Welcome to the 2023-24 NHL training camp buzz. Training camp is underway for all 32 teams and NHL.com has you covered with all the latest news.
Edmonton Oilers
Mattias Ekholm and Ryan McLeod are each expected to be ready for the regular season although they will not play in the Oilers' preseason game against the Calgary Flames at Rogers Place on Wednesday, coach Jay Woodcroft said.
Neither Ekholm, a defenseman, or McLeod, a forward, have dressed for a preseason game and are not practicing with the team. Ekholm is nursing a hip flexor injury, while McLeod has a "soft tissue," injury, according to Woodcroft.
"I expect both to be ready for the start of the year," Woodcroft said Tuesday. "They are putting good days together and we're listening to our medical people. I think when you have the time you want to use it. Someone asked me the other day if it was a playoff game, would they be in? Yes, they would be in, but we have some time right now and we want to use it."
Edmonton concludes the preseason by hosting the Seattle Kraken on Friday and opens the regular season at the Vancouver Canucks on Oct. 11.
Ekholm is expected to play on one of the Oilers' top two defense pairings this season. McLeod is expected to play in a bottom-six forward role. -- Derek Van Diest
St. Louis Blues
Torey Krug made his preseason debut in a 5-3 loss to the Columbus Blue Jackets on Monday.
The Blues announced Sept. 13 the defenseman sustained a right foot injury and he would be reevaluated Oct. 1.
Krug has been skating regularly from a conditioning standpoint since the start of training camp Sept. 21 and has taken part in full practices for the past week.
"Maybe it's a little earlier (than expected to play), but obviously nice to get a couple live games in action so you feel good come the (season) opener (Oct. 12 against the Dallas Stars)," Krug said. "Excited that I finally get to put the live skates on in some live action.
"Nothing replicates the games. Obviously, it's nice to get in."
Krug was paired with Justin Faulk.
"He wanted to get in there and play," Blues coach Craig Berube said of Krug. "We've got three (preseason) games left and we'll see how it goes tonight."
Krug had one assist and was minus-3 in 24:29 of ice time. -- Lou Korac
Toronto Maple Leafs
Conor Timmins is out week to week because of a "significant" lower body injury, coach Sheldon Keefe said Monday.
The defenseman sustained the injury when he took a hit late in the third period of a 2-1 win against the Montreal Canadiens on Friday.
Timmins had one shot on goal and was plus-2 in 23:59 of ice time in the game. He leads the NHL preseason with six points (two goals, four assists) in three games.
"Not just the camp he's had, but he's worked incredibly hard," Keefe said Saturday. "Not just in training camp and the offseason, but even last season coming in with us, he's put in a lot of work and dealt with a lot of injuries along the way so he is used to bouncing back from these things.
"I think the foundation he has with the work he's put in will hopefully allow him to have a quicker recovery and quicker adjustment to get back up to game speed, but for sure a guy like him, who has worked so hard and is competing for a spot, to have a setback is tough news for him and for us." -- Dave McCarthy
Colorado Avalanche
Josh Manson is expected to be ready for opening night against the Los Angeles Kings on Oct. 11.
Manson has yet to play in the preseason after undergoing offseason surgery to repair torn quadratus lumborum and oblique muscles sustained against the Seattle Kraken during the Western Conference First Round of the Stanley Cup Playoffs last season.
“I think it was in Game 2 or 3, and I was just trying to get through Game 3, 4,” Manson said. “Then halfway through (Game) 5, I just couldn't do it anymore. It got to the point where I just I couldn't move at all.”
The 31-year-old defenseman missed 55 regular-season games in 2022-23 with a lower-body injury before returning for Game 1 of the postseason.
He’s confident that his first surgery and a summer of rehab have him healthy and ready to play come opening night.
“I've never had surgery before, so recovering from that was a little bit different than anything I'd experienced before, but it's progressed well,” Manson said. “I've gotten to the point now where it's just kind of getting, like you said, mentally into it where I can trust everything and know that there's going to be no issues and then I can just play my game.” -- Ryan Boulding
Vancouver Canucks
Vasily Podkolzin was assigned to Abbotsford of the American Hockey League on Sunday.
Although the Canucks sent down 21 players, Podkolzin stood out because of his draft pedigree (No. 10 pick in the 2019 NHL Draft), 118 games of NHL experience, and the fact he opened training camp with a chance to be a top-six forward.
However, after finishing without a point and with a minus-2 rating in two preseason games, the 22-year-old will start in the AHL instead.
"He's such a great kid and he works so hard, but there's just some things there in his game where there's time and space and doesn't move his feet or doesn't see the play," coach Rick Tocchet said. "He checks all the boxes of hard work, but now it's grasping the NHL, the reads and the hockey IQ, things I think are very important in his development."
Podkolzin had 26 points (14 goals, 12 assists) in 79 games as a rookie with Vancouver in 2021-22 but seven points (four goals, three assists) in 39 games last season. He also had 18 points (seven goals, 11 assists) in 28 AHL games from late November to early February before sustaining a wrist injury March 25 while with the Canucks.
"Playing him 10-12 minutes is not really beneficial, and we have guys who are further ahead of him when it comes to the hockey IQ," Tocchet said.
Ilya Mikheyev practiced Sunday in a no-contact jersey as the forward continues to recover from ACL surgery he had in late January.
Tocchet said Mikheyev won't play the final two preseason games and doctors "don't want to commit to opening night" on Oct. 11 against the Edmonton Oilers.
"He's more allowed in contact right now, so we're just getting a little bit of that right now," Tocchet said. "He was doing the one-on-ones and stuff, defending, which was really good to see." -- Kevin Woodley
