Tij Iginla, Viggo Bjorck Among NHL Prospects Who Could Win Opening Night Lineup Spots
As NHL training camps are quickly approaching, Tony Ferrari breaks down some of the top young candidates around the league who will be pushing for roster spots when the 2026-27 regular season kicks off.
Video Transcript
Every year there are rookies we expect to make the NHL lineup.
Guys like Gavin McKenna or Porter Martone, they're pretty much locks to make their NHL teams respectively.
But what about the guys that are gonna be in battles for lineup spots throughout training camp that'll be looking to make an impact in the NHL this year?
They may not make the team out of camp, but they're gonna be impact players, so who's gonna make things interesting when training camp comes?
That's a much longer list, and it's a much more interesting list in my opinion.
Guys like Caleb Desnoyer and Tejas Ginlan, Utah, are both gonna be players vying for lineup spots.
Now, with Desnoyer, he's coming off a s- underwhelming year in the QMJHL, but he's a guy that has the talent to be in the NHL this year pr- in all likelihood, because going back to the Q maybe isn't the best thing for his development.
But Utah's made a few acquisitions over the off-season that are gonna make it harder for him to land down a top nine spot, and he's not necessarily the kind of player that plays in the fourth line.
On the flip side, Tejas Ginlan is also gonna have to deal with those acquisitions being in the lineup, but he's a bit more of a versatile player.
If you wanna start him on the fourth line and let him earn his way up the lineup, you can do that with a guy like Ginlan.
He's also out of CHL eligibility, so he'll be playing pro hockey regardless, whether it's in the AHL or the NHL.
We could see him or Desnoyer make the NHL lineup, but I don't really think we're gonna see both, so even though they don't necessarily play the same positions, you're gonna have a little bit of a quasi competition between those two as well.
Then you have players on other teams.
Cole Hudson's gonna be one of the most interesting ones, because although it seems like he's a lock for the NHL lineup, it wouldn't shock me to see the Capitals start him in the AHL.
He's a guy that has all of the offensive tools in the world, and he has the ability to be a difference maker when he's at his best.
But there's still moments where his d- defense was shaky, and he has some issues with some of his decision-making at times, trying to push too much offense.
So it'll be fun to see how he does in training camp.
Viggo Bjork is one of the most interesting names as well, simply because he wasn't a first overall or second overall pick in this year's draft.
He was a guy that went a little bit later towards the back end of the top 10, and he could still make the NHL lineup day one.
He's the center who has all of the tools and abilities, the mindset, the intellect, the skill to be an impact player in the NHL.
The issue is he's sub 5'10", and NHL teams don't often like that in their centers.
But Viggo Bjork is the exception, not the rule.
He's a guy that has proven it time and time again, whether it was at the World Championships where he went head-to-head against Sidney Crosby and Ryan O'Reilly with really good results, or in the SHL last season where he earned the number one spot for Djurgarden by the end of the season.
It's gonna be interesting to see if he can make the roster out of training camp for the Winnipeg Jets, as there's a really s- solid void at the number two center there.
They obviously have Shifrin in the top line, but Adam Lowry is more of a third line center.
So if you can push him down to that third line spot, things seem to fit a little bit better, and Viggo Bjork could fit right perfectly in that second line spot.
So check out my latest at thehockeynews.com as we look at some rookies that could make it interesting in training camp.
