michkov

Denver Barkey - Noah Cates - Porter Martone

Nikita Grebenkin (inj.) - Sean Couturier - Noel Acciari

Alex Bump - Jett Luchanko - Carl Grundstrom

Zach Aston-Reese - Jacob Gaucher - Danila Klimovich

Nolan Foote - Jack Studnicka - Cole Knuble

Noah Powell - Riley Thompson - Devin Kaplan

Rationale

The placements of players like Matvei Michkov, Martone, Barkey, and Bump is going to depend largely on how head coach Rick Tocchet wants to deploy them.

If Michkov is really in much better shape than he was this time last year, he should be squarely ahead of the less experienced Martone.

Barkey and Nikita Grebenkin, who is currently dealing with a setback, have skills that lend themselves better to a bottom-six role than what Bump has, though I expect all three to make the NHL roster.

The Flyers only want Jett Luchanko in the lineup if he's going to play and one of the 12 best forwards on the team, but in the event of injury (particularly long-term), he should be the first man up for them.

Cole Knuble has been impressive throughout rookie camp, but some of the journeymen are going to be ahead of him in the pecking order for now having considerably more NHL and AHL experience.

With their penalty-killing skills, I expect Tyson Foerster and Travis Konecny to be the two wingers deployed the most, with Trevor Zegras reprising his role as the go-to guy for this Flyers team.

Defense

Travis Sanheim - Jamie Drysdale

Cam York - Rasmus Ristolainen

Nick Seeler - David Jiricek

Simon Benoit - Oliver Bonk

Ty Murchison - Helge Grans

Hunter McDonald - Cam Dineen

Jackson Edward - Spencer Gill

Rationale

When it comes down to it, defense should be the most polarizing group on the Flyers' roster. Although trade rumors persist and on an expiring contract, Rasmus Ristolainen remains with the Flyers, while Jamie Drysdale continues to trend towards becoming one of the better two-way defenders in the NHL.

Cam York is a fine second-pair guy, and everything after those four is a bit murky.

Veteran Nick Seeler regressed last year and turned 33 years old three months ago, while David Jiricek, still just 22 years old, must prove himself at the NHL level or risk being exposed to waivers for the first time in his young career.

Newcomer Simon Benoit is the likeliest to take up Juulsen's mantle as the meat-and-potatoes No. 7 guy, though Flyers GM Danny Briere left the door open to carrying eight defenders when doing his press conference on Tuesday.

That means opportunity for someone like Ty Murchison, who could very well grow into an option superior to Benoit or Seeler at a lower price, or Oliver Bonk, who has continued to impress after earning an NHL debut and Stanley Cup playoff debut late last season.

For now, Hunter McDonald and Helge Grans remain on the outside looking in, though they could jump up the depth chart quickly with tidy preseason performances. The numbers game just doesn't work in their favor, and especially not for Grans.

I could see McDonald and Murchison replacing Seeler and Benoit by season's end, particularly if the Flyers are sellers at the trade deadline.

You all know how much I like Spencer Gill, but with the considerable amount of time he's missed due to injury since being drafted in 2024, I think the Flyers are committed to letting him spend the full year in the AHL to gain experience and continue developing.

The NHL's most famous beard is gone.

Well, not gone but trimmed to respectability.

Brent Burns, the 41-year-old defenseman who's entering his 23rd season in the NHL, showed up at the Colorado Avalanche's training camp on Wednesday, Sept. 16, with a different look.

Gone is the long hair and long bushy beard. It's replaced by a trimmed look that makes him appear younger. His gap-toothed look is gone, too.

The facial hair had been legendary and Burns embraced it by wearing a Chewbacca mask at the 2016 NHL All-Star Game skills competition in Nashville.

Here is how Burns looks this week, plus how he looked last season:

Fresh look for Brent Burns heading into this season 👀 pic.twitter.com/Tkrp11ySvh

— Bailey Curtis (@baileyycurtis) September 16, 2026

Hey, things change.

Even Joe Thornton shaved the NHL's second-best beard once.

Brent Burns can set record this season

Burns is entering an important season after he signed a one-year deal to give him a second season with the Avalanche.

He's still seeking his first Stanley Cup and the Avalanche will be among the favorites again this season.

He has skated in 1,007 consecutive games and needs 58 games this season to top Phil Kessel's ironman record.

Burns, who hasn't missed a game since 2013-14, averaged nearly 19 minutes a game and scored 12 goals and 35 points last season.

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This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Brent Burns' famed beard has a different look this season