The day every hockey fan has been waiting for is finally here - training camp for the 2026-27 season. After what felt like a very long offseason, we're getting closer to the start of the 2026-27 campaign, but before we get to that point, training camp must commence.
Players from all 32 franchises will report to their club today for medicals before their first on-ice sessions of training camp on Thursday morning. Following that, preseason games will begin on Saturday, with the new Collective Bargaining Agreement (CBA) allowing teams to play a maximum of four contests.
On Tuesday evening, the Montreal Canadiens unveiled their 57-man training camp roster, along with a schedule for camp including practices and more, so let's take a look.
Montreal Canadiens Unveil 57-Man Training Camp Roster
This year's training camp roster features 31 forwards, 19 defensemen, along with seven goaltenders. There aren't a ton, if any, roster spots up for grabs in Montreal this season, but there could be a few a surprises. Included in those 57 players are 43 that are currently signed to National Hockey League contracts, while the remaining 14 are on AHL deals.
Given that all of the names on Montreal's training camp roster are those who were expected to be there anyways (no PTOs), one intriguing player that fans should keep an eye on is 22-year-old Russian forward Aleksandr Legkov. Legkov spent last season with the Danbury Hat Tricks and Pee Dee IceCats in the FPHL, which is one level below the ECHL.
Legkov impressed last season in the FPHL, finishing the year with 38 goals and 93 points in 58 games. His strong year earned him an invitation to Montreal's Development Camp in late-June/early-July and from there, he signed a one-year, two-way AHL contract with the Laval Rocket. The Moscow native will be at Montreal's training camp, but it's unclear if he will suit up in any of their preseason games.
On the blue line, one name fans should watch, if you haven't been already, is 20-year-old Bryce Pickford. Pickford is making the jump to professional hockey this season after spending the last four years in the Western Hockey League with the Seattle Thunderbirds and Medicine Hat Tigers.
In his final year with the Tigers, Pickford exploded offensively, putting up a whopping 45 goals and 83 points in 55 regular season games. He followed that up with 12 points in 15 playoff games. Pickford will spend this coming season with the Laval Rocket and it wouldn't surprise anyone if he finds his way into a big role with the club relatively quickly.
Meanwhile between the pipes, former Ottawa Senators goaltender Kevin Mandolese joins the organization after signing an AHL deal with Laval over the summer. The 26-year-old appeared in two AHL games last year for Charlotte and Syracuse before heading overseas where he signed in Slovakia with HKM Zvolen.
This won't be Mandolese's first rodeo in the Montreal Canadiens organization. Last September, the Canadiens signed him to a professional tryout (PTO), before joining Laval, also on a PTO. His time with the Canadiens organization last season came to a close in early October as he was released from his tryout by the Rocket.
Montreal Canadiens Training Camp Roster
Forwards (31): Josh Anderson (#17), Vincent Arseneau (#61), Owen Beck (#62), Alex Belzile (#60), Dillan Bentley (#58), Brett Berard (#37), Zachary Bolduc (#76), Cole Caufield (#13), Lucas Condotta (#82), Kirby Dach (#77), Phillip Danault (#24), Laurent Dauphin (#36), Jared Davidson (#49), Ivan Demidov (#93), Jake Evans (#71), Oliver Kapanen (#91), Chris Kreider (#22), Aleksandr Legkov (#55), Hunter McKown (#41), Filip Mesar (#46), Israel Mianscum (#52), Josh Nadeau (#67), Alex Newhook (#15), Sasha Pastujov (#40), Samuel Poulin (#88), Xavier Simoneau (#43), Juraj Slafkovsky (#20), Nick Suzuki (#14), Alexandre Texier (#85), Tyler Thorpe (#54), Florian Xhekaj (#63).
Defensemen (19): Alexandre Carrier (#45), Jacob Dion (#51), Noah Dobson (#53), Aiden Dubinsky (#56), Adam Engstrom (#42), Kaiden Guhle (#21), Braden Hache (#83), Lane Hutson (#48), Mike Matheson (#8), Kale McCallum (#38), Luke Mittelstadt (#65), Bryce Pickford (#94), Owen Protz (#68), David Reinbacher (#64), Ethan Samson (#74), Jayden Struble (#47), Maksymilian Szuber (#79), Reilly Walsh (#44), Arber Xhekaj (#72).
Goaltenders (7): Jakub Dobes (#75), Jacob Fowler (#32), Hunter Jones (#98), Kaapo Kahkonen (#34), Francesco Lapenna (#90), Kevin Mandolese (#70), Samuel Montembeault (#35).
Montreal Canadiens Training Camp Schedule
Montreal's training camp roster will be split into three groups - A, B, and C. The three groups will each have their designated practice time, with Group A playing three of Montreal's five preseason games - home games vs Toronto & Ottawa, along with the Kraft Hockeyville game against the Senators on Monday. Meanwhile Group B will play the two road games in Toronto and Ottawa on September 19th and 26th, respectively. Group C will likely feature players signed to AHL contracts, as has been the case in years past.
We'll find out tomorrow who is each group, with Team A set to practice at 10:30 am ET, followed by Team B at 11:50 am ET and Team C at 1 pm ET. The Canadiens will hold three practices a day, one for each group, for the majority of training camp, aside from Tuesday, September 22nd, which is a scheduled off-day for all those in attendance.
Training camp will wrap up next Saturday as the Canadiens play split-squad games against the Ottawa Senators. After those games, significant cuts will be made to the training camp roster in anticipation of opening night of the 2026-27 season on Tuesday, September 29th.
Canadiens Announce Two Key Signings & Kaiden Guhle Injury Update
Prior to announcing their training camp roster, the Canadiens shared that they've locked up their final restricted free agent - Arber Xhekaj. On their team website, the Canadiens announced that they've agreed to terms on a one-year contract worth $1.5 million with Xhekaj. Next summer, Xhekaj will become a restricted free agent, once again, and is eligible for arbitration.
In addition to signing Xhekaj, the Canadiens also signed forward Alex Newhook to a four-year extension that'll kick in ahead of the 2027-28 season and keep him in Montreal until the summer of 2031. Newhook's extension comes with a $5.55 million AAV and zero trade or no-move protection, meaning he'd be eligible for selection, if he's not protected by the Canadiens, in the next NHL Expansion Draft.
On the injury front, the Canadiens gave an updated on defenseman Kaiden Guhle on Wednesday morning. The club confirmed that Guhle underwent surgery in the offseason relating to his adductor muscle and that he'll be out for four-to-five weeks. Due to this, Guhle will miss as little as six games and has many as nine to start the 2026-27 season.
The injury to Guhle will create an interesting battle for a spot on the opening night roster, with David Reinbacher and Adam Engstrom among those looking to begin the season in the National Hockey League. Both Reinbacher and Engstrom should get a ton of opportunities in the preseason to show what they've got after they got a taste of the NHL last season.