Training Camp Buzz: Sennecke to make preseason debut for Ducks

Welcome to the 2024-25 NHL training camp buzz. Training camp is underway and NHL.com has you covered with all the latest news.

Anaheim Ducks

Beckett Sennecke will make his preseason debut for the Ducks when they host the Utah Hockey Club at Honda Center on Wednesday.

The 18-year-old forward and third pick in the 2024 NHL Draft was unavailable for rookie camp and the first four preseason games after sustaining a foot fracture during offseason training.

He practiced on a line with Mason McTavish and Robby Fabbri on Tuesday.

Sennecke had 68 points (27 goals, 41 assists) in 63 games with Oshawa of the Ontario Hockey League last season and also led all draft-eligible skaters in goals (10) and points (22) during the 2024 OHL Playoffs.

He signed a three-year, entry-level contract with the Ducks on July 5. -- Dan Arritt

New Jersey Devils

Brett Pesce is day to day and might be available to play for the Devils in their home opener against the Toronto Maple Leafs on Oct. 10.

The defenseman, who continues to recover from surgery to repair a fractured fibula, will not be available when New Jersey plays the Buffalo Sabres on Friday (1 p.m. ET; NHLN, SN, MSGSN, MSG-B) and Saturday (10 a.m. ET; NHLN, SN, MSGSN, MSG-B) at O2 Arena in Prague in the 2024 NHL Global Series Czechia presented by Fastenal.

"He's getting better and feeling more comfortable every day (working out in New Jersey)," Devils general manager Tom Fitzgerald said. "We brought his sticks over just in case but when you handle players with acute injuries like this, what you don't want is over-push them and then a soft tissue injury happens because they're not up to speed. So that's where we're balancing that with.

"I just discussed with everybody the strong possibility he could be ready by our home opener (Oct. 10). He's day to day but we know he's on the ice, he's skating, he's with our other group getting repetitions."

Pesce signed a six-year contract with the Devils on July 1 after nine seasons with the Carolina Hurricanes. He sustained the injury in the second period of Game 2 of the Eastern Conference First Round against the New York Islanders last season, won by the Hurricanes in five games. Pesce was three weeks post-surgery when he signed with the Devils.

"We did think of bringing him over [to Prague] just to be with his teammates, understanding who they are, getting to know one another, but then just felt it better for him to stay back and actually get better reps, and working out." -- Mike G. Morreale

Pittsburgh Penguins

Alex Nedeljkovic is week to week with a lower-body injury.

The goalie left in the first period of a 5-1 preseason win against the Detroit Red Wings on Monday, making two saves in 13:04.

Nedeljkovic, the expected backup to Tristan Jarry, started 12 of the final 13 games for the Penguins last season. He signed a two-year, $5 million contract ($2.5 million average annual value) on June 20 to stay in Pittsburgh.

Joel Blomqvist, who made 19 saves on 20 shots in relief Monday, could start the season in the NHL. The 22-year-old was third in the American Hockey League with a 2.16 goals-against average and fifth with a .921 save percentage for Wilkes-Barre/Scranton last season.

"He's been awesome," Jarry said. "He moves great laterally, he's a great goalie, and we're obviously excited. It's never good when someone goes down, but I think Joel's ready, and it'll be exciting."

Coach Mike Sullivan said the Penguins are confident in Blomqvist and goalie Filip Larsson.

"I feel like we've given some of those guys sufficient work," Sullivan said Tuesday. "I think 'Blommer' has got a number of games. For example, [Monday], he goes in and gets a significant amount of the game. They're getting plenty of playoff time, they've got intrasquad games. I feel like they're all in a pretty good place from a workload standpoint that's going to prepare them for whatever comes our way."

In addition to Nedeljkovic, forward Blake Lizotte is out indefinitely with a concussion after taking a puck to the face in a game Sunday. Forward prospect Vasily Ponomarev is day to day with an upper-body injury suffered in a game Tuesday.

Defenseman Erik Karlsson skated on an individual basis for a second straight day Wednesday. He has been day to day with an upper-body injury since training camp opened Sept. 18. -- Wes Crosby

Utah Hockey Club

Tij Iginla was assigned to Kelowna of the Western Hockey League on Wednesday.

The 18-year-old forward was the first pick in franchise history (No. 6) at the 2024 NHL Draft. He made his preseason debut on Sunday in Utah’s 6-3 win against the Colorado Avalanche, getting two shots on goal in 11:51 of ice time. He then had an assist in 12:56 in a 3-1 victory at the San Jose Sharks on Tuesday.

Iginla is the son of Hockey Hall of Fame forward Jarome Iginla. He had 84 points (47 goals, 37 assists) in 64 games for Kelowna last season. -- Matt Komma

Montreal Canadiens

Kaiden Guhle wore a standard jersey during practice at the Canadiens' training facility on Wednesday.

The 22-year-old defenseman had an appendectomy on Sept. 18 and has not played any preseason games.

Canadiens coach Martin St. Louis did not rule out the possibility of Guhle playing Montreal's final preseason game at the Ottawa Senators on Saturday, though he indicated that it is not a priority as he recovers from his surgery.

"I would like it if he could play but it's not important," St. Louis said Tuesday. "I'd like it, we don't know yet, we'll see, but it would be fun is he able to play. But we're not going to play him if he isn't ready. We won't take any risks. There has to be zero risk if he plays, so we'll see."

Guhle signed a six-year, $33.3 million contract that begins in the 2025-26 season on July 31. He had 22 points (six goals, 16 assists) in 70 games last season, and ranked second for Montreal with 178 blocked shots and third in ice time per game (20:51).

The Canadiens, who will practice in Mont-Tremblant on Thursday and Friday, open the season at home against the Toronto Maple Leafs on Oct. 9. -- Sean Farrell

New York Islanders

Ilya Sorokin was on the ice and faced shots before practice Wednesday.

The 29-year-old goalie, who had offseason back surgery, has been skating on his own. Sorokin has missed the entirety of training camp, which opened Sept. 19.

“All I can say is things are going well,” Islanders coach Patrick Roy said. “Day by day. We'll go from there.”

Sorokin is entering the first season of an eight-year contract he signed with New York on July 1, 2023. He was 25-19-12 with a 2.99 GAA and .909 save percentage last season.

"Sorokin's such a big part of the team, and he's one of the best goalies in the League, so there's no rush," Islanders center Brock Nelson said. "He's going to be a big part of our team and franchise for a long time." -- Stefen Rosner

Toronto Maple Leafs

Jani Hakanpaa took part in his first official practice Wednesday, but Maple Leafs coach Craig Berube said it is unclear when the 6-foot-7 defenseman will be fit enough for game action.

The 32-year-old, who signed a one-year $1.47 million contract with Toronto on Sept. 11, missed the final 13 games of the 2023-24 regular season and the entire Stanley Cup Playoff run with the Dallas Stars because of a knee injury.
While the fact he was not wearing a noncontact jersey was an indication he may have passed another hurdle on his quest to come back, general manager Brad Treliving said earlier in training camp that the veteran likely will start the season on long-term injured reserve.

Either way, Hakanpaa, who spent a chunk of practice on the first penalty-kill unit, said it was great to be on the ice with his new teammates.

"It was nice. It's been a long time coming. I've done a lot of work to get to this point," he said. "We're just going day to day, trying to do anything I can to improve."

Hakanpaa had been skating with the Marlies, the Maple Leafs' American Hockey League affiliate.
Forward Connor Dewar also practiced for the first time since undergoing offseason shoulder surgery for a torn labrum.

There is no timetable for either. -- Mike Zeisberger

Ottawa Senators

Josh Norris made his preseason debut in a 4-3 win against the Montreal Canadiens at Bell Centre on Tuesday and had an assist while playing 18:50.

The 25-year-old forward missed 96 games over the past two seasons due to a recurring shoulder injury. Norris underwent the third shoulder operation of his career in March.

"I've put a lot of work in," Norris said following the morning skate. "Just patient with the process, knowing what I need to do to be ready to play and we're at that point now."

Norris had 30 points (16 goals, 14 assists) in 50 games last season.

"I'm trying to look past it," Norris said of his injury woes. "I'm healthy and I'm ready to play. I feel good. It's been a long road, so I'm ready to go now."

Norris centered a line with David Perron and Ridly Greig during practice Tuesday and took reps on the first power-play unit in his typical spot on the right half wall.

"He'll probably play anywhere between, my guess is, 17 and 21 minutes, something like that," coach Travis Green said of Norris. "We've been trying to run four lines through camp just to see what everyone has, but obviously, there are certain times in the game that some guys play more."

Defenseman Artem Zub also made his preseason debut after sustaining a lower-body injury earlier in training camp and played 19:40. -- Callum Fraser

Minnesota Wild

Matt Boldy joined the Wild for a morning skate Tuesday for the first time since sustaining a lower-body injury Sept 21.

The forward, who was previously listed as week to week following the injury, is day-to-day. He did not play in a 7-2 preseason win against the Chicago Blackhawks on Tuesday but will practice Wednesday and Thursday and could play when the Wild visit the Blackhawks for their final preseason game Friday.

"He's progressing really well," Minnesota coach John Hynes said. "It's still day to day right now with him, but we'll progress him each day and moving forward."

Defenseman Jake Middleton is day-to-day with a lower-body injury, but Hynes said it is "nothing serious." -- Jessi Pierce

Boston Bruins

Elias Lindholm and Brad Marchand each made his preseason debut for the Bruins in a 4-1 win against the Philadelphia Flyers on Tuesday.

Lindholm had two shots on goal and played 15:31 in his Bruins debut. The forward missed all but the first day of training camp with an undisclosed injury before returning in limited fashion Sunday. He signed a seven-year, $54.25 million contract ($7.75 million average annual value) with the Bruins on July 1.

Bruins coach Jim Montgomery said he did not plan to play Lindholm on Tuesday until the forward urged it himself.

"[Lindholm] came in and said he wanted to play," Montgomery said after the morning skate. "He felt great."

Marchand was limited to 4:12 of ice time and did not take a shift after the first period because of an illness that Montgomery said prevented the forward from practicing on Monday. Marchand felt good enough Tuesday morning to play, but it started bothering him again early in the game.

"He'll be fine," Montgomery said.

Marchand had been recovering from separate procedures on his elbow, groin and abdomen during the offseason.

"I feel really good. Much better than I did a month ago," the 36-year-old forward said leading up to the game. "I'm really excited about getting back out there with the guys. It's been a hard road, and it's kind of mentally tough not being ready coming into camp, but really happy with the progression." -- Joe Pohoryles