Camp Buzz: Celebrini day to day for Sharks with injury
Karlsson practices with Penguins; Brindley out 4-6 weeks for Blue Jackets; Utah sends Iginla back to juniors
© LA Kings
San Jose Sharks
Macklin Celebrini is day to day for the Sharks because of a lower-body injury.
The forward, who was the No. 1 pick in the 2024 NHL Draft, did not practice on Wednesday after he was injured during the second period of a 3-1 preseason loss to the Utah Hockey Club on Tuesday.
"Honestly, it just, he's been through a lot," Sharks coach Ryan Warsofsky said. "The rookie tournament, the travel. He's been bouncing around media stuff this summer. I'd say it's a little more wear and tear and more precautionary than anything."
Celebrini crashed hard into the boards after he was stopped by Connor Ingram on a partial breakaway at 6:17 of the second. He was slow to get up and played one more shift before leaving the game.
"We're taking this day by day," Warsofsky said. "I know it's a broken record, but we'll see how he feels tomorrow and the next day, and we'll make a decision when we get there on (the regular season opener) Thursday."
The Sharks have two more preseason games, beginning against the Anaheim Ducks on Friday. San Jose opens the regular season at the St. Louis Blues on Oct. 10 (10:30 p.m. ET; ESPN+, HULU).
"I wouldn't say that," Warsofsky said about Celebrini being ruled out for the rest of the preseason. "We're going to see how he feels every day, and we'll make a decision every day." -- Max Miller
Columbus Blue Jackets
Gavin Brindley will be out 4-6 weeks for the Blue Jackets with a broken finger.
The 19-year-old forward, who was injured in a 3-1 preseason win against the St. Louis Blues, had three points (one goal, two assists) in four preseason games and was in contention for a spot on the opening night roster.
Brindley made his NHL debut April 16 in Columbus' final game of the regular season, one day after signing his entry-level contract. He had no shots on goal in 12:20 of ice time.
The Blue Jackets open the regular season at the Minnesota Wild on Oct. 10.
Anaheim Ducks
Beckett Sennecke made his preseason debut for the Ducks in their 5-2 win against Utah at Honda Center on Wednesday.
The 18-year-old forward and No. 3 pick in the 2024 NHL Draft was minus-2 in 15:34 of ice time after he was unavailable for rookie camp and the first four preseason games due to a fractured foot sustained during offseason training.
"I'm young, so just have fun out there," Sennecke said of his expectations. "I'm trying to just prove myself out here, so I'll do my best to control the things I can control."
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 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 to 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 during 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 New Jersey.
"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," Fitzgerald said.-- Mike G. Morreale
Ottawa Senators
Forwards Tim Stutzle and Brady Tkachuk, and defenseman Thomas Chabot practiced on Thursday after each left a 4-3 preseason win against the Montreal Canadiens on Tuesday with an injury.
"It is good to see them. It's great," Senators coach Travis Green said after practice. "You know, I don't think we were overly concerned, but anytime you have three guys leave a game, it's nice that they were back today."
Stutzle sustained an upper-body injury in the second period from an Arber Xhekaj hit that landed the Montreal defenseman with a game misconduct for interference. Tkachuk sustained an upper-body injury during a fight with Xhekaj immediately after the hit.
"It was definitely dangerous," Stutzle said of the hit. "I think if a play like that happens, it's always on both of the players. I've got to do a better job to protect myself. … Obviously, I didn't like the hit, but in the end, I got lucky that I didn't get seriously hurt. It could've been way worse. I saw him coming last second."
Chabot did not play a shift in the third period due to an undisclosed injury.
Green said "most of the three" of Tkachuk, Stutzle and Chabot will dress for the team's final two preseason games against the Detroit Red Wings on Friday and Canadiens on Saturday.
Forward David Perron, who missed the game on Tuesday, did not practice Thursday.
"I expect him on the ice, good chance he'll skate tomorrow, if not the next day," Green said. -- Callum Fraser
Pittsburgh Penguins
Erik Karlsson practiced Thursday for the first time since the Penguins opened training camp Sept. 18.
The defenseman, who is day to day with an upper-body injury, wore a noncontact jersey while working with the non-game group following a morning skate. Pittsburgh will play a preseason game at the Columbus Blue Jackets on Thursday.
Karlsson had skated on an individual basis the past two days after being held off the ice for the previous six.
On Tuesday, coach Mike Sullivan said he was confident Karlsson could play when the Penguins open the regular season at home against the New York Rangers on Oct. 9.
"I think the players of Erik's stature, in my experience, they don't tend to need as many repetitions to get up to speed," Sullivan said then. "They also, if they're not quite as sharp and not at the very top of their game, they're still pretty good and they can help you win. From that standpoint, we'll get 'Karl' up to speed in due time when it's the appropriate time."
Karlsson would likely have to progress to taking full contact before playing in a game. The Penguins have three scheduled full practices before the opener against the Rangers.
Last season, Karlsson's first in Pittsburgh, the 34-year-old led the Penguins defensemen with 56 points (11 goals, 45 assists) in a full 82 games.
Goalie Alex Nedeljkovic is week to week because of a lower-body injury after leaving in the first period of a 5-1 preseason win against the Detroit Red Wings on Monday.
Nedeljkovic, the expected backup to Tristan Jarry, started 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. -- 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 in Utah’s 6-3 win against the Colorado Avalanche on Sunday, getting two shots on goal in 11:51 of ice time. He then had an assist in 12:56 of ice time 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
Chicago Blackhawks
Kevin Korchinski was assigned to Rockford of the American Hockey League on Wednesday.
The 20-year-old defenseman had 15 points (five goals, 10 assists) in 76 games last season for the Blackhawks, who selected Korchinski with the No. 7 pick in the 2022 NHL Draft. He stayed with Chicago instead of returning to Seattle of the Western Hockey League. An agreement between the NHL and Canadian Hockey League prohibits players under 20 from playing in the AHL; Korchinski was 19 last season.
“Kevin wasn't able to go down last year to work on his game like (defenseman Wyatt) Kaiser, so this is a time for him to do that,” Blackhawks coach Luke Richardson said. “We don't want him to struggle here as a young defenseman. We want him to go flourish down there, just like the organization saw when they drafted him.”
Chicago hosts the Minnesota Wild on Friday before wrapping up its preseason schedule against the St. Louis Blues at Fiserv Forum in Milwaukee on Saturday.
The Blackhawks open the regular season at Utah on Oct. 8 (10 p.m. ET; ESPN, ESPN+). -- Tracey Myers
Montreal Canadiens
Kaiden Guhle wore a standard jersey during practice at the Canadiens' training facility Wednesday.
The 22-year-old defenseman had an appendectomy 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 Guhle recovers from his surgery.
"I would like it if he could play but it's not important," St. Louis said. "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 ($5.55 million average annual value) that begins in the 2025-26 season 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 Thursday and Friday, open the season at home against the Maple Leafs on Oct. 9. -- Sean Farrell
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 to play in a game.
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 Toronto 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 his return. -- Mike Zeisberger
